Army Shamed By Shoddy Barracks (CBS News)

[guitarhamster102]

I'm going to Bragg for AIT. I'm glad they fixed the place up for those guys.

[jondstewart]

This is the reality of Army life in training. I was Air Force for over 20 years, but deployed with the Army to Afghanistan for a year and first got training at Bragg. Those barracks should have been torn down 40 years ago. Me and about 25 other people were crammed into an old asbestos building. As for Bragg and Fayetteville, the place is a cesspool of pawn shops, strip clubs, rampant crime, rude people, and just generally a bunch of sleaziness and uneducated stupidity. The norm for an Army town

[firepower01]

That sure as hell isn't anything to... BRAGG ABOUT

[lilrichie582]

typical army action is done only when the shitty living conditions make it to the press

[MrMegaWolfeman]

Fuck man, thats bad, I was in the Canadian Forces and understand this, our military put us in a barracks that was actually condemned, and paid a fine to keep us there, everyone in our platoon got sick, I got probably the least out of anyone which was a sinus infection, ear infection, and a chest cold. Other guys got weird rashes, and shit that the base doc didnt know what it was. Fuckin rediculous

[sweed762]

@MrMegaWolfeman i remember the c.f.b. gagetown barracks way back in the 80's-90's,we would sleep outside & far up wind of the shit house-new york city zoo animals had better accomadations

[thecolaratlady]

@MrMegaWolfeman yup black mold, asbestos are toxic, throwing a coat of paint over it doesnt solve the problem. the military ppl i knew over the yrs said they preffered offbase housing, when i asked them why, they said it's like you never leave work.I really hope they remedied every thing over the yrs since this was posted.

[ditdatdot]

this is fucking disgracful. I'm a british royal marine and i do admitt we live in fine barracks but i served with you yanks during every war that has been in the last 20 years and i met some very genuine U.S soldiers and made friends for life. this sickens me to think of U.S soldiers watching their friends die in the line of duty only to return back home to this!!! someone please tell me is it better now????

[anthoniokl]

@ditdatdot to an extent.the army is trying to fix this problem but its one that will take time due to the extent of them waiting so long.time that the soldier will have to endure.lack of barracks space is forcing them to put 3 soldiers to a one man space on some posts.check out a video on 82nd inf in ft lewis barracks youll see what im talking about.on my instalation they are condemming a lot of the barracks and renovating them.which means throwing a coat of paint over black mold that grows back

[ditdatdot]

@anthoniokl oh well. good barracks or bad barracks, it doesnt stop the yanks from doing a brilliant job over in Afghan.

[marcusos1111]

its funny how they have to be exposed before they act. i wonder what other shit they hidee!!??

[PushyLittleKid]

It sure is easy for commanders to do something when they have congressmen crawling up their ass. Otherwise they rarely give a fuck enough to get boots on the ground and INSPECT the living conditions of their troops. I am so embarrassed. This is the 82nd AIRBORNE!

[PushyLittleKid]

The post command should be court-martialed for dereliction of duty.

[FalloutRadius]

Wow. I don't even know the guy and I'm proud of that father.

[t10bravo]

I did not know Katie Curric the communist was so concerned about military combat fighting men. Must be nice to be a chickenshit liberal reporter who never served.

[stetson278]

I lived in those barracks in 1977-78. We thought we were uptown because before that we had the wooden wwII style with open bays and no a/c. But, both buildings were clean and painted because we took care of it. In preparation for dsployment C co.2/508 probably had other priorities but I'm sure they'll get their house in order now that their back. All the way sir

[holmesd5003]

thats the great thing about the internet...now government has to watch everything they do...

[cammmodotorg]

Help educate young people considering service in the U.S. military about the misleading marketing, advertising and recruiting strategies of the U.S. military- by joining and supporting the website that is the same as our user name.

[Desperadounico]

I was at Ft. Benning in 2003, as far as BCT it'll be good but if you decide to go to aiborne school expect to walk into a nuclear wasteland and that's an understatement.

[oak71]

I hope Fort Benning isn't like that. I start BCT this week. Yikes!

