Airman's Attic undergoes renovation

Published Dec. 30, 2013
By Senior Master Sgt. Gary Rihn
455 AEW/PA

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Attics are typically places to store extra stuff that you have lying around. Until recently, the Airman's Attic on Bagram Airfield wasn't much more than that.

Upon seeing the disarray inside the Airman's Attic and the lack of a user-friendly place for Airmen to locate clothing items they may need, Airman First Class Andrea Barber launched a project to clean, organize and renovate the place. With the help of Master Sgt. Gerald Daniels providing the bulk of the carpentry work, Staff Sgt. Ray Hernandez stepping up as Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Charge, and Senior Airmen Cody Embree and Markallen Viray providing key manpower, the Attic went from a cluttered room of piles of random uniform pieces to a well-organized, clean, easily-accessible place resembling a retail business.

"It started when I needed something, but every time I went by, they were closed. I realized that there were no volunteers and that nobody was running the place," said Barber.
Once they started the project, it became obvious that the place had been neglected for a long time.

"After digging through a few layers, I could tell that somebody started it with care, but it had become a dump for people going home," said Barber.

"The Airman's Attic wasn't being used for proper distribution, it was more of a place used for excess storage," added Hernandez.

Uniforms are now neatly stacked on shelves, organized according to size. Boots are paired up in rows on racks on the wall, and physical training uniforms, including Army items, are displayed on their own shelves. In addition to uniform items, the Airman's Attic is now starting to stock toiletries, books, DVDs, and other small items.

The Airman's Attic has become so successful, that they now receive more items than they can use. Those items, mainly toiletries, are donated to the USO, who distributes them throughout bases in Afghanistan. The Airman's Attic has so many uniform items now that they stock the shelves with a sampling of every size, and keep a reserve stock in the back office to refresh the shelves as items are claimed.

"I knew that if we kept it nice, with clothing folded and organized, that people would take pride in it and enjoy going there," noted Barber.

In the past two weeks, over 100 items have been given to Airmen, compared to only a few items per month prior to the renovation.

In the past, it was hard to find volunteers due to the condition of the Attic and no traffic coming through. Now Airmen actually want to work there. "I see it as a good opportunity to volunteer and help others," said Senior Airman Michael Buchanan, who volunteers during the morning shift.

"It's humbling to see your project reap rewards from the hard work and dedication of everybody involved," said Hernandez.

Also, the project is likely to save the Air Force thousands of dollars a year due to having a supply of free uniform items that Airmen can choose from if one of their issued uniform items is damaged.

The Airman's Attic currently is open daily from 0800-1000, 1400-1700, and 2000-2200. They are expecting to start manning a night shift as well in the near future.