The new automated carwash has been five years in the making and is replacing the older manual vehicle wash at Bldg. 55.
“The previous wash at Bldg. 55 is literally falling apart,” said John Henderson, 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle flight chief, “the machinery is probably 1960s vintage whereas this is state of the art.”
The newer facility is more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
“It recycles the water, saves on how much water is used, and there’s less possibilities with waste stream with oil and sediment that come off vehicles into the ground, so it’s a win-win,” explains Henderson.
There’s a minimum requirement for government vehicles to be washed every 180 days.
“The vehicle wash facility is extremely important for corrosion control on the base,” said Ryan Gillespie, 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron ground transportation supervisor, “especially since the base uses a lot of salt during winter.”
LRS will provide instructions and training to vehicle control officials. The facility will close if temperatures get below 32 degrees due to the water freezing but is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday thru Friday.
“It’s good we got it going, now we can fully concentrate on this one, learn it more and see if we can make it even better,” said Gillespie.
LRS is responsible for the leadership, management, and operation of deployment and distribution, vehicle management, fuels, materiel management and operations compliance flights. They also provide logistics plans support, contracted base supply, transportation, and aircraft maintenance support for WPAFB and numerous off-base organizations.
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