News

Base, Capehart pools to stay closed this summer

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Markus M. Maier
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Base officials recently announced that the Offutt Base Pool and the Capehart Pool will not open this summer.

The decision was made in light of budgetary constraints due to the ongoing sequestration.

"The biggest issue that led to this decision is the lack of funding, which is tied to the sequestration cuts that we are seeing across the Air Force," said Thomas C. Fahrer, 55th Force Support Squadron Deputy Director. "The baseline funding has been reduced significantly across the board. So, not only does the 55th Force Support Squadron not have the money needed to fund the life guards, but the 55th Civil Engineering Squadron does not have the resources to do the required upkeep and maintenance to keep the pools operational."

Initially officials considered offsetting the costs by raising the fees to use the pools, however after further analysis that idea proved not to be feasible.

"This wasn't an easy decision for us to make," said Col. Andrea Tullos, 55th Mission Support Group Commander. "However, when you combine the funding cuts we took with the need to repair the infrastructure we simply don't have the resources available to turn this corner in time for this season. The men and women of the 55th Force Support Squadron pride themselves in providing these activities to military personnel and their families, and while we had to scale back in some areas, we will continue to do our best to provide our customers with a full range of activities."

For more information on available Offutt summer activities please visit the 55th Force Support Squadron at www.offutt55fss.com.