Keesler Air Force Base: the city within a city for active duty and veterans

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - While there are a lot of and missions at Keesler Air Force Base, there are also a lot of amenities.

So much so, that Keesler could be considered, in many ways, a city inside a city.

The business of keeping America safe requires a little downtime ... and making day-to-day living as efficient as possible. Just like a city.

MSgt. Aaron Kirby takes full advantage.

“Used the gas station after I was done with my PT, go get coffee and breakfast,” he said. “I used the showers at the gym after I was done. We go to the marina and fish pretty much once a week, rent boats and take family and friends out. ... We use everything here.”

He and MSgt. Pete Lacasse like relaxing by slamming a few golf balls at the Bay Breeze Event Center.

He said the city-like offerings are important.

“Especially since a large part of the Keesler population is students in training,” Lacasse said. “They don’t always have the time to go around off base to take care of everything that they need to do. So, it’s definitely a positive to have everything you need here.”

Lt. Col. Katherine Kuc, commander of the 81st Force Support Squadron, knows the benefits of having the services that a normal city would have.

“I am one of the many families that live here on the installation,” she said. “So, really, we have everything we need to include a commissary, which is like a grocery store, an Exchange, which is kind of like a Walmart. We really do have everything we need to live, work and play.”

And there’s even more.

“There’s a number of things that make up a city,” Kuc said. “Sure, you have the infrastructure. You have the support that’s provided. But you also have the community feel too. When we have events here, that’s our goal to bring folks together. So, we foster that community, so people feel at home. So, they can really be resilient, and we can get after the mission.”

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