Straight Talk: 24/7 Fitness Center access Published Nov. 22, 2016 By Col. Roman L. Hund 66th Air Base Group Commander HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – In this week’s Straight Talk, I’ll address a question I received about the Fitness and Sports Center expanding its 24/7 fitness access to military retirees and their dependents. If you have a question and are not sure where to find the answer, I encourage you to contact the Straight Talk line at 781-225-1380 or by email at Hanscom.straightalk@us.af.mil. Q I would like to know when dependents of retirees will be able to have access to the Fitness Center on a 24/7 basis? I am a retiree, I live and work on base, and I can't have my "wingman," my spouse, with me if I choose to work out after normal Fitness Center hours. Up until recently, retirees were not approved 24/7 access, today retirees are but not their card-carrying family members. I look forward to hearing from you. A The fitness center’s 24/7 access is a recent addition, and as the program has evolved, so has availability. Initially, we were concerned about the 24/7 utilization and how much risk we were accepting with personnel working out with no oversight. The program was limited to active duty and their dependents 18 and older, as well as Defense Department civilian employees. After some time, we felt the additional risk was acceptable and changed accessibility to include retirees and NAF employees. When adding those two categories, it should also have included “and their dependents over 18." We encourage you and your spouse to come in and register for 24/7 access, enabling you both to use the facility together in support of each other. If you, or your spouse, has any questions regarding this program, or any other that pertain to the fitness center, feel free to call Paul Shoesmith at 781-225-6635 or email at paul.shoesmith@us.af.mil.