The new Enlisted Club had its grand opening at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Nov. 30, 2012. The event included free food, live music, karaoke, games and giveaways. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kristina Overton)
Senior Airman Carl Sanders (left), 607th Support Squadron communications focal point technician, and Staff Sgt. Osvaldo Carela, 607th SPTS global command control system administrator, grab food from the buffet at the grand opening of the new enlisted club at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Nov. 30, 2012. The new facility includes a quiet lounge, gaming area, sports bar, pool tables, and multi-purpose room that acts as a dining area, night club or venue for official functions. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kristina Overton)
Members of Team Osan gather in the ballroom of the new enlisted club after the grand opening ceremony, at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Nov. 30, 2012. The event began with a ribbon cutting ceremony, and featured live music, karaoke, games and giveaways. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kristina Overton)
The new $17 million, 3,600 sq. ft. enlisted club opened its doors after a seven-month delay at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Nov. 30, 2012. The new facility includes a quiet lounge, gaming area, sports bar, pool tables, and multi-purpose room that acts as a dining area, night club or venue for official functions. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kristina Overton)
by Senior Airman Kristina Overton
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
12/12/2012 - OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- After being postponed seven months due to unexpected delays, Osan Air Base finally opened the doors to the new enlisted club Nov. 30 starting with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Col. Sean DeWitt, 51st Fighter Wing vice commander, began by thanking everyone in attendance and to those who put so much effort into the development of the facility. Chief Master Sgt. Brendan Criswell, 51st FW command chief, gave closing comments.
"As one door closes, another one opens," Criswell said. "In 1965, the Challenger was opened, which was the oldest enlisted club in the Pacific Air Force. Today we are opening our new enlisted club."
The $17 million, 3600 sq. ft. facility was built to replace the aging Challenger Club on base. The new facility includes a quiet lounge, gaming area, sports bar, pool tables, and multi-purpose room that acts as a dining area, night club or venue for official functions.
"These walls, the food and the drinks, mean nothing without the enlisted corps that's inside," Criswell said. "This club will be the home of enlisted heritage, past and future. This will not just be a home to just eat and drink; this will be a home for enlisted fellowship, to celebrate the good times and the bad times, the best and the worst."
The grand opening featured live music, karaoke, games, giveaways and a buffet that featured a variety of meats, fruits, cheeses, and other appetizers.
"I like the new facility and look forward to seeing what they do with it," said Senior Airman Carl Sanders, 607th Support Squadron communications focal point technician. "This is one of the things that will help people look at life from a different perspective and not get complacent being stationed in a remote location. It reminds people that we're not just in a 'war zone' and it's not just the job. We can come to facilities like this and get away."
Comments
12/13/2012 1:56:16 AM ET The new club is AMAZING High quality construction very spacious rooms and the management and wait staff are top notch. Like most new openings there are slight kinks here and there. Most noticeably at this time the new service staff in the bardining area are slow but I fully intend that to change for the better over a short period of time. The food has been outstanding and I highly recommend dining there as much as possible.
A.T., Osan
12/12/2012 1:17:58 PM ET I was at Osan from '63 - '64 when it was a remote tour of duty for 13 months. We has a shabby club but they renovated it in late '63 and made it a much better facility. It was located down the road from C Diamond where I worked at CSC. We had the slots then and I saw many a paycheck and re-enlistment bonuses go down the drain. The AF finally did aaway with them...hope it hasn't changed.
