Base housing offers advantages for Team Vance

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  There are certain aspects of military life that are taken for granted, whether you are on your first or your last assignment. One such luxury is the option to live on a military base.

Vance offers three kinds of military housing. Unaccompanied officers awaiting Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training can live in the student dormitories. Unaccompanied enlisted Airmen below the rank of Senior Airman are required to live in the enlisted dormitories on base. And all military personnel with families are given the choice to live in one of the houses in The Landings, the base's residential area, which managed by Pinnacle Hunt.

Currently, 163 officers live in the student dormitories, 95 Airmen live in the enlisted dormitories, and 225 of Pinnacle Hunt's 230 homes are occupied.

Living on base comes with a number of advantages. For one thing, base residents are provided with peace of mind. Neighborhoods outside of bases vary in terms of safety. Inside the base's gates, however, Security Forces is on patrol. The residential housing area falls under the jurisdiction of both the 71st Security Forces Squadron and the Enid Police department. So at all times at least one of the two law enforcement groups is on patrol.

"You feel safer, knowing you live on a military base," said Airman 1st Class Isabella Purcey, a customer support journeyman with the Military Personnel Flight who lives in the enlisted housing section of The Landings.

Base residents also receive peace of mind in a different respect. Those living in the dormitories do not have to remember to pay rent and utility bills every month. Instead, the money that would normally go into Base Allowance Housing pay is withheld, covering all expenses with the exception of cable and internet access.

"I will have a lot to keep track of with pilot training," said 2nd Lt. Kendall Brown, a JSUPT student awaiting her start date. "It will be a comfort to know that I won't have to worry about managing several bills as well."

Pinnacle Hunt has a similar arrangement with its residents. Base housing sets up allotments with residents, making sure that the right amount of money is deposited on time every month. But considering that a house requires more work than a dormitory, more services are offered.

"With Pinnacle Hunt, the allotment covers the rent as well as water, sewer, electricity, heating, air conditioning, trash, lawn care and pest control," explained Jacey Waggener, assistant community manager of The Landings.

Maintenance issues in the dormitories and housing are also handled by a highly capable staff--a service residents don't have if they own their own property off-base.

"The staff is very friendly and helpful," said 2nd Lt. Jonathan Goldstein, a student awaiting JSUPT who lives in the company grade officer housing section of The Landings with his wife. "They always handle your concerns in a timely fashion."

Living on the base also allows residents easier access to Vance's facilities and programs. For example, the commissary and Base Exchange are within walking distance, as are the Child Development Center, Youth Center and Teen Center.

"Although I enjoy living off-base because I have more room now, there are things I miss," said 2nd Lt. Robert Johnston, a student pilot who recently moved out of the dormitories. "Now when I come on to base, I have to make a schedule--check in at the Operations Support Squadron, go to the gym, go to the commissary--if I don't want to make multiple trips. Before I could just walk out of my door and take care of my errands whenever I felt like it."

Along with easy access to the base's services, for those in the dormitories, getting to work takes no more than a few minutes.

"I enjoy being able to get to work quickly; I live right across the street, so I walk," said Airman First Class Ryan Murphy, a finance customer service representative with the 71st Comptroller-Contractor squadron. "I save a lot on gas."

"It's nice being so close to the gym, the pool, the club, and other base amenities," said 2nd Lt. Greg Harton, another future JSUPT student. "Plus we have our own little community in the dorms. It's a very welcoming and friendly environment."