The Air Force Enlisted Village (AFEV) has purchased 80 acres of land from the U.S. Air Force with a Deed Signing Ceremony on July 12, 2024. The former Eglin AFB land in Shalimar will be used to build Victory Village, a nonprofit retirement community with a specialized lifestyle for aging wounded warriors and their caregivers. Victory Village will be a continuum of care retirement community for wounded warriors, their caregivers and enlisted surviving spouses and married couples of all military branches.
Over 200 people attended the event which featured special guest speakers Gen. James C. Slife, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, and the Honorable Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment.
AFEV President and CEO Brooke McLean described meeting with board members, community leaders, and elected officials seven years ago with the idea of how to create this joint base community for enlisted military members.
“In the 50-plus years that this organization has been in existence, we have seen thousands of Air Force widows and retired couples. And today, Air Force Enlisted Village has about 600 residents here,” McLean said. “I started thinking about the opportunity to help wounded warriors and the caregivers as they go through the aging process. And they’re going to go through an aging process that’s not going to be like any of the rest of us.”
Victory Village will be located adjacent to the Air Force Enlisted Village (AFEV). Plans for the community include multiple neighborhoods for 800 people to reside, a community center, a multi-denominational chapel, a fitness center, a swimming pool, walking paths, retail services, and an EMS substation to serve the Poquito Bayou neighborhood.
“Words can’t describe what our wounded warriors and the families have meant to our nation. But to do something this tangible, this impactful for them cannot be understated,” Chaudhary, said.
Slife mentioned most people in the serving and veteran community miss the camaraderie. “When you think about what Victory Village will be for the communities that it serves, it provides that sense of purpose and a community of shared values,” Slife said.
Victory Village will also be home to surviving spouses of retired enlisted service members and retired enlisted couples of all military branches of service with plans to offer a continuum of care complete with on-site skilled nursing. The community will be constructed in increments and will take ten to fifteen years to complete.
Also participating in the event: Eglin AFB Honor Guard presented the colors, AFEV COO Cory Olson served as MC, Bob Hope Village resident Ernest Tucker sang the National Anthem, and Dolores Hope All-Faiths Chapel Chaplain Bethel Bateson provided the invocation.
A video of the ceremony is available on YouTube.
