Fort Bragg Barracks Update
April 30th, 2008 by Admin
I dialed into a bloggers roundtable yesterday with BG Dennis Rogers and CSM Deborah Strickland, Deputy Director and Command Sergeant Major of Installation Management Command respectively. While waiting for the attendees to dial in, Matt and I spoke a little about his recent trip to China and the fact that Blackfive is actually banned in China!! So, kudos to Matt for that esteemed honor!!
We were gathered to discuss the recent video that surfaced on YouTube about the barracks at Fort Bragg. The video depicted deplorable conditions, to include sewage leaks in the latrines and mold in various locations. It was assembled by the father of a Soldier who had recently returned from a deployment to Iraq staying in those very same barracks. Naturally, he was very upset with what he saw.
The entire issue with the barracks at Fort Bragg and other locations boils down to a single point of failure – NCO Leadership. As I've said numerous times here and everywhere else, our job as NCOs is to take care of Soldiers. Since the beginning of our military it has been an NCO responsibility to ensure that the living quarters of our Soldiers are up to standard. Naturally, that standard depends on the NCO inspecting the area, but there is a general agreement about the living conditions in which our Soldiers reside. The issue at Fort Bragg was an NCO leadership failure at every level from the most junior of NCOs to the to the most senior on the installation.
"It is my responsibility for maintaining barracks throughout the Army," began BG Dennis Rogers' opening statement to the bloggers present. "And in that role…I assume responsibility for the shortfalls in barracks maintenance."
There was no parsing words. BG Rogers noted that we have let our Soldiers down with regard to the condition of living quarters for returning Soldiers. "There is no excuse for that," he said.
Providing a contrast to the video making its rounds in the media and the internet, Rogers remarked that the actual living quarters – the beds, the furniture, the rooms – are practically brand new. There is a new HVAC ventilation system in the building, so the air quality is equally good.
The building being shown in the building is a Korean-war era, 1950's vintage building at Fort Bragg. It is one of approximately 23 similar building scheduled for demolition on the installation. New barracks are being built, but the next ones aren't expected to be finished until sometime next summer (2009).
CSM Strickland addressed the bloggers and took responsibility for her failures as well.
"I'm going to assume that least some of you are former enlisted or NCOs," she said addressing us. "So you know that part of that burden really belongs to us." The two most basic responsibilities of an NCO are accomplishment of the mission and THE WELFARE OF OUR SOLDIERS. This comes directly from the very creed that all NCOs should live by the moment they pin on those Sergeant stripes (or Corporal stripes in some instances).
CSM Strickland boiled the issue with the barracks at Fort Bragg down to a lapse between the appropriate hand off in responsibility from the rear detachment NCO leadership to the Garrison NCOs leadership. She said that they have addressed that issue very quickly and it's unfortunate that it might give anyone the impression that this is the way we receive Soldiers returning from theater.
Senior Army leadership has directed a thorough walk-through of all barracks. For the most part, this has already taken place. The only places this has not taken place are at the installations or within units that were observing a 4-day pass. In these situations, the barracks are scheduled to be looked at within the next 72 hours.
This is where things will get a little tricky. The Army has a difficult task here. The Soldiers have some implied tasks as well. First of all, the barracks are the Soldiers' homes. They live there; they eat there; they sleep there. Until they can afford to move into their own place or get married and move into a government provided family home, that is where they live. They need to ensure that they are treating it as such. It is up to the individual Soldier first and foremost to take care of his dwelling, whether a barracks room or single family home.
Second, it is the responsibility of the first line supervisor to check out the places where their Soldiers live. If they live in the barracks, it is a leadership responsibility to inspect those barracks to ensure that they live in sanitary conditions. Most Soldiers that live in barracks are younger Soldiers with little to no experience caring for a place or picking up after themselves. It's a fact of life and probably worse today with kids growing up without any real responsibilities in the home prior to leaving. Soldiers that don't live in barracks should also be visited, though different rules apply to Soldiers living off-post. However, there is nothing wrong with a supervisor requesting to stop by a subordinates home just to check up on family and make general observations about living conditions. Remember, Soldiers can be forced to live on post if their off-post dwellings are substandard, interfere with military duties or pose a risk to the Soldier.