[housemaster24]

At least we know those folks living in Guantanamo Bay don't have to live in those conditions.

[dwmontini]

OR, somebody call Servpro...how about "Extreme Makeover"....this is total bullshit...

[dwmontini]

Simple Fix.....5 megaton airburst..

[yoshi508thPIR]

you know whats funny. I lived in these old barracks. they were not fixable. the sad thing is these were not even the worst ones. I got assigned a room that had black mold from the floor to the ceiling. and even now 1 year our barracks are still not done. and after we moved out of these barracks they move another unit in to them

[eric1112]

dude im sorry but some of you bug me and im not saying thos condtions are right but do understand what goes on at fort brag they house some of the best of the best 82nd airborne delta and i belive green berrets like thos condtions wherent cool for heros but i didnt actually here any of the m bitching i mean they have been in way way way worse like i said there some of the best in the world they go to nasty places but im just the only one that was complaining was the father

[soldier716]

the condition of B and C quads at schofield barracks in 2005 were TERRIBLE. i'd say worse than this, but this video doesn't give a walkthrough of the barracks. you can smell the mold the second you step inside, the air conditioners were blocked by giant mold clots and there were giant rats and cockroaches that infested the barracks. thankfully they're slowly renovating the quads... but not fast enough

[fukkyyu]

mold aint no joke

[EdHardyKid15]

WAS MAD AS HELL LMAO

[SICreation]

haha, just like korea's barracks

[sangmouass]

thats the army leadership for ya, they leave the soldiers out in the cold....

[jasonmcallister]

I bet convicted criminals have better living conditions. There should be a "breach of contract" clause for enlisted members forced to live in those conditions. Sometimes the Army is pretty stupid. When I joined I didn't receive a paycheck for the first 4 months because someone had mistyped my SSN into the computer. Chain of Command did nothing until I spoke with a two star's assistant. There is simply no excuse for that chain of command to allow those living conditions to be so poor.

[zkade1788]

y dont u quit fuckn bitchn fags

[darrenandmichelle006]

But the fucking point stewartx5 is, why should they have to come back to fix these fucking problems? You are right and it is their home. But the army spend millions of dollars and the uk in a fight thats not even fucking ours and they can't afford to put these problems right, that is until someone goes to the press.

I am in the British Army at 3 PARA and we dont expect to go back to conditions as poor as that.

Thats my point put accross and i dont wish to offend anyone.

D

[Frankb18]

because the army fuck up now marines have to deal with this sht they got ppl comin over to marine barracks why the f do we have to deal with this sht when the army or navy f things up

[shortmunkybeast]

so we have no ac and its fort hood tx. its freaking hot.

[Jay9928]

I know how it is... I was in 1/5 Cav 95-96

[Splitclaw]

I love it when they have to put some fire under their behinds to make things happen gotta love the media lol.

[Henneseysmooth]

Stewartx5,

Yes, as you have stated...past military members and like those doctrines (training/focus) practiced in the past, they are not practiced now. A soldier's time should be kept "mostly" on being a soldier first (combat readiness), not how white glove inspection ready his barracks are or how tight he can fold a bed sheet. Now should a barracks be kept clean...sure, no disagreement there, but to point where a major overhaul has to take place, no...that's where our tax dollars come in at.

[greatdagan]

What the hell makes a soldier an instant hero? Seriously? Because he's an American Soldier???? If all you have to do is be a soldier to be a hero then the Iraqi's have a squadron of heroes too right? He's not a hero he's a whiny little bitch. A little mold, rust and some peeling paint? There's worse conditions at my local swimming pool. It's the Army not the Hilton. If you don't like it don't sign up. If you want to be pissed be pissed that your kid has to keep being Deployed.

[jumpcherry]

I had to reply to this one. A hero is who you call a hero. Why take that away from anyone. If you called your father or your mother a hero I would not rebuke you, even though all they probably did was to work 2 meaningless jobs to put food on your table, that is fine with me. Volunteering during a time of war knowing that you are going to spend countless days and nights away from everything you have ever loved an known, perhaps never coming back is not easy. There are easier ways to live...

