By Staff Sgt. Matthew B. Fredericks, 18th Wing Public Affairs / Published June 28, 2018
While Kadena residents are familiar with high temperatures, there are those who are hard at work to make it bearable.
The 18th Civil Engineer Squadron’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning shop installs, maintains and repairs the climate-controlling equipment for every building on Kadena Air Base.
"All buildings on base have to be climate controlled," said Ali Haroual, 18th CES HVAC mechanic. "We’re the people responsible for maintaining them, and making sure everything is running properly."
With the high temperatures and humidity levels on Okinawa, paired with winds and salt water from inclement weather, HVAC systems require a higher than usual amount of upkeep.
According to Haroual, most of the shops time is spent on maintenance and replacements.
"Due to the weather here, it’s very corrosive," Haroual said. "These units basically run year-round; they don’t stop."
These constantly-running systems cool down computer servers allowing organizations on base to communicate.
"We directly effect the mission; server rooms need AC to work properly,“ said Staff Sgt. Emmanuel Kamei, 18th CES HVAC craftsman. "It takes our AC to cool down those servers in order for them to work."
The systems not only take care of equipment , but the men and women who use it to accomplish the mission.
"There’s always something needing to be done on a daily basis," said Haroual. "It’s not boring or routine; every day you’re dealing with something completely different."
Kamei explained how customers are extremely grateful after their air conditioning is fixed.