AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates -- Keeping a room clean can be an easy task in itself. However, maintaining cleanliness for an entire bay occupied by more than 50 Airmen can come with some challenges.
Bay chiefs deployed to Al Dhafra rise to meet this challenge, generating cleaning schedules, keeping track of facility maintenance, and holding their peers accountable to ensure their dorms remain clean and safe places to rest after a hard day’s work.
Four such bay chiefs, Tech. Sgt. Heidi Beckman and Staff Sgt. Ian Shine assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, and Tech. Sgt. Teodorico Dela Cruz and Tech. Sgt. Samantha Tremblay assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, went above and beyond to ensure their bay’s dorms, day rooms, and other common areas were in the best possible condition in preparation for quarterly dorm inspections.
“Being a bay chief requires willingness and attention to detail along with holding those responsible for their bay orderly duties,” said Staff Sgt. Ian Shine, 380th ESFS refuse site lead. “Communication was the biggest factor that led to our bay rooms’ cleanliness. Prior to the inspections I let all the dorm residents know any feedback I had received from ___ and we worked together to ensure 100 percent satisfaction.”
The winning bay chiefs were able to choose a prize that will improve the common areas for all the Airmen living in their respective bays. Alongside the prizes, the bay chiefs were recognized by wing leadership for their hard work outside of their normal duties.
“It’s amazing what they are doing as a team to ensure their areas are in the best possible condition,” said Chief Master Sgt. Joshua Wiener, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing command chief. “It was evident that when the bay chiefs cared, the bay was in a much better condition.”
The next quarterly dorm inspection is scheduled to take place at the end of March.