[Henneseysmooth]

I'am completely awed by some of the comments made about what this heroic American (just so happens to be a Father of a fellow service member) has done. The men and women in uniform are indeed, and should be treated like the countries "First Citizens". Which also means they should receive the best of EVERYTHING...especially if they are going to commit to protecting some of your lazy, do-nothing asses who have posted here.

[stewartx5]

In case you haven't noticed, Henneseysmooth, the most outspoken critics here are past military members like myself. And our criticisms focus on how soldiers allowed those building to get in that condition in the first place and why these soldiers are doing nothing to improve the situation. Again, soldiers have been cleaning and maintaining barracks, in wartime and peacetime, since this country started. I see no reason why these particular soldiers should be the exception.

[jumpcherry]

Perhaps you failed to notice that the soldiers that came home to these barracks were in afghanistan for the last 15 months before coming home to this filth. Should they rotate infantry soldiers home during deployment to upkeep the barracks? Or perhaps we should let the fighters fight and come home as the heroes they are to decent living quarters? Just a thought

[stewartx5]

And perhaps you failed to notice, jumpcherry, the Army was already building these soldiers brand new barracks, not yet ready when these soldiers rotated back from Afghanistan ahead of schedule. In the meantime, these soldiers, as said several times, could have performed the maintenance necessary to make these barracks liveable for the few short months they'll be there. These several hundred persons, working together, could have accomplished that task in only a few days.

[jumpcherry]

While I was a medic living in those exact same barracks before and after our deployment to Iraq in 2004, I never once went to pipefitting school nor was certified in black mold inspection or removal. I never apprenticed as a plumber or a carpenter. You can clearly see how we remedied the open gas pipes, stuffing rags in them. I am sure if OSHA or the EPA were to happen upon a civilian job site like this it would be shut down and fined for the numerous environmental and safety violations.

[jumpcherry]

Take a stroll down ardennes st and you can see how much construction is going on. With all of that construction and millions of dollars being used by hundreds of contractors you would think that they could send over a couple guys to actually fix these major problems. These barracks have been shitholes from the time we moved in 4 years ago and I am sure that they were not much prettier before that. It is a blatant mismanagment of resources and an oversight that will finally be fixed.

[stewartx5]

I didn't see "major problems," jumpcherry. Looking at the video, I see a stairs needing paint, walls needing scrapped & painted, a missing water fountain, a broken toilet seat, stopped up drains, a dirty shower, bathroom mold, and so on.

In other words, nothing the average homeowner couldn't or wouldn't fix themselves. Even the missing water fountain requires no more skills than replacing a broken washing machine (a water hookup, a drain hose, and plugging it in).

[Crazyman1212]

for men who put there life on the line in afgan and iraq and you see nothing wrong, give your head a shake you fucking retard. the average home owner does not live in those condition, crack heads and lazy lifetime welfare fucks live in those conditions because they could careless. maybe the assholes in washington should take a look at how we treat our soilders living quaters in canada and try to do the same. by the way clown, those so called simple house hold fix ups are extreme health hazards.

[blahblahoww123]

@Crazyman1212 though i agree with your frustrations, please refrain from using the word "retard" as an insult.

[stewartx5]

Soldiers in the past, with no more home repair skills than soldiers today, once routinely did those tasks (during wartime and peacetime). Therefore, I see absolutely no reason why soldiers today cannot do the same.

[fenderbender1951]

Fuck soldiers. If you don't want to live like a barbarian then don't invade other countries like a barbarian. Your government isn't going to take care of your dumbass for you.

[t43p54]

fenderbender

if you where born in this country,and feel this way,why NOT MOVE TO THE MIDDLE EAST?

[wonk22]

BooHoo! Get over it! Parents can't always be there to wipe their sons' noses. This is the Army not the Air Force; these are Barracks not Condos. What are they doing in their spare time? The First Shirt needs to start kickin some butt to get 'em to work painting and repairing the tiles, hooking up new drinking fountains and restoring the barracks to standards. Let your son be a man and take care of his own problems.