Third, it is the responsibility of the commands to ensure that leaders are doing their jobs. They do this through several methods: personal interviews, counselings, anonymous surveys, tip lines, etc. Commands must enforce standards and clarify standards that NCOs are responsible for enforcing. Spot checks should be done at regular intervals.
The Sergeant Major of the Army has mandated that all Garrison Commanders and Command Sergeants Major check on these standards. These commanders and CSMs have made the assessment that Soldiers are, in fact, housed according to Army standards. The fact is that there are places in the Army that do not meet these standards. They have determined that those locations are isolated and do not represent the standard of living across the board in the Army.
Where those Soldiers were living in substandard barracks, "on-the-spot" corrections were made. Based off of some of the stories I've heard today talking to Soldiers from all over, these "on-the-spot" corrections involved CSMs and Commanders basically coming into barracks, yelling and shouting at the Soldiers. I'm sure some of it had to do with Soldiers not doing their jobs in the first place to ensure standards were being maintained, but a lot of it is the embarrassment of having a video posted on YouTube and commands acting hastily. At places where on-the-spot corrections are not substantial enough to improve conditions, IMC has directed that Soldiers be relocated while the work is done to fix the issue.
To prevent this issue from occurring in the future the IMC CSM will create a facilities management form that will be shared with all installation CSMs to inspect and ensure that Soldiers are living within established guidelines. These forms will be required to be filled out on a monthly basis and forward through Army chains. The forms will contain data compiled by leaders and Soldiers themselves, assessing the actual conditions in which they live. The forms will be used to provide recommendations directly to the Commanding General in order to provide quick resolution to major issues. It's a boots on the ground perspective.
"All of us are kind of anxious about getting information flows so that it is timely and we can all affect whatever is affecting our soldiers on the ground," said CSM Strickland. That is the reasoning behind the NCO quorum at the post and Major Command level.
My problem with issue alludes to something that LL wrote about in the comments section: this doesn't seem very isolated. It wasn't that long ago that we were dealing with this issue at Walter Reed. I also wrote back then that, having personally visited numerous rooms at Walter Reed, the issues at Walter Reed were blown way out of proportion. It's quite possible they are that way today as well. I haven't had any Soldiers living in barracks since 2004, so I haven't been in them much in the past four years. However, I've seen good barracks and I've seen terrible barracks. I remember living in some utterly crappy barracks while I was stationed at Fort Huachuca. Those barracks are still standing, but I believe their offices now and not living quarters. It was always either too hot or too cold. Most Soldiers these days live in very decent barracks.
The Army is going through all of this because of some video, according to BG Rogers. It isn't the reason we're conducting all these inspections and finding all these issues. "That's not the case," he said. "There were a number of different work orders submitted in the last six month to work on these particular barracks." I'm not saying anyone is deliberately misleading anyone else here, but go back and read the first comment to this post. These issues have been around since the first rotation of Afghanistan Soldiers began returning home in 2002.
My main concern that I brought I brought with BG Rogers and CSM Strickland was that we need to energize the NCO Corps. Since this came out and my original notice that I was taking part in this round table discussion, i've gotten a few emails and comments both here and through MySpace from Soldiers on different installations indicating this may not be an isolated incident. Add in the Walter Reed fiasco and these "isolated incidents" start looking bad for our side.
In response to this issue, the Sergeant Major of the Army, SMA Kenneth O. Preston, is sending out guidance soon related to his impression about this "got off balance," according to CSM Strickland. She explained that frequently what happens is that things happen at the local and either don't make it to the IMC level or arrive very slowly, which gives the appearance that the IMC leadership doesn't care about these issues. The Army is good at trying to solve issues at the lowest level possible for all problems. This is good and bad in that sometimes this way of thinking prevents help from unexpected places that could assist in resolving the faster and better. The entire leadership for the Army expends a lot of effort, she said, in talking to NCOs about being more reactive and getting them back in the barracks.
