Army Widens Probe Into Bad Barracks

Video Shot By GI's Dad Showed Horrid Conditions At Fort Bragg, Sparking Worldwide Inspections

(CBS/AP)  The Secretary of the Army admitted Wednesday the conditions at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are unacceptable - and promised the barracks will be fixed up. As CBS News National Security correspondent David Martin reports, the announcement came after the shoddy conditions were exposed in a video posted on the Internet.

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A YouTube video shows soldiers who spent 15 long, hard, difficult months in some of the most remote dangerous areas of the mountains of Afghanistan.

But when they came home, what they returned to outraged Sgt. Jeff Frawly's father, Ed.

Frawly narrated photos of the conditions his son and the other soldiers from the 82nd Airborne found in their barracks at Fort Bragg.

As for the showers, the YouTube video says: "That dark spot behind the peeled paint is mold. This is right over the head of where the soldiers stand when they take their showers."

And Sgt. Frawley's father was mad as hell.

"Wouldn't you do something if it was your son? Wouldn't you get mad?" he said.

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Watch Frawly's YouTube video here

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Army officials said Tuesday they are inspecting every barracks building worldwide to see whether plumbing and other problems revealed at Fort Bragg are widespread.

Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, who is responsible for maintaining barracks throughout the Army, told reporters at the Pentagon that most inspections were done last weekend but he had not seen final results.

While not providing specifics about problems discovered during the weekend inspections, Rogers indicated some deficiencies were corrected. In cases where extensive repairs are deemed necessary, the soldiers in that housing would be moved elsewhere until the fixes are completed, he added.

Rogers said it was too soon to know whether the Fort Bragg problem was an isolated incident. He acknowledged the revelations from the video shot by Frawly showing poor conditions such as mold inside the barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage.

Frawly said he was disgusted by the conditions that greeted his son and the rest of his 82nd Airborne unit that returned on April 7-8 after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

"We let our soldiers down, and that's not like us," Rogers told reporters. "That's not how we want America's sons and daughters to live. There's no good excuse for what happened."

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.

Rogers said the Army's standard procedure is to inspect a barracks building to verify that it meets Army standards before it is occupied by soldiers returning from an overseas deployment. For reasons he was unable to explain, that apparently did not happen in the Fort Bragg incident.

A spokesman for Fort Bragg, Tom McCollum, told the same group of reporters that the post, which is one of the Army's largest with a population of 51,000 soldiers - including more than 12,000 who live on the post - is saddled with 1950s-vintage housing that is not popular with soldiers.

Of the more than 12,000 in barracks at Fort Bragg, about 2,500 are in those built in the 1950s, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said.

"Are soldiers happy with living in the Korean War-era barracks? No," McCollum said. They do not meet the expectations of today's troops, although the Army has done what it can to improve living conditions, McCollum said, speaking by telephone from Fort Bragg.

"Today, no matter how hard we try, we can't put enough lipstick on this pig to make it more pretty," the spokesman said. "So are there soldiers complaining? Yeah." He said they've been complaining for decades.

Some lawmakers are calling for Congress to investigate.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, told The Fayetteville Observer that she has asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold a hearing on Fort Bragg and the broader issue of living conditions for returning troops, the paper said on its Web site Tuesday night.

North Carolina holds its presidential primary May 6.

[eferrell1]

FloydZepp: don''t tell me you are surprised! America has treated their veterans like dirt for years. This is nothing new. Look how the guys returning from Vietnam were treated. Those returning from Iraq are not treated any better.

[jersupporter]

I guess our military personnel really are fire and forget weapons for the elities in power now.

Support our troops goes no futher than a ribbon magnet and a Mission Accomplished! banner on an Aircraft Carrier. Posted by FloydZepp
--------------------------------
This from someone that has never served a day in his life except burgers, fries and hot apple pies. Do not get get disillusional with Floyd Coward because he does not care one bit for the troops - he simpley uses these issues as a pawn for his political arguements. Coward of all Coward is Floyd Coward.

[pghlady3]

has anyone seen Fort Polk in Louisiana? The first floor has ''condemned'' stickers on all the windows and the second floor is roped off because of a very large hole in the floor upstairs and the insulation is full of asbestos.

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II has been yelling to everyone to "SUPPORT THE TROOPS"!

Amazingly, the US(SA) Army won''t even support its own troops by making sure the toilets flush!!! Maybe it costs too much money to buy toilet plungers from Halliburton!

Guess they will have to rent toilet plungers from Blackwater!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!
sig heil, more of the same, McCain!!!

