CE program saves time, cuts costs Published March 9, 2005 LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) -- Planning and design are fundamental for Air Force civil engineers. Now, through the use of a new management tool, Air Combat Commands Civil Engineer Directorate allows the command to make better use of every acre on its bases.Future First Planning, or F2P, is a new strategic process designed to synchronize all aspects of an engineering project while also maximizing the use of land on ACC bases. The objective is to improve the overall quality of Air Force installations while simultaneously addressing any environmental concerns.With the reduction of forces in the early 1990s, we got rid of a lot of our planners. There was really a lack of emphasis on planning for base development, said Robert Barrett, chief of the environmental division. We were forcing our facilities onto the wrong sites.Bases would have sites in high value areas, which could not be used because of environmental restrictions, said Mr. Barrett. We no longer feel environmental restrictions should drive facility sites.We, CE, are in the real estate business, Mr. Barrett said. We need to make every acre available to the Air Force, so it can be used, which includes environmental restoration sites.Previously, building projects could be slow to develop because as many as three different contracts would be required one to design the project, then one to clean-up the site, and finally one for the actual construction. Now, under F2P, the entire project is condensed into a single performance-based, design-build contract. In 2004 Langley Air Force Base, Va.; Holloman AFB, N.M.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo. were selected as test bases to develop projects under the new initiative. Langley is the oldest active Air Force base and has 3,152 acres of land. About 80 percent of that land is in use; of that amount, 148 acres have been marked for environmental restoration, said Mr. Barrett. There are two former landfills within those 148 acres, one of which is the Mile Long Building site. One of the F2P test projects is the Mile Long Building Project. This initiative calls for removing unneeded buildings on the eastern end of the Langley peninsula, restoring the area to its natural state and incorporating a new running fitness path for base members. Under standard procedures, the Mile Long Project would have become an Environmental Restoration Program site and three different projects would be involved, said Mr. Barrett. It would have begun with an assessment of the site and landfills, followed by the restoration of the site, and finally, the construction of the running trail. The whole process could have taken as long as seven years. Under F2P, the project has now been streamlined under a single contract, said Mr. Barrett. This allows the Mile Long Building Project to begin this summer and be accomplished in less than one year, with a significant savings to the Air Force, said Barrett. The Civil Engineer Directorate created F2P at the command level, but with successes at the test bases, officials will be implementing it across all ACC bases.This is only our second year and we are using a crawl, walk, run method, said Mr. Barrett. Right now we are in the walk phase.We want to put the right facility in the right place at the right time, said Mr. Barrett. Our high dollar real estate is within two blocks of the flightline. We want to be able to build there with no restrictions.Eight additional F2P projects are scheduled for ACC bases are in 2005.