CE Saviors

When I became a military wife, my mother - a former military spouse - gave me the best advice ever.

WATCH AND LISTEN WHEN C.E. COMES TO THE HOUSE!

Home Depot has nothing on these guys!  I have learned so much from the personnel who have come to the various houses over the past 15 years!  As we are preparing to potentially retire - I feel the need to pass this wonderful advice along to others.

I can hold my own in household repairs now, solely because of the generous nature of these wonderful military members!  I can repair a toilet, unplug a kitchen/bathroom sink, fix a hole in a wall - please, don't ask! - any number of household tasks!

If you are just coming into the military or have been in a while and never taken advantage of this veritable wealth of information - CE Saviors!  When they show up at your door - LEARN FROM THEM!  This is the knowledge that will make you ever so much more self-sufficient and able to handle many of life's little crisis throughout life.  You won't always be on base/post, someday you'll have to pay a LOT for these services.  The more you can learn from these fonts of knowledge, the better off you will be in the long run!

I still say a prayer of thanks for all my free classes, every time my kids come running to me with the toilet plugged or the sink overflowing - It's Mom to the rescue! 

Comments

[ArmyChaplain's wife]

Ok, for me totally new--can you explain a little more? What is CE saviors and how do you find them?

[GBear]

I hope it's not another Service Specific term! Egads, sorry!

CE stands for Civil Engineering. It's the department on base that takes care of, among a plethora of other things, housing maintenance.

Never even thought of it - has the term changed recently? Is this Air Force specific?

[Vypergirl]

I didn't know what that was either! Around here, housing is now privatized. The maintenance guys are mostly civilian contractors. I think most Army housing is now being privatized if it isn't all ready on all posts.

[GBear]

I'm so out of date! SO, whatever they are calling it now when people come to the base housing - Watch and learn.

You can learn some really valuable lessons. Recently called out a plumber to redo the mistakes of the previous owners plumbing and the guy wouldn't even let me in the bathroom, much less had any desire to teach me anything!

Very frustrating for someone who is used to leaning over shoulders and asking a million questions.

I have no idea how much our family has saved on plumbing bills thanks to the time these kind men and women spent teaching me all about my own home!

[wendy]

Those maintenance guys are great! Sometimes creepy (we had this one guy who looked just like Elvis) but wonderful when you've got an overflowing toilet or a drippy faucet!

[Kel]

I love our Maintenance guys.. they are so great.. I have only had to call them about 4 times in 3 years. and it was twice for changing the kitchen flourescent bulbs they do not allow us to change. And twice i have bad htem coem to my ouse for other peoples calls.. Once was hilarious. He came knocking asking if i called about a lock being busted.. I said no sir i did not.. and he wa like " i didn't think so since it is a garage and this village does not have them" He wrote "unable to locate garage" ont he maintenace order and still to thisday when i see him he says.. " we got a tip ont he locatin of your garage CID is trying to track it down"..LOL

[Jewel]

Kel, your story is priceless!! :) We were stationed at our last base two different times for a total of six years. Moving back a second time was, for me, almost like going home due in large part to all the familiar faces to include the housing maintenance folks. It was like having an old friend over whenever I needed repairs. We've lived on several different bases and no one comes close to the incredible people of that bases' housing office and housing maintenance. They truly are the unsung heroes of the base.

[Sarah]

We lived on post in Germany, but none of the maintenance men spoke a lick of English, so there was some gesturing and then I got out of their way. And we had such problems with our heater, but every time I tried to ask them how it worked, I got a different answer! I lived there three years and never did figure out how my heat could be controlled...

[Jan Wesner]

Um .... wow ... apparently I must have lived in a totally different dimension when I lived on base! Never had - or heard of - such positive experiences with maintenance ... Typically have to beg, borrow and steal to get anything fixed where I've lived.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/standingby/

[LAW]

the german guys were great to me, since I speak German. We'd have a coffee, biscuits, and they'd explain the workings of all the various heating elements, the kitchen appliances, the plumbing. But the first few times I called, I practically had to beg them to get over before next Easter.

LAW

[Rick]

Boy you really took me back with this one. Being a brat back at Cark AFB in the Philippines in the early 70's I worked at base CE as part of Wagner High school's vocational training program that I got credit for and a little pay to boot, I think 76 cents per hour. Since the vietnam war was raging at the time most of our father flew off to Vietnam regularly and there was a lot of base housing on Clark. We stayed very busy fixing things and it was one of the best jobs I ever had. Getting quarters ready for new arrivals was fun and the guys on the crews really checked the housing out good, especially if it was an NCO moving in LOL. Even the locals that worked with us were on top of things because the American GI's just refused to let the military families live in dumps. If I heard it once I heard it a hundred times, " Only the best will do". And this from guys in there twenties and most were on their first ever overseas assignment. Of course what really lifted them up was when we'd fix something at an occupied housing unit and the spouse (mostly moms in those days), would give the guys homemade goodies. Reminded them of home and their own mom's.

[Megan]

I too have learned a bunch from the maintenance men and women who have come around to fix things here and there.
Growing up as a military brat and now as a military wife I've come to love being able to get things fixed around the house with out the headache of trying to do it on our own (for those first time problems), or having to pay to get it fixed.
This is a great post, I learn a bunch and enjoy the good attitude and entertainment they bring in to the house.