Air Force and community leaders conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of phase one of the consolidated mission complex June 25, on Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.

“As a major command it’s really important that we take care of our airmen,” said Lt. Gen. Richard Scobee, commander of Air Force Reserve Command. “The only reason we exist is to make sure we can produce combat capability for America and having all of our staff agencies in one area allows for easy coordination and communications.”

He said it was a very important step in making the command more efficient.

Scobee, along with retired Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, former AFRC commander, Col. Lyle Drew, 78th Air Base Wing commander, Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms and Houston County Commissioners Chairman Tommy Stalnaker cut the ribbon during the ceremony.

The overall project has three phases. Phase I constructed a 92,000-square-foot, two-story administrative facility at a cost of $27.7 million began in Feb. 2, 2018.

Phase II of the complex will involve the construction of an 86,000-square-foot facility at a cost of $29.9 million. The project is slated to wrap up with the construction of a 108,000-square-foot building at a cost of $35.3 million.

Once completed, the new complex will allow HQ AFRC to consolidate approximately 965 employees into one area. Currently, they occupy a total of nine geographically separated facilities. Those nine facilities will be returned to the base, providing it with room for expansion and saving an estimated $34.2 million in military construction costs.