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Jackson barracks undergoing $1B in upgrades

FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Depending where you look, Fort Jackson’s barracks are crumbling and out of date, or spit-shined and ready for the next generation of Army recruits.

The Army’s largest training base, which sees about 50,000 soldiers a year, is three years into an eight-year, nearly $1 billion plan to upgrade quarters. The projects range from completely gutting 50-year-old “rolling pin” style barracks to building two more modern centers that will go with one the base opened three years ago.

Military facilities around the country have opened barracks to public scrutiny since a video last month on YouTube.com showed images of peeling paint, mold and shoddy conditions at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Fort Jackson opened its doors to media outlets because people “wanted to know how we’re taking care of their sons and daughters,” said Pat Jones, the base’s deputy public affairs officer.

Brig. Gen. James Schwitters, Fort Jackson’s commanding officer, stood last week in aging bathrooms and shower stalls in one Fort Jackson’s oldest barracks — one that houses as many as 240 soldiers at a time yet was built to accommodate only half that much. Paint flaked off shower walls and mold spots clung to the ceilings. Metal ledges for holding razors and toothbrushes were bent and dented.

“This is where we have to work the hardest to stay ahead,” Schwitters said.

In eight-person bedrooms, metal lockers show dents and the floor is scuffed and splotched after decades of troop movement.

An hour later, Schwitters walked proudly through one of the post’s most modern barracks, which houses a battalion of 1,200 soldiers. The bathroom features modern shower spouts and stylish countertops with splash guards behind the faucets.

Schwitters said he hopes to add two such buildings when the base’s housing upgrades are done. For now, he says the base’s military quarters are “spartan” but adequate.

Pipes back up and ceilings drip, but they get fixed, the general said.

Close to the fort’s main entrance, construction crews are working on five aging, 1950s-era barracks. They’ve been gutted and plans called for reconfiguring the building into sleeping areas that each accommodate about 55 recruits. New plumbing, heating and air, and electrical systems are in the works.

“I’m satisfied with the progress,” Schwitters said. “But we can’t let up.”

Several late 1970s-early 1980s-era barracks also will be redone as part of the improvements.

Col. Lillian Dixon, the base’s garrison commander, said barracks are harder to keep up than a home because there’s usually someone using military housing around the clock. Over time, “there’s got to be some love put on them,” she said.

Related reading:

• Knox working to improve housing conditions

• Lawmakers push for barracks hearing

• Poor conditions at Bragg barracks exposed