Case Study: Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC)

In Blackstone, Virginia, the U.S. Department of State developed a facility to provide advanced tactical training to the foreign a­ffairs community. Constructed near Fort Pickett, the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center – called FASTC – offers a number of special hard skills security and life-saving training to its agents. As part of the facility’s complex, two high intensity driving courses designed for use with a variety of vehicle types were constructed on the premise to ensure personnel had proper experience with wet-track and high-speed driving.

To meet the physical demands of a driving course as well as the requirements of a government contract, the FASTC training complex needed an eff­ective, high-performance drain system that could support a heavy vehicle load rating.

CONCRETE DRAIN CAPABLE OF HANDLING HIGH LOADS AND VOLUMES OF WATER

Contractors at Mortenson Construction collaborated with NDS on a plan that suited the needs of the facility. Civil engineers and stormwater specialists from the DesignWorx team worked with contractors to make sure they had the right solution, the right channel size, and the right specifications. Part of the project’s complexity is that the product would need to be configured in large arcs to follow the shape of the skid pad. The system would also need to withstand high loads and be able to move large volumes of water for wet-track driving exercises.

NDS recommended Filcoten, a high-performance concrete channel drain that o­ffers higher compression strength than competing polymer products. And unlike most polymer concretes, it is manufactured without VOCs or heavy-metal residue that can leach into the ground. Filcoten drains are fiber reinforced, 100% recyclable, have 0% harmful substances and are tested to class D (according to DIN EN 1433).

NDS EXPERTS TACKLE SEVERAL UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES

A detailed layout was provided by NDS to help simplify what might have become a difficult installation due to the number of components that needed to be placed with the utmost precision. There were many unique circumstances for FASTC so the project required the support of NDS’ highly qualified technical support team.

During installation, a NDS stormwater expert was also onsite to provide technical support and assist the contractor while 3,700 linear feet of Filcoten trench drains with ductile iron grates were placed around two curved tracks – one that’s now used for wet driving, the other for high-speed training. As one of the largest Filcoten installations in NDS history, this is the first time the product was utilized along a high intensity course meant for defensive driving maneuvers.

NDS DesignWorx Services Utilized:

1. Product specification
2. Drainage calculation
3. Plan evaluation
4. CAD file creation