"I think Soldiers have a higher expectation of what we do now," she added. "They are performing at high levels – they're deploying, going to war, they're returning and their seeing how well one installation may address their returning Warriors and then they experience something less than that." There has been a lot of discussion at the senior, Army-level leadership on how to make this more uniform, she continued.
Part of the problems, and I tend to agree, are that Soldiers are not going through the normal complaint procedures. It's too easy to go ahead and put a video on YouTube or contact one's Congressman or local media about major issues. The other part is that Soldiers don't have faith in this system for a reason – leaders turn a blind eye. As leaders, it should be our responsibility to make life on the Soldier outside of military duties as comfortable as possible. The Lord knows that everything else about military service is full of pain, agony, discomfort, stress, and fatigue. The least we can do is ease that burden while they are "home". Besides going through leadership channels, there is also the IG process that Soldiers should utilize if they think their leaders are failing them. I have had nothing but positive results from IGs. They haven't always gone the way I would have wanted, but they explained the reality each time and I understand the rationale. The implied task is that leaders should empower Soldiers and make them aware of that process so they also know when and how to use it.
I brought my frustration that, while the majority of barracks on Army installations these days is top notch and hundreds of times better than what I had as a private, it's the returning Soldiers that are getting shafted by being forced into substandard barracks until the current occupants of their permanent quarters are moved.
The Sergeant Major of the Army made this very clear on Monday to senior NCOs at the installation level: "We want to do what's right by every Soldier. But, clearly, we want to do better by Soldiers that are returning from war."
A few things to take away from this issue:
The Army is reacting to this specific issue and being proactive to ensure it doesn't happen elsewhere. 99% of the time, we take care of our own. Every now and then, we fail. The majority of barracks are nice. Soldiers largely have rooms of their own these days and don't have to share with anyone. There are some exceptions. With that said, part of me thinks that the Army would NEVER allow an officer, regardless of pay grade or rank, to live in these conditions. That is why NCOs must take the lead in preventing their troops from ever having to live like this again.
This is an extremely embarrassing event for the Army and frankly, I think the leadership was trying to sugarcoat the reality of what we're seeing. But, they are acting to fix it!! Keep in mind as well, that there is nothing wrong with peeling paint. It's ugly and unsightly, but it's not a hazard so long as it isn't lead-based. The people that had to largely bear the burden of getting these barracks up to standard? The Soldiers that returned from combat!
The major failure lies with the previous Reserve unit that was occupying the barracks prior to the 82nd unit returning from combat. They had no respect for their fellow brothers in arms and treated the barracks like their personal shoothouse.
I risk a lot being this honest as an active duty Soldier, but I'm not breaking any rules and stand by my words. NCOs need to get off their asses and take an interest in their Soldiers' lives. If they can't do that, they need to get out of my Army. I have no use for them. A Sergeant is not just a promotion and extra money. It's responsibility and forward thinking!! I'm glad the leadership is addressing this issue directly, but they need to realize that they have a lot of catching up to do (when I say leadership, NCOs, I'm talking to you too!). The worst thing they can is try to white wash this problem – especially to a group of active, retired, and former military bloggers!!
It was refreshing to hear BG Roger and CSM Strickland take the responsibility for this. It is their ultimate responsibility, but the failings happened well below them at the installation and rear detachment level. I sure hope some OERs and NCOERs accurately reflect what happened at Fort Bragg. I hope that Officers and NCOs have been officially reprimanded and relieved of command or responsibility where necessary. We can move past this and learn from it, but I'm a bit skeptical. You'd think we had already learned something after the Walter Reed issue. NCOs, take heed! Wake up now! Do your jobs or the officers are going to do it for us. Where do we stand then?
Also blogging:
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This is not a new issue- I have deployed and redeployed through those same barracks twice since 2002- once to A'stan and once to Iraq. Soldiers filed complaints and the post turned a blind eye. Reservist have been forced to use these barracks. The answer lies in the army renting a hotel off base to put Soldiers in while they are training.
When I was there, I told my solders to not sweep the floors- the airborne contaminated dust was more dangerous than the dirty floor.
CJ, we've already discussed this in email.