[t43p54]

wonk

how old are you please tell us?

what are they doing did you watch the video?

they are back to the country and people,they just spent 15 months risking their lives so asshole's like you can sit save and post shit like this?

wake up.

[greatdagan]

Amen!

[tomharla]

Are you people insane. Soldiers are supposed to be training, not rebuilding an entire complex. I could see painting, but you need special equipment and training to get rid of lead based paint. People joined the Army to protect our country, now its time the richest government in the world protects are soldiers. Ridiculous

[fenderbender1951]

when has the federal government ever given half a shit about anyone?

[stewartx5]

So what are these guys doing all day and night? Back when I was in the military (not that long ago), we were expected to maintain the barracks (in addition to our regular duties). That included sanding, scraping, painting, minor or not-so-minor repairs, and general cleanliness. And if that required work "after hours," than after hours work it was. Have to do same for a home, so why not barracks? These guys, on the other hand, seem to be waiting for the butler and maids to do it.

[jeffnielsen]

What where they doin all day and night?....well they were in the middle east for over a year and a half! the military has changed, just like time has. Im in the Marine Corps, and if i cam back from Iraq and my barracks were in that condition...i would be the last person to clean or repair such filt and disgust.

[stewartx5]

We fought wars too, you know, jeffnielsen. And if this is an example of how today's soldiers maintain their quarters, the military has changed. Even civilians maintain their own homes, painting, cleaning, and so on. The barracks is these soldiers home, at least while there, so they should expect to do similar work. If the previous soldiers had done so, this barracks would not be in the condition it's in. And, if these soldiers continued, it would not be in that condition for the next.

[t43p54]

i really cannot believe so many stupid post.

what war did you fight,tell us? an also tell us why they should come back and even have to do anything but get some r&r ?

[stewartx5]

I'm not going to get into a personal tit for tat dispute with you, t43p54. And my military experience in none of your business. The fact remains that soldiers have been cleaning and maintaining military barracks, in wartime and peacetime, since this country started over two centuries ago. I've done it and so have many, many, others. Therefore, why should these soldiers, or any other soldier today, be the privileged exceptions? Beyond pure laziness, of course.

[stewartx5]

I'm not going to get into a personal tit for tat dispute with you, t43p54. And my military experience in none of your business. The fact remains that soldiers have been cleaning and maintaining military barracks, in wartime and peacetime, since this country started over two centuries ago. I've done it and so have many, many, others. Therefore, why should these soldiers, or any other soldier today, be the privileged exceptions? Beyond pure laziness, of course.

[t43p54]

cudo's to you,and thank you for what you done FOR ME AND MY FAMIL,AND COUNTRY.

BLESS YOU AND YOURS.

[joshcereal]

wow sad things is we got better acomidations in basic training and ait than what these guys had thats really shitty

[qunniq]

thats funny cause in the marines shittiest american side station of 29 palms they at least put us in new barrecks when we got home

[LTFight]

Yep..I live in the barracks at Fort Bragg and they are just as bad as the one featured here. Among other things we have a mop next to the toilet so that we can clean up the "water" that leaks out of the toilets' base before we can use it. Also my roommate and I have only two electricity outlets that work. Awesome!

[t43p54]

ltfight

thank you and your buddys for your service to this country.

[flippinfraggle]

That's not true! They amy have been on site for that aprticular barrack, but if you go across the street to my hubby's bff's room it's still EXACTLY the same. They just had him PAINT over everything!!!!!

[babywhitetiger143]

Yes it may take time to replace the barracks but is it worth a life to make the live in these conditions. My sister Patty was in the navy and got sick and died after being ordered to clean up sewage backup in her room that sat for ten days.

[volarmy]

During Viet Nam heard the phrase that Fort MCoy was better than those individual have it in Nam. 15 years later at McCoy and it the same. I rember VOLAR and all the new barracks and living conditions we were all going to hve. Still WAITING 30 years later.

[MacDizzleABN]

Dude they have been replacing those old barracks one at a time. They aren't fucking free, and I goddamn guarantee that old man will shut his yap if they ask him to pay more taxes to construct them.

