Housekeeping manager enjoys serving those who serve

by Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Barnett
673d Air Base Wing Public Affairs

2/26/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska  -- Dorene Benton cut open box after box in a warehouse on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The boxes were filled with linens, and the 673d Force Support Squadron housekeeping manager meticulously inspected them.

The last thing she wanted was to give the military guests staying in JBER lodging substandard sheets. She had several pallets of boxes to go through and needed to inspect them all, but to Benton, the housekeeping mission is worth the hard work.

"Our main mission is to support the military members and their families when they are traveling," said Benton. "We provide the best possible lodging for people who are on a temporary duty assignment or are moving, or when we have availability for space-available travelers who might need a place to stay for a couple nights."

Benton manages more than 50 employees in 25 of the 31 lodging facilities on JBER. While much of what her team does is visible, most people might not realize how much they do to keep guests comfortable, she said.

"We're the ones clearing the sidewalks and paths from the parking lot when there's snow," she said. "We pick up in the summer when there are cigarette butts and other trash around the building. When you walk inside and there's a nice smell and a clean floor, that's us. We're the ones keeping the place beautiful. Most of our job is visible; we're all about pleasing our guests, that's what we're here for."

Sometimes keeping guests comfortable can mean anticipating needs.

"We have to make sure we have plenty of blankets; during Red Flag we get a lot of people from other countries and the Lower 48 that aren't used to the cold," she said. "When civil engineering shuts off the heat, we have to offer extra blankets to keep them warm. We have to make sure they are good quality and meet Air Force standards."

Benton didn't always work in housekeeping. But she said her background pays dividends today.

"My background is in banking," she said. "I think accounting helps me with this job because there are numbers to keep track of. How many are checking out? How many are coming in? I have to figure out how much time to spend per unit because we have to keep up with Air Force standards. I have to look at the financial side of it, too, because of personnel and budget."

The housekeeping manager said she is used to military culture -- and that enables her to better serve those who serve.

"I love the military life," the native of Melbourne, Fla., said. "It's all I've known. My father and grandfather were military; my husband's military. I've never served, but I've lived around Air Force and Navy bases basically my whole life. My siblings don't have that experience. It makes me appreciate it when I see all the hard work that service members do every day."

"[Dorene]'s phenomenal, definitely a team player," said Heidi Payton, 673d FSS lodging manager on JBER-Richardson, and a native of Shenandoah, Iowa. "She puts everything she has into the job. She makes it a top priority. Housekeeping is the eyes and the ears of lodging. No one person can be in all the buildings at once. Housekeeping plays a vital role. They're out there with the customers taking care of them from check-in to check-out, keeping an eye on all our rooms and the buildings. They make it happen out there. They keep us going."

Benton's passion continues to drive her.

"I want to say thank you to our guests, just thank you," she said. "All those ICE comment cards -- we actually read through those. Most of them are positive and we really appreciate that. If there is something that we need to be doing, politely let us know. There are so many regulations we need to follow, and our budget is limited, but as long as it's within our limits, we're happy to do it.

"We appreciate that we're given the opportunity to serve the ones who serve for us. That's the biggest thing for me; I couldn't run those miles or carry all that heavy stuff, but maybe I can give you a soft pillow and a blanket. Maybe I can make that a little bit better. We so appreciate the military."