Here's my question to the General:
Is leaving single soldiers at the mercy of military barracks housing (and for most single soldiers there IS no other option) and at the mercy of living in THOSE kinds of conditions a failure of leadership or just one of those "hey, they're soldiers, they should embrace the suck" kind of things? The CA officer in the comment above says it's been like that for a while (at least several years). The father in the video says that the guys who lived there were told NEW BARRACKS were being built. If no contract or construction was started, is this "surprise" one month early return really a justified excuse after 14 months of deployment? Were they not expecting at least SOME of the soldiers to return to Bragg EVENTUALLY?? How is this any different than the WRAMC scandal? Other than the guys in DC were injured, there IS no difference in my mind, so how do you expect the command above you to handle this situation and correcting the blind eye problem?
Ok, ummm, that was more than one question. I'm freakin' livid, CJ, as I said privately. This is bullsh*t and I call it as such.
Oh, and I KNOW it's not just at Ft. Bragg. I can't believe other bases didn't catch on that a video camera and a pissed parent and youtube can blow stuff wide open after the Walter Reed thing. *sigh*
This wouldn't have happened under Sgt. Hartman's watch.
Great post, CJ. One point…you explain that soldiers aren't going through the proper complaint channels. Are you telling me that in the hundreds of troops that have lived in those barracks since at minimum 2002, not a SINLGE ONE did it the right way? Cuz that seems a bit preposterous. But it is NOT a parent's responsibility to follow chain of command stuff…it is to care for his or her child and if I was a parent welcoming home my son from a 14 or 15 months in a brutal war zone (and I know the 82nd has been freakin' hammered), I would be pissed beyond belief to find those living conditions (and I'd embarrass the Army too cuz they SHOULD be embarrassed over this!!). And guess what….most likely, those tired, worn out/combat fatigued soldiers are gonna be handed paint scrapers and told to get to work. Yeah, that's a nice welcome home. And they DARE NOT complain because the spotlight is on them now and it will all be "above board," right? They will be ordered to keep their mouths shut and get the sh*t squared away.
I'm very dubious of all of this. I can't believe the short sightedness of any of the command at Ft. Bragg that didn't see this coming after what happened at WRAMC. Blinders on. And again…bullsh*t.
The good thing that came out of this is that the person responsible admited his faults, not like what most others will do. Most people in charge will just say that they are being too "complacent" (to know what I am talking about google "terrorist escape in Singapore" and my goverment's response).
Good post, I like how you laid the most of the blame for this on the NCO shoulders. Where it BELONGS!
Back when I was a soldier (94-99) all of my permanent party at Ft Stewart (bldg's 600, 700, 800(as they were remodeled and upgraded.)) About once a month the CO would do a 'Pay Day Inspection' and every few weeks my NCOs would do a walkthrough. And let me tell you, it was not a happy day when the NCOs or CO were not happy with how we keep the 3man rooms (damn T shaped things.) Granted we did not have to have the floor highly shined or our racks made with the OD Green blankets or anything like that. But the wall lockers better close correctly, the floor better be sweep/mopped often enough to be clean and dust free, and that bathroom better pass a white glove check. The Common Area better be orderly.
I just don%u2019t see how the ENTIRE NCO chain failed these soldiers since 2002. How did nothing get reported via the IG, BOSS Line, CO? Why did the soldiers not report this to the CO, or the Brigade CO, or hell the POST CG!
If these complaints were made and ignored then there is another problem and that still falls on to the NCOs. I don%u2019t see how they could sleep at night knowing that the lower enlisted (E1-4) are living in that sort of hell-hole. How were these items not brought up at NCO-Recalls, and if they are not having NCO-Recalls why not? I did not know of a single NCO that I served under that would allow this sort of thing to go on.
I do recall one time when the AC unit in my room (shared with 2 other soldiers) started leaking water, it took 2 weeks to get fixed, but Housing was working on the issue (needed to order a new part. But my NCO chain all the way up to 1SG were calling them every few days for a follow up, as was I(PV2 at that time) and they quickly capped the system so that it stopped leaking and DPW even helped clean up the mess. I was blow away with how much help and support my NCO chain gave me and my other soldiers. Hopefully this is just like the WRAMC issue and it has been blow out of proportion.