[davenhillary]

thank you macdizzle! did these idiots on the news not drive around Bragg? you can't drive more than 5 minutes in any one direction without running into BRAND NEW barracks. They don't just appear out of thin air. They take a long ass time to be built. The Army has known about this problem for a while and they are trying to fix it. Google Ed Frawley. He's a business man who's just trying to get his name out there in the public eye so people will notice him and buy his shit.

[csmith624]

Your logic is flawed. In fact, it's downright idiotic. You are perfect for the Army because your a complete moron.

As if anyone would have to pay more taxes to have better barracks. Riiiight.....And the Air Force lives in great barracks why????

Get a life.

[MacDizzleABN]

The air force doesn't field 750,000 personel

[csmith624]

Still no excuse---

It's an all volunteer Army. The young men and women joining the military have a right to good housing while they are not deployed.

The Army has the budget to swing it. It's just a matter of the Department of the Army placing priority on the allocation of funds.

Thus, a video like this should cause the DOD to allocate the funds.

Who would want to join an Army who treats people like this anyway? What a great way to recruit for an all volunteer Army.

[AbuBakerSmith]

Let me tell you the Senior Officers have known about these Barracks unacceptable condition for years (plural). Yes some new barracks were built, some remodeled. The reason that the have not done more is the Money had to be spent on more important things, the "O"club remodel, the "O" Pool and things for the Officers Wives Club. What you fail to realize is that every $ spent on "enlisted" is a $ you don't have for "Officers" Benefits. That right there is the problem, absolutely guarantee it.

[CCM104]

Hey b0rk3d your asshole comment shows you clearly don't give two shits about the living conditions of our military. How can you compare public restrooms to soldier's living quarters? What are you trying to say?

Did you ever serve?

[doublewideslim]

*sigh* My hubs was placed in the "black barracks" at Camp Shelby.. Remnants of the segregation days back in the 40's and 50's..

It made me cry when I saw them, windows that were duct-taped shut, black modly fuzz on the walls. All he said was, "At least we don't have to sleep in the mud."

[brokenrob1]

i lived in this building or one of the ones next to it. it was like this in the summer of 2007 and had been for over a year. the black mold makes every new soldier sick for a few weeks and the flooding happens every day. hope we get to live in a different building when we get back from iraq in a few months but there isn't alot of palces to put us. the new barracks are taking forever to build. my room now is nice it's just in iraq.

[BradleyF81]

I know what you mean. I was in Kuwait last year and my barracks there was way better than that, even if it was open bay.

[AbuBakerSmith]

It was like that in 2006 too, they condemmed it back then, They have known it was a health hazard for years but the "O"Club and "O" Pool and stuff like that needed to be blinged out, taking care of the Officers and the Officers Wives is more importe=ant than life itself/

[wotan20]

It's good that neither the authorities, nor their usually lying media could ignore the outrage any further, what these soldiers had to endure previously in silence. The father is a hero in the old fashioned American way and 'YT' could be proud for its role also.

[fireontheside]

If "their" implies that the authorities own the media, you should do a little homework.

[wotan20]

'fireontheside' we can all do a little bit of homework, including those who emanate superficial statements without any reason or explanation.

The authorities, may not own the media directly, but huge corporations do, who also control the government. You may debate me if you wish so, but I need more substance to chew on. ☺ (so to speak).

[stupidstupidpunk]

you mean weed?

[wotan20]

No. I meant in an abstract way.

For example; talk over substantial matters, as oppose to superficial ones.

BTW Does anyone chew on weeds?

[Crazyman1212]

you mean marijuana, if so your just wasting it. you can chew on the stems and get a slight numbness in your mouth.

[Lissxxv888]

Just another case of the military not caring about their soldiers health and well being. But they can go overseas and fight a war that shouldn't even be in the first place. That our soldiers had to come home to something as disgusting as the conditions in Fort Bragg - that's a lie if someone said they didn't know about it - it's unacceptable - it looked like a giant sewer in that room - uninhabitable!! No excuses, these soldiers fight for our freedom every day.

