EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 412th Force Support Squadron and 412th Civil Engineer Group officially began work to expand the FamCamp following a groundbreaking ceremony on Edwards Air Force Base, California, Dec. 6.
FamCamp is an RV park on-base that is open to all DoD ID cardholders. The RV park is first-come, first-served and originally, only short-term. Brig. Gen. Matthew Higer, 412th Test Wing Commander, signed an exemption to policy to provide long-term residence.
Before COVID-19, it was a very challenging place to find residence and space in this valley, Higer explained. COVID-19 exacerbate the national housing crisis, and base leadership sought a way to alleviate some of that pressure.
“These five shovelfuls are the first step in removing some of that,” Higer said during the ceremony. “We also increase the number of houses on bases and potentially get diversity of the types of housing; including apartments on base, and then work for better housing in the local area as well.”
The FamCamp upgrade is funded by the Air Force Materiel Command’s AFMC We Need initiative. Base leadership saw it as a way to improve on-base quality of life.
“There will be 16 new RV slots added to the park. There are currently 19 slots, so we will almost double the capacity of the park with this project,” said Tony Arcidiacono, Saber Chief, 412th Civil Engineering Group.
Capt. Elizabeth A. Moyer, 412th Force Support Squadron Acting Director, said, for Team Edwards, FamCamp is beneficial and a low-cost option to live on base.
“FamCamp construction started on December 6. Our amazing CEG team, with Mr. David A. Lacomb, 412th Civil Engineering Group as the lead, designed the plan to extend FamCamp for more families, especially with the current nationwide housing shortage,” Moyer said.
The new RV spots are slated to be completed sometime in early 2022, said Arcidiacono.
“This is the first shovelful and what I hope are many in the next couple years for new houses and new apartments as well,” Higer added, “Good on FSS, great on AFMC and AFMC We Need for partnering and giving us the resources.”