24/7/365-Your Whiteman Fitness Center

  • Published
  • By Amn Michaela R. Slanchik
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE --  We’ve all been there. You wake up feeling motivated and decide to pack your bag, take your pre-workout and head to the gym. You get to the door and it’s locked, and no matter how hard you pull that handle, it’s not opening. You scan your CAC and it doesn’t work. “What!?”
You see your fellow fitness enthusiasts inside who you could ask to open the door for you, but you also see a sign that says, “CAC sharing prohibited,” and you would never risk getting your wingman in trouble. Now you go home and eat your sadness away with a bag of potato chips, all because you didn’t know that the Whiteman Fitness Center has 24-hour access---- but only to those who register.
As of June 1, 2015, the Whiteman Fitness Center offers around-the-clock fitness accessibility.
24-hour access is available to active duty military, reservists, guardsmen, dependents over the age of 16, Department of Defense civilians and retired military. Children under the age of 16 are prohibited after staffed hours for safety reasons.
Those who meet the requirements can bring their Common Access Card (CAC), dependent ID or retired ID into the fitness center during working hours. The staff can assist you in requesting access by giving you a briefing on the rules and emergency plan, then you will read, agree and sign the fitness center’s Statement of Understanding where the rules and regulations are identified.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll be granted access; your CAC will be activated for use on the scanners on the doors of the gym. Those with a dependent or retired ID will receive a small, white card that acts as their key.
Although the weight room and aerobic rooms will be open after staffed hours, the sauna, racquetball rooms, fitness assessment cell (FAC) and the parents with children room will not be accessible.
To date, more than 4,000 members of Team Whiteman have signed up for 24-hour access, totaling more than 64,000 visits since its activation. There have also been no reported injuries during the non-staffed hours. However, there is heavy surveillance just in case something was to happen.
“When half of the population is active duty military, they’re not always able to work out during the staffed hours,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Stevenson, a 509th Force Support Squadron fitness center journeyman. “Having access available 24/7 keeps Airmen deployment-ready and able to pass their PT [physical training] test.”
To avoid ending up back at square one and locked out of the gym, remember to renew your registration every 12 months.
To sign up visit the fitness center Monday through Thursday from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. or Saturday or Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.