[megapraimturvo]

they just don't give a fuck....in Iraq we had "BETTER" living conditions than at Fort Hood...all those mother fuckers should be relieved or better yet court martialed.....just like Walter Reed till the media got involved something got done...more proof the army doesn't give a fuck about it's own troops.....

[xenasos]

my husband is deployed overseas, I would be fuming if he had to come home to these deplorable conditions. Our soldiers deserve the respect, honor they desreve. They are there to keep us safe. Take care of our soldiers. You would feel the same if it was your son, daughter, husband, wife. Keep them safe.

[b0rk3d]

Look most of America is like this. Just drive down and stop by a random gas station/truck stop/club/etc and check out the toilets etc. This is America and that stuff shown is honestly much cleaner.

[BradleyF81]

Ya, but the people that stop in those gas station restrooms aren't the ones that just spent 15 months in Afghanistan. They aren't the ones that lived in fear of their lives every day for over a year. They weren't the ones who fought for freedom and then came home to a shithole. You need to gain perspective on the situation, you small minded fool.

[b0rk3d]

Somehow fighting a war for Bush makes soldiers above and beyond regular civilians? You think they should be treated in a 5 star hotel on arrival? And why is it that you mention just Afghanistan and not Iraq? What freedom where they fighting for? Who's freedom? I think it's you who is small minded and allowed yourself to forget what you are talking about. My point is that this is how America is generally if you go to any random public restroom etc.

[davenhillary]

So the HUMAN BEINGS who FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY (to include your right to voice your opinion) should have to live in "public restroom"-like conditions? Do you live in a public restroom? Maybe you should give it a shot and let us all know how it goes. These soldiers' fight in the war because they are told to. It's their job.

[ZombieApocalyps]

@davenhillary How exactly do the Soldiers fight for our freedom? I am not trying to disrespect them but they are not fighting for anything but those old pasty politicians and corporations greedy pockets. Its not their fault.

[RunningMan4u]

You just compared Soldiers barracks to gas station/truck stop restrooms!

Is you home like this?

[jamesjonestheball]

Its good to see someone brought the issue up. Our troops who come from warzone deserve much better than this. Geez, these are guys that go and fight for their country and they come home to this. Absolutely unacceptable. The Unabomber's jail cell looked better than this. There is no excuse for this. Great job on the part of the father

[032125]

Fort Benning isn't much better. I can remember shaking roaches out of the mop each morning, and the signs clearly labelling the building I was in as condemned. This was a five years ago, I wonder if those buildings are still in use?

[RunningMan4u]

Here is one of the problems. Some Soldiers don't take care of shit. How did the roaches get into the mop? Most likely it was because some ass didn't hang the mop. You hang wet mops. The things in that barracks piss me off.

Soldiers do have to take care of stuff. But SOMEONE else should have taken care of these barracks!!

[danguitarflorida]

THIS IS DISGUSTING!!!I am a retired GS 14 ( this is a Colonel grade civilian ).This should have been accomplished BEFORE THE TROOPS ARRIVED .

[mxj8361]

will123abc - I have not seen any schools in this kinda condition or even close. Please post a video of the evidence.

[OptimusGonzoo]

Shame of it is, they'll probably just have the soldiers fix it up. Though I hear they are building new Barracks right now.

[will123adc]

Ok i get why the old man is upset but most skools are like this or closs. of cors not all at ones but in a year time you can defintly see all that and more in a puplik skool and it is a lot more crowdid. if peole get up in arms over this why dont thay do the same for a comunity? gust a dubel standerd i ges.... but welcome home to the giys that got back.

[ReneeisXena]

Dude how would you know what a school looks like? Your grasp of the language is atrocious, learn how to spell. You write like an uneducated 8 year old. (my apologies to all 8 year olds)

[Perico429]

This is just unacceptable.... this is the thanks our soldier get for putting their lives up for this country. As a vet, this makes me sick to my stomach to watch. Mega KUDOS to the father of this soldier.

[trav1971]

whatever