Joint effort prepares military housing for incoming families

18th Wing:

"KADENA AIR BASE, Japan — U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 18th Civil Engineer Group and U.S. Marines worked together over six weeks across Okinawa, Japan, to prepare more than 120 military homes for incoming families, combining maintenance support and administrative changes to improve housing operations.

To assist families awaiting permanent housing and reduce the number of personnel staying in temporary lodging, leadership requested augmentees from installations across Okinawa to support housing operations.

The augmentees supported two areas: the housing administrative office, which processes leases and financial paperwork, and the housing maintenance flight, which conducts home repairs and prepares residences for new occupants.

"The teams had to learn how to paint homes and manage the turnover process to ensure each residence was ready for its next occupants," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Hillard, 718th Civil Engineer Squadron horizontal repair section chief. "Everyone showed up ready to help, and within two days they had already turned over 10 homes."

A joint maintenance team of 42 Airmen and approximately 50 Marines inspected, painted and prepared the homes, increasing the number of residences ready for incoming service members and their families.

The 718th Civil Engineer Squadron also updated administrative procedures to streamline housing assignments and introduced a virtual service system that allows service members across Okinawa to resolve paperwork issues and check housing waitlists remotely.

"Our goal is to build up our inventory so we consistently have quarters ready to go," said Erick McClay, 718th Civil Engineer Squadron chief of housing maintenance. "We want to ensure homes are prepared and available for incoming service members and their families."

Together, the maintenance initiative and administrative improvements help the 18th CEG prepare homes for incoming servicemembers and their families, reduce housing delays and support a smoother transition into permanent housing."