I am also glad that the upper leadership is taking responsibility for this issue. And I hope that they are able to resolve the problems that lead to this result.
CJ, I'm reading the AP article on this and I don't know if you can verify what was quoted with your contacts, but it says, "He said the problems in that building have been fixed and that a final paint job is in the works. It is one of 24 barracks at Fort Bragg that were built in the 1950s and are scheduled for demolition by 2013. The barracks singled out by Frawley had been remodeled in April 2006, Rogers said." (emphasis mine)
Does that sound right in comparison to what the video showed? Was it remodeled but not repaired? The paint peeling off the pipes…that was just layered and layered…if you've ever painted, you know what I'm talking about. *sigh* I'm frustrated at this story.
Here's the article.
What a surprise to the BG eh. I bet he had to cancel his "T-off time" He hates when that happens.
I too have a son at Bragg. The only surprise here is that the General pretends to be surprised. He must have made a career of not walking through barracks and ignoring soldiers.
I scanned the official response, I bet the only real changes made here is: I am sure BG Denny Rogers will fix this ASAP. First, he will make Ed Frawley%u2019s son sorry he ever let his dad in the barracks. Second, he will enact an order outlawing video cameras in barracks as some kinda operational security issue. Third, he will claim that the problem is fixed .. but it won%u2019t be.
Hoorah General R.O.A.D.
Way to go, CA! You've known about this problem for how many years and your only answer was to tell the soldiers not to sweep? Ever hear of a wet mop? Picks up dirt without causing dust clouds.
You knew about this, you knew it didn't get fixed, you knew about this again, you knew it didn't get fixed.
Maybe you're part of the problem.
How's this for a root cause in limited barracks space: the contractors take their sweet-assed time to build the barracks. In the last two years, I've seen civilian builders working here on the university put up brand new "suites" that could easily house a brigade's worth of enlisted. They are VERY nice. I'll bet they're being paid less than the guys working on Bragg, and there are bonuses for finishing ahead of schedule, and penalties for finishing behind schedule. Anyone know what happens when a contractor goes over estimate on time or budget–the Army extends their contract, and they work on "insha allah" time.
The young man's father had every right to be pissed off, and dad's chain of command is dad… congress/youtube. Good on him for shining the light, it's the best disinfectant.
–Chuck
It sounds like things are moving in the right direction – at least for some. There is no mention of another issue coming from this whole ordeal. My son is station at Fort Bragg – lived until Tuesday in a decent barracks. Tues morning he and other married Soldiers were given 2 hours to find another place to live as Soldiers from the "condemned" barracks were being moved to other barracks. Apparently there are not enough rooms. Two hours notice to leave, he had to put his personal belongings in storage and find a motel – paying with his own money! Eventually the housing money will reimburse him and the other married Soldiers. I find this outrageous, at least the Army could have picked up the tab for the motels. I hope this comes to "light" as well, I know I am writing to my Senators to correct this outrageous situation.
Kudos to the Dad, I do have concern his son will pay a price. This isn't the NCO's fault, the buildings are old and discussion but not action has been going on for years. It is the top brass's fault. Buildings go up here in town in a matter of weeks complete start to finish, no excuse whatsoever for these guys to come home and live in such filth and dysfunction. The military DOES NOT take care of it's own.
The reason your married son had to un-ass the barracks is because married soldiers are NOT ALLOWED to live in the barracks. They are paid BAH, which is a non-taxable housing allowance. The reason there isn't enough room in the barracks is because someone wasn't doing their job, and was letting married soldiers live in the barracks.
Even if separated from their spouse, because they draw BAH, the regs are very clear on this. Unless the soldier is mobilized or deployed, married in the barracks is a non-starter.
Hate to tell you Chuck but you're WRONG on married soldiers not being allowed to stay in barrack's. It depends on where they're stationed, say oversea's like we are, when the married soldier is waiting for housing and waiting for his family and there is ROOM, he has a right to have a room in the barrack's.
As for what has happened, if there's been an issue since 2002, this is above and beyond the NCO's, this is up into the brass's failure to take care of the soldiers, once again. Keep blaming the guys who are time and time again fighting for their soldiers but keep getting doors slammed in their faces. The realities is that many of the NCO's at one point in their career lived in barrack's, while the brass even if they did live in barrack's always had the best given to them.
