507th Air Refueling Wing acquires Tinker's Fitness Center West

  • Published
  • By Tech Sgt. Zach Jacobs
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Over the years, the Air Force has placed a premium on physical fitness, and bases worldwide have gone to great lengths to ensure that Airmen have access to the facilities and equipment needed to get and stay fit and healthy.

And Tinker Air Force Base is no different.

There are five different fitness centers here on base, including building 1103, Tinker Fitness Center West.

This small, yet functional center was built in an effort to serve members of units on the west side of the base, including the 507th Air Refueling Wing.

Patricia Griffin, Tinker's sports director, said the Tinker Boxing Team, for a brief period, called the West center home. They had a full-size ring, heavy and speed bags and other boxing equipment in the center.

But Griffin said on October 1, 2010, the 507th took over management and operation of the fitness center.

Griffin said the wing commander, Col. Jeffery R. Glass, had envisioned the 507th taking over the facility for some time.

There were several factors in the 507th in managing the Fitness Center West, Griffin said, including a lack of manpower from base services staff in being able to man the West center for the hours needed for members of the Reserve campus.

Senior Airmen Kevin Giles and Larnell Stokely, services specialists with the 507th Force Support Squadron, said the fitness center has taken on a new identity with the boxing team gone and members of the Wing using the facility more often.

Giles said there are better fitness opportunities for Wing members to fit a workout into their schedules, "especially those who need to pass their PT tests."

Giles said that although the center is operated by members of the Wing, the doors are still open for all patrons authorized to use base fitness facilities.

Stokely said that there is a wide range of people who exercise there, including retirees, contractors and people from the nearby Navy ammunition detachment.

Stokely and Giles said that with the Wing taking over the center, some of the equipment has been relocated, namely that of the base boxing team, leaving quite a bit of empty space in the building.

But they said that's about to change.

"The plan is to occupy as much free space as possible with new equipment," said Stokely.

Giles said the new equipment planned to be installed includes new treadmills, leg weight machines, medicine balls and yoga mats. He added that the free weight room will become a multipurpose room for plyometrics, aerobics, yoga and video-based workouts, like P90X and Insanity.

Equipment, however, is not the only thing to be upgraded.

Giles said that plans are in the works for FSS staffers to get educated to be Cooper Institute-certified personal trainers.

Although the Tinker Fitness Center West is the same building that most Wing reservists have known about, the changes in store for the center should help them achieve their fitness goals more easily.

Stokely said some people he's talked to are excited about the improvement plans in store for the fitness center.

And Giles said he hopes the positive attitudes and proper military bearing he and Stokely bring to the center will inspire more people to choose the Fitness Center West for their daily workouts.

Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. during UTAs.

For more information, contact Corie Wells at (405) 734-5607 or the Fitness Center West at (405) 734-2227.