[b-easy63]

Let''s see...remodeled the barracks in 2006 and they are to be torn down in 2013. Bad return for the money. and then this:

"A spokesman for Fort Bragg, Tom McCollum, told the same group of reporters that the post, which is one of the Army''s largest with a population of 51,000 soldiers - including more than 12,000 who live on the post - is saddled with 1950s-vintage housing that is not popular with soldiers."

nope, with 6 to 8 inches of pisss and sewage on the floors in the bathrooms and mold--it would not be popular with most humans. Bush''s army--just like when they come home they are misdiagnosed, made to pay for parking and straws and lunch and telephones at the VA hospital, denied treatment for PTSD and made to wait 2 to 3 years for brain trauma injuries suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan. THIS is the real truth about how Bush and the Republicans regard the troops--they only used them for cannon fodder--after that, they are in the way and ignored or mistreated--unless they are a token.

[b-easy63]

This from someone that has never served a day in his life except burgers, fries and hot apple pies. Do not get get disillusional with Floyd Coward because he does not care one bit for the troops - he simpley uses these issues as a pawn for his political arguements. Coward of all Coward is Floyd Coward.

Posted by JERSupporter at 12:52 PM : Apr 30, 2008


No the ultimate coward is any person who would use another country and people to "fight our war over there...because we are too scared, lazy and immoral to fight our own war on our on turf"

"We fight them over there...so we don''t have to fight them here"

It is OUR war...where the fvck else should we be fighting it and who should be dying in it and for it? Not people who did nothing to us, that is for sure. YOU are the coward.

[neoconslayer]

cornbiker: you ignorance is amazing! SO the tax and spend democrats are responsible for this, while the cut every tax every day and starve the government republicans have nothing to do with it.
Every Republican tale about government spending has the same basis: Democrats spend money on everything that moves, while Republicans are frugal.
Your statements blaming democrats for this are the lies of an ignorant al-Qaeda wannasuck.
Please include Santa Claus and the Iraqis-Who-Greet-Us-As-Liberators in your next creative writing submission.

[bm6005]

cornbiker: you ignorance is amazing!.....
Posted by neoconslayer

I believe the real name is *********! Dems with a stunning majority of one have had nothing to do with the budget cuts of king georgie porgie you MORON, *********. Perhaps you could drop the partisanship because the repubs were in charge for 12 years and led us into the stunning third world status that we enjoy today!!

[b-easy63]

Dems with a stunning majority of one have had nothing to do with the budget cuts of king georgie porgie you MORON,

Posted by bm6005 at 01:31 PM : Apr 30, 2008


Unfortunately, the Dems HAVE padded EACH and EVERY defense bill they could not stop to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars--so they are neck deep in the blame pit as well as the Republicans. We find it odd, that the GOP has little trouble hamstringing the dems while they are a minority, but the Dems have no ability to do much as a majority.

at the very least. like the Republicans, the Dems should have stuck to their guns, demanded benchmarks and sent the same vetoed bill back over and over until Bush Blinked. Or at the very least, they could have NOT added billions more in pork or other things to the bill, so they would not later be painted with the spend crazy brush. But the Dems ARE spend crazy---soooooo when they realized they could not stop the defense bills, they loaded each one up to the tune of billions. Has there ever, ever been a spending bill that the Dems did not increase beyond all comprehension?

Smart people blame both parties--but don''t worry, both will be checked: The GOP--as they are booted out of office, the Dems as our economy collapses and between the war and recession and outsourcing--we have nothing left for them to spend.

[hoopersports]

This video has nothing to do with being a republican or democrat. These conditions didn''t happen over night, they happened over many many years. Instead of arguing over who to blame, republicans, democrats, all of the above, lets just get it fixed.

[jjp735i]

How did it even get this bad? Someone needs to answer that question. Now that it made the news someone is cleaning it up. But it never should have gotten that bad in the first place. Gotta love thos Republicans. Sign up to protect your country and later we will forget about you.

[randynason]

The Army is widening the probe? Is this anything like an an*l probe? I was just wondering, because I know the military powers-that-be like to conduct that sort of invasionary-thing on a regular basis.

[jersupporter]

b-easy63 - DO NOT HAVE A HEART ATTACK? lol Your jibber jabber makes no sense but that is nothing new for you. If you need to vent then perhaps you should see a professional - but I am quite sure that would probably do no good since you seem to be very warped. Fight on our own turf - you crack me up.

[ioweign]

I''m not a demo or Repo.. Keep guessing..

