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Poor conditions at Bragg barracks exposed

RALEIGH, N.C. — A video shot by the father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier that shows poor conditions such as mold in a barracks at Fort Bragg caught the attention Friday of a U.S. senator and high-ranking Army officials.

Ed Frawley, a dog breeder from Menomonie, Wis., posted the narrated video on YouTube.com on Tuesday after traveling to North Carolina to welcome his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, home from a 15-month tour in Afghanistan.

The video shows peeling paint, mold, a bathroom drain plugged with what appears to be sewage and a broken room door lock, conditions that Frawley described as disgusting and embarrassing.

“The instant you walk through the front door, you know you are in a building that should be condemned,” he said.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., said she contacted the Army secretary after learning of the barracks’ condition. “Our service members deserve safe, clean housing,” she said. “If this video posting accurately portrays living conditions for our soldiers, this is wholly unacceptable and it must be immediately corrected.”

Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., whose district includes Fort Bragg, agreed.

“Although the military continues to be stretched thin during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no excuse for substandard housing for our soldiers,” Etheridge said.

Maj. Tom Earnhardt, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne, said the conditions are “appalling and unacceptable,” but said the post must use the buildings that the Army provides.

One problem was that maintenance and repairs weren’t complete because the soldiers in C Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, came home three weeks ahead of schedule, he said. The barracks had been empty, except for brief periods, since the company left Fort Bragg.

The Army hosted a tour of the barracks for the news media. Many of the buildings used by the division were built in the 1950s, but are being replaced. About 40 of the old buildings remain, and all single paratroopers are scheduled to be in new buildings by 2012.

Watch:

Ed Frawley’s YouTube.com video

Related reading:

Army-wide barracks inspection ordered

DISCUSS: Are you surprised?

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Let us know

Do you know of barracks or other soldiers’ facilities that are in bad shape — dirty, moldy or falling apart? Tell us about it. Send a message, with the word “barracks” in the message line, to armylet@atpco.com.