It's good to hear that this is being addressed.
Here's another point of view.
In the Navy, the Executive Officer inspects berthing (barracks) every day. Yes, everyone up and down the chain is responsible but requiring the number 2 person in the command to put eyeballs on the living conditions (daily) of the most junior sailors (troops) ensures that this doesn't happen.
Also in the Navy, we assign like units to take care of all the details for returning units. A stateside unit (battallion for battalion) should have been assigned and held accountable to ensure details like an abandoned (for 15 months) barracks building was up to speed prior to the deployers return.
Something like peeling paint for a returning unit is not "a little thing." All these items could have been addressed given the right leadership (read: doesn't cost a lot of $$). Just about anyone could have picked up a paint brush. How about a welcome home sign?
A few interesting perspectives:
- Have the barracks being intentionally unmaintained as part of military experience? I mean, did the boot camp been set up like a sewer as part of hazing ritual to toughen up soldier? After all, military has been known for using unconventional tactics to train soldiers by putting them in inhumane conditions.
- When the Army has 'done a lot in the last two weeks to fix up the barracks' after the video leak, does that include punishment against those who are responsible for leaking the video footage? After all, the videographer are technically filming classified information and leaking military secret to the general public, and that can be interpreted as treason.
while it's true that there are still a lot of barracks in poor condition; it's not the root of the problem.
There are several factors involved in this issue and "throwing tax dollars at the problem" is not going to solve the problem by it's self.
The Army has failed to learn from the other services that have programs that work. Instead they continue to be hard headed and try an re-invent the wheel!
If the Airforce and Navy have programs that work and have for many years, why create new software and procedures when there are already ones in place that work (available to any DOD service to copy / share.
The Army is being re-active instead of pro-active! There is no doubt in my mind that the Army will still have problems and be in the news for the next 20 years (concerning barracks and quality of life). They just refuse to change. sure they have a lot of news about change and new programs, but management can not correct the problem with correcting the source of the problem, which is the soildier failing to take care of what they have!
More import is the fact that soldiers are not held accountable for standards. Even the ones that have been given new and wonderful quarters have destoryed them!
Keep in mind the the average age of soldiers living in the barracks is about 22 years old!
These young men and women are the best soldiers that our nation has ever seen! they learn quicker and have stronger skill sets. At the same time they do not a basic life skills! Meaning that they do not have the motovation to clean-up after themselves! They wait till very piece of clothing they own is dirty before doing the wash! The showrs they use would make you sick!
Unless we give our military folks laundry service and room service (hire maids), or unless the military gets tough! This will never change.
So why doesn't the military address this issue? Retention! The Army leadership feels it has to have it units (men) confoned to quarters on-base and living in bulidings that are 200% occupied per DOD standards (90sf per man for E4 and below, and 135SF for E-5).
Next time you see something on video, ask yourself, if this was management failing to provide quality quarters or soldiers tearing-up what was provided to them!
For the Army to say that it's doing something is shameful! Why? first of all the idea of unit integerity needs to go away now! I'ts actually better for soldiers to interact and live with soldiers from ither units. this issue in it's-self it the main cause for the barracks being crowed and also for othe bulidings to be hardly occupied!
Make the chain of command spend a week in these barracks two to a room! Let them see how the troops act after hours. Many of them have never been in the barracks! Those that have can count the number of times on two hands! the chain of command must be active in the barracks areas (common areas). This includes after hours duty sections and duty officers.
We have not seen the last of this problem! It's time to take action on the few that are tearing-up the facilities! At the same time stop the over crowding of barracks now! Comply with DOD standards now! Even if you have to pay BAH to all of the senior E-3 and E-4 soldiers! 2013 will be here soon! The Army will not be ready, there is no way that they will meet DOD standards even by 2020!
Sorry I had a few typing errors! I'm an old-timer with limited skill sets, but I do support our troops and while my comments will mke both sides angry, many will know they are mostly true!
Thanks and God Bless all of our troops and the job they are doing!