By C. Todd Lopez
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, Washington, D.C. (May 03, 2007) -- The Air Force District of Washington Committee for the Air Force's 60th Anniversary is looking for a few good ideas to stick into a hole in the ground.
The Committee, responsible for orchestrating the events to surround the Air Force's 60th birthday in September, is planning time capsules for both Bolling and Andrews Air Force bases.
"As we were brainstorming for ideas, the concept came up through the Committee to do some kind of a time capsule," said Master Sgt. Ivan Idrobo, the project officer for the time capsule subcommittee. "It's basically about having something in the future to represent what Bolling Air Force Base stands for today."
The time capsule will be opened in September 2047, exactly 100 years after the official standing-up of the United States Air Force. The idea of the time capsule is to create a connection between the past and the future, Sergeant Idrobo said.
"This is so there is some kind of connection between what the future is, and how things have changed from now to then," he said. "When you put something away and kind of forget it for a long time, then you reopen it, you discover all the old memories that either you or somebody else might have experienced during that time. This is to mainly remember the past and see how it connects to the future."
Right now, the committee doesn't have any specific plans about what to put into the time capsule. Instead, they are relying on Airmen to make those suggestions.
"Photographs, documentation, maybe uniforms, and any kind of symbol of how Bolling has changed through the years are all good ideas," Sergeant Idrobo said.
Airmen should submit their suggestions about what they think should go into the time capsule by the end of May. Suggestions can be forwarded to Staff Sgt. Twana Harden.
All suggestions concerning the time capsule will be voted on by 11th Wing leadership at a wing standup conference. The Airmen making the top 10 suggestions will win special prizes, and the Airman with the No. 1 suggestion will be photographed with the presiding officer at the time capsule ceremony, July 9. The burial will coincide with the opening of the new main gate.
The time capsule itself is a gel-coated, waterproof, acid proof, airtight container that has roughly 1.5 cubic feet of space. The Committee has already selected a site for its burial, near the base flagpole on MacDill Boulevard, though that site must meet approval by the base civil engineer.
"Once the 11th Civil Engineer Squadron determines the area we want to bury it in is safe to proceed, then will come in and dig the hole out and we will do our ceremony," Sergeant Idrobo said.
Following the burial of the capsule, a medallion will be placed on top to mark its location and open date.
"That is going to tell everybody that walks by and sees it what the time capsule is," Sergeant Idrobo said.
But before that can happen, Airmen need to think about what should go in to the time capsule, and make their suggestions to the committee, he said.
"We are hoping some word of mouth going through the base will generate some good ideas," Sergeant Idrobo said. "Because of the changes to be made due to Base Realignment and Closure, Bolling might be going away or might change dramatically. We want good representation in the time capsule of what day-to-day life at Bolling AFB is like in 2007."
