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LRAFB honors former colonel with community center
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Base gets face-lift:
LRAFB honors former colonel with community center
B Y A N GE LA S PENCER
Thursday, April 9, 2015
JACKSONVILLE — The excitement in the air at the new
Walters Community Support Center was almost palpable
Friday morning as people in dress blues, military camo and
civilian clothes made their way through the newest
establishment at the Little Rock Air Force Base.
Airmen walked around the library, moving from aisle to aisle
in search of books. Children peered into the Community
Activities Center, with its big-screen televisions and play area
constructed of colorful tubes, tunnels and slides. As the
center’s dedication was about to begin, the crowd moved into
the ballroom at the back of the building to hear about the new
facility and the man for whom it was named.
The building that now houses the Walters Community Support
Center used to be the Base Exchange building. The $3.7
million renovation saved the building from demolition and now
houses the Airmen and Family Readiness Center, the Base
Library and the Community Activities Center.
PHOTO BY THREE RIVERS EDITION / ANGELA
SPENCER
Keegan Marconi climbs in the play area of the new
Walters Community Support Center at the Little Rock Air
Force Base. His mother, Wendy, said this was his reward
for being well-behaved during the dedication service April
3.
“It’s good to see so many former Little Rock commanders here to help us dedicate this facility, a true success
story of the base,” said Col. Patrick Rhatigan, commander of the 19th Airlift Wing. “It is my distinct honor to
share in dedicating this remarkable facility with all of you and to honor the person who personified what it meant
to take care of airmen.”
The Walters Community Support Center was named for the late Col. Kenneth Walters, a former 19th Mission
Support Group deputy commander. Walters entered the Air Force in 1988 through the Reserve Officer Training
Corps program after his graduation from the Virginia Military Institute. He served for 22 years.
“He was diagnosed [with cancer] on Sept. 24, 2008. Kenny’s request from the start with me and with his doctors
was simple, ‘Don’t tell me how long I have or when I’m going to die; tell me how to live,’” Walter’s wife, Amy
Walters, said to the Combat Airlifter, the base’s newspaper. “Some may not know that he had to fight to not be
medically discharged from the Air Force. He had to drive to San Antonio for a hearing at Lackland [Air Force
Base] to fight for his job. He never wanted to give up. He wanted to work and be normal and not lie on the couch
waiting to die. Working and staying active as a father kept him alive for 3 1/2 years.”
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LRAFB honors former colonel with community center
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Throughout his career and especially at the Little Rock Air Force Base, Walters served in many roles and was
always focused on helping other airmen.
“We see this career path that was anything but linear,” Rhatigan said. “Whether it was flying tankers in combat,
serving on the joint staff, commanding the recruiting squadron or leading in the [Mission Support Group], Col.
Walters proved himself to be a versatile officer who succeeded, no matter the position he held.”
Walters was instrumental in establishing the 2010 Airshow, which earned the title of Best Thunderbirds Airshow
Venue, and he was constantly looking at improving the lives of airmen on base.
“The one pursuit for him was taking care of airmen,” Rhatigan said. “In that, he was excellent. He valued
education as a way to support our airmen. In a research paper on improving education on this base, Col. Walters
states that his goal was to ‘make Jacksonville the Arkansas Educational Center of Excellence.’ Out of that one
idea grew three projects.”
Walters helped start the Flight Line Academy, a secondary charter school on base that has been recognized as an
Air Force Benchmark Program, and the $15 million Jacksonville-Little Rock AFB University Center. He also
helped with the proposed joint education campus, which will provide the new Jacksonville School District with a
low-cost option to build a state-of-the-art education center.
“These themes of versatility, education and care are the foundation of this Walters Community Support Center,”
Rhatigan said.
Each of the elements that have been brought under one roof at the Walters Community Support Center will
benefit from the new facility. The Airmen and Family Readiness Center has a larger space with classrooms and
offices to give staff the ability to better serve airmen who are looking for assistance with their personal finances,
relocation, career advice or other situations.
The Base Library has doubled in size at the Walters Community Support Center and now offers extensive
computer access and study space.
The Community Activities Center has also improved with game areas, music rooms, a children’s play area and
meeting rooms.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or [email protected].
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