#IAMIMSC: Capt. Jacob Bright
Duty title and unit: Kuwait and Djibouti Construction Manager, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Strategic Design and Construction, Contingency Construction Management Office, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait
Primary duty responsibilities: Construction management – including scope, quality and cost – for 11 projects on Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, and two projects on Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti in support of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.
I inspect the construction efforts of local contractors daily in a quality assurance role and initiate and track all scope and cost changes for each project. Before the COVID travel restrictions, I would take monthly trips from Kuwait to Djibouti to ensure the quality of construction for a 3.5-mile access road and C-17 taxiway/apron project.
What’s the best part of your job?
The satisfaction of seeing projects move from acquisition to construction, and inspecting those construction efforts to ensure the Air Force is getting a quality product. Every day there is a new problem to solve, so that keeps this deployment interesting and is making this time away from family go by quickly.
What’s a recent project that gave you a great sense of accomplishment?
I took on a side project on this deployment to structurally evaluate a new host nation airfield consisting of both concrete and asphalt taxiways, aprons and a runway. This new airfield was recently completed and is much larger than the current runway at Ali Al Salem. Having this data codified in an official airfield pavement evaluation will pave the way to bring in larger aircraft, and will alleviate the need for the large rotator aircraft to land only at the local international airport an hour drive away.
Any claims to fame?
I ran my first and last marathon at the site of the original marathon in Athens, Greece recently.
Do you follow any mantra?
I preach and follow my own version of the FSRM model: Family, Safety, Readiness and Mission.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’m surrounded by a great team that is truly dedicated to making big things happen. In the past six months, we have moved four projects into the execution phase of the project lifecycle. We have solved countless problems together and I know that when I leave this deployment, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Chabelley Airfield will be better off for future rotations.