SUMTER, S.C. — Millions of dollars and years of work has led to Tuesday’s ribbon cutting, where Shaw Air Force Base unveiled its new Reaper operations facilities.
The new operations and headquarters building is allowing squadrons to continue work with aircrafts that are piloted remotely, which the base says is part of the weapon system that airmen are using to meet national defense strategy threats.
“Today is a momentous day for the MQ-9 community,” Col. Nick Pederson said.
Pederson is Commander of the 432nd Wing based out of Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. He’s also in charge of 25th Attack Group at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, which is celebrating the opening of its permanent facility.
“We wanted a location on the East Coast and wanted to expand MQ-9 operations. And they really felt like Shaw was the perfect location to expand our operations,” Pederson explained. “It's been a very long haul to get to the point where we are opening these new facilities here and we're incredibly excited and the squadron and the airmen are very excited to move out of their very cramped facilities over here into these brand new state of the art facilities.”
Pederson says they have been operating in temporary facilities for the last nearly four years. Now the new, multi-million dollar buildings are open. Pederson says this upgraded space allows for two squadrons that operate MQ-9s, a type of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) that helps with different types of missions from intelligence and surveillance to combat search and rescue.
“It quadruples the spaces but more importantly it gives them that feeling…just kind of feels like a temporary facility. It’s not their real home. This will be their real home,” Pederson said, comparing the small temporary facilities with the new space. “In the past, we've pretty much only had enough personnel and enough space and facilities to do one or the other and so we're always committed and flying in combat. What we're doing now is basically allowing folks time off to train and prepare for future conflicts in addition while we're still flying, and that's what expanding the MQ-9 community and bringing folks to Shaw has done for us.”
Col. Trevor Merrell says this project started as part of the Air Combat Command (ACC)’s Culture and Process Improvement Program (CPIP), which recognized a need for more support.
“This significant development not only enhances our operational capabilities, it signifies a substantial improvement in the quality of life for our dedicated airmen,” Merrell said. “MQ-9 aircrew were working weeks in a row without time off, flying seven to eight hours of flight time every single day or more and were unable to have the normal development opportunities afforded to other air crew. This left our aircrew in pretty bad shape.”
To fix that, Merrell says this new squadron at Shaw was created as part of the branch’s evolution.
“The welcome from not only 20th Fighter Wing, but the community of Sumter and the people of South Carolina along with the local political representation has been nothing short of exceptional. Our airmen are incredibly grateful to be stationed here and this assignment is one of the most sought after in the MQ-9 community,” Merrell said. “As the MQ-9 enterprise continues to expand globally, Shaw Air Force Base solidifies its position as a strategic center of combat airpower. The evolving nature of near peer threats necessitates our constant evolution. Accelerating change and optimizing the organization ensures the continued advantage of the MQ-9 in diverse missions. 25th Attack Group operations now extend beyond the Middle East as we operate in four combatant commands, marking a historic shift in the way we deter, prepare for possible conflict and succeed in combat when asked to do so.”
Right now, Shaw says it's planning to have the aircrew move into the buildings. which it hopes to have finished sometime this summer.