By Erinn Burgess, BeaverFit.
A roof logo so big it will be seen by planes using the landing strip nearby – that’s one of the requests the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron had for their new BeaverDome at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
BeaverFit accepted the challenge, and the newly opened 50 x 120-foot human performance facility boasts the 5th ASOS call sign “Lowlife” with a roof logo spanning the facility’s length.
“Championship tactical athletes need to have venues where they can build their championship abilities. And when the Airmen walk in here, it is the man or woman in the arena – and this is where excellence gets built,” said retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Troxell, former senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during his remarks at the facility’s grand opening.
When the 5th ASOS needed a state-of-the-art fitness facility to train Air Force tactical air control party members, they placed a call to BeaverFit – leading supplier of human performance and tactical training solutions to the U.S. military.
The resulting solution is a fully-enclosed training facility – known as a BeaverDome – complete with electricity, HVAC and industrial ceiling fans. Six 40-foot BeaverFit Performance Lockers
form the walls of the facility with internal equipment storage and rigging for strength and functional training, surrounded by custom rubber and turf flooring.
The eight lifting stations boast custom floor logos and branding plates for 5th ASOS, Lowlife and TACP. Additionally, BeaverFit designed custom weight plates labeled with the squadron’s name and call sign.
BeaverFit formed and poured a custom concrete pad to support the BeaverDome, which is built atop an existing asphalt parking lot. They positioned the concrete pad high enough to minimize water entering the space, and designed it with a one-degree slope for water runoff, since Washington is no stranger to rainy weather.
Additionally, BeaverFit built two concrete ramps leading to the commercial roll-up garage doors at either end of the BeaverDome.
Michael Hirsch, project manager at BeaverFit, said his favorite part of every project is the moment BeaverFit shows up to install the accessories and rigging, when “the customer is so amped to get into the facility and start training.”
And amped they were. The 5th ASOS celebrated the grand opening in true military fashion – by getting straight to work in their new training space.
“Seeing the thrill on the faces of all the Airmen and women within the unit was the best,” said Scott Wing, territory sales director for BeaverFit. “They were truly grateful for our efforts and the space turned out exactly how they had envisioned.”
As with any custom build for a military customer, BeaverFit begins by listening to the unique scope and human performance requirements of the project. A team of product managers, facility design experts, engineers and fabricators work together to create equipment solutions that are manufactured in the U.S. and designed to perform in the toughest training environments.
BeaverFit provides overall project scoping, design, kitting and ongoing project management. Dedicated teams guide a project from the initiating and planning phases all the way through to execution and closing phases.
“This BeaverDome is proof-positive that although these projects are cumbersome and require meticulous attention to detail, we have the capability and the vital partnerships in place to be able to execute quickly and effectively,” Wing said.
Is this just for airmen or all branches? Who are “tactical air patrol” folks? Are they like Army Rangers or Navy Seals?