JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
The Community Commons opening was held on Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, April 24, 2015.
JBA was selected by the Air Force as one of two test sites for the Air Force Community Commons project.
"[The Community Commons is] a place where military members, their families and visitors to JBA can come for one-stop shopping to build community, relax and find something to do during the duty day, or after a hard day of work or school," said Col. Bradley Hoagland, 11th Wing/Joint Base Andrews commander.
The Community Commons features a library with 28,000 books, 1,500 DVDs and 350 video games available for check-out.
"The library will have 20 CAC-enabled computers with full internet access for military members and their families to use," Hoagland said. "There is also free Wi-Fi throughout the building."
"The Landing Zone" restaurant will offer a variety of food and beverages, a coffee kiosk serving Starbucks products and a protein bar offering shakes.
The Community Commons staff are also planning classes and events for military members and their families to include a stained glass class, scrapbooking, salsa dancing, movie nights and more.
The brand new game room in the building will accommodate 16 video game players at a time, and also features arcade games, a pool table and air hockey.
The event was attended by distinguished visitors, senior leaders and members of the JBA community, featuring the Presentation of Colors by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, a performance by the Air Force Band Brass Quintet and a ribbon cutting.
The goal of the Community Commons project is to bolster the sense of belonging on base.
"We want to foster wingmanship and the community on JBA," said Senior Airman Hans Gomez, 89th Communications Squadron electrical power production apprentice and project volunteer. "We want this to be a place where Airmen can get away; getting airmen out of their dorm rooms to network and push their boundaries is a priority."