Posted by cornbiker at 02:19 PM : Apr 30, 2008


cornbiker
Joined: December 20, 2006
Last Login: 2 weeks ago
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Age: 48
Once a Marine Always a Marine
Country: United States
Interests and Hobbies: Guns, Motorcycles and Rock a billy music..
Music: Hank III, Drive by truckers, Go to the Blaze,
Books: Shooter, boots on the ground

http://www.youtube.com/user/cornbiker

[chatmandu002]

The construction of the new barracks they where supposed to move into where delayed. The unit came back a little earlier and the base wasn''t prepared. In a couple of weeks the unit will move into some brand new buildings. This is just a ploy to make the Army and Bush administration look bad. When it really was just a scheduling problem. Of course the article never mentions the new building that are almost complete.

[sgtrds]

When I was in basic training the Air Force was in the process of switching over from the WWII barracks to the new more modern ones. Of course I was "lucky" enough to get stuck in the old ones and the chow-hall collapsed in the middle of the night. Looks like the military hasn''t gotten any better since then.

[stevenga777]

I retired from the Army in 1998. This is nothing new. As a matter of fact, this is the norm.
As far as Iraq goes...As long as you have your "Support our Troops" ribbon magnet on your SUV to show off in the parking lot of your MegaChurch everything is AOK - oh, and as long as its not your kids over there.

[liberalme]

As a brave military commander once said--"you go to war with the Army you have".
Suck it up son--this country owes you nuthin--you''re working for the great decider, tough it out!!

This government has consistently treated our troops and wounded vets like animals.

Bush, Cheney cowards of the COUNTRY cowboys, who, if they HAD performed their patriotic duty as so many brave young men and women have--would have been yelling the loudest in this situation--but we never will really know will we?

My grandson is in special ops in Ft Bragg--a bigger MAN than these turkeys in Washington could ever imagine.

God I would loeve to see Bush, Cheney and Rumsfield waterboarded!! Just once--I would love to look right into their eyes--bet I wouldn''t find a soul there!

[liberalme]

I retired from the Army in 1998. This is nothing new. As a matter of fact, this is the norm.
As far as Iraq goes...As long as you have your "Support our Troops" ribbon magnet on your SUV to show off in the parking lot of your MegaChurch everything is AOK - oh, and as long as its not your kids over there.

Posted by stevenga777 at 03:25 PM : Apr 30, 2008


100% agreed!!!!!!!!!

[ponco seno]

The army is getting the poorest quality recruits it has ever accepted. I never recommend army service to young men and I am an 81 year old retiree with almost 27 years active duty.

Posted by k2345 at 02:52 PM : Apr 30, 2008




I guess, we also have a social issue in America for this to happend.

[love4all2]

It amazes me that we spend billions of dollars in other coutries to rebuild and help them out.
what about the people in our own backyard. the homeless the mentally ill. where is their share. people struggling to make ends meet this is the worst of all. iraqis and afghans getting new homes and food ect ect but we turn our backs on our own people. America needs to mind its own business stop trying to be the world police and take care of what problems we have here

[inventagod2]

Where''s Rumsfeld when you really want to slap someone around?

Oh, that''s right - retired and loving it...

[jsl45]

Just another example of Shrub the Dumbnificent and Darth Cheney Administration''s priorities. The worst administration in the history of the United States. My dream is for the Shrub and Darth Cheney to have to stand trial for war crimes, human rights violations and violations of the Geneva Convention for torture in the World Court.

[joed7604]

Heads should roll

[cyberus-2009]

I''m quite sure they will fix it ... after letting it get this way they can now award an *emergency* no-bid contract to a Halliburton subsidiary to fix it.

clgl_fubar, We served during the same time, and as Navy, I ended up bending down and praying to Reagan. We had so few men (but the mission requirements stayed the same) that we had to borrow people to sail what ships we had. Reagan promised us a 600 ship Navy, and by George, when he left office, we were up to 598 and could complete our mission. I was an E-3, and had two E-5s working for me for a while, talk about walking a tightrope!
Also, I had no faith in the Army guys after Nam, but my respect grew during the late 80s and 90s. Still, I have to say that I prefer the Marines (my neighbor is a retired E-8 and twice my size).

[macusweil]

" We let our soldiers down. That''s not how we want America''s sons and daughters to live. There''s no good excuse for what happened." -Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers

What an idiot! Like Gen Rodgers didn''t know what was going on in the neighborhood, he''s shocked!? Give us a break, just another yes man, the kind of k*ss *ss br*ss Bush loves to have around.

[darnedsocks]

THIS IS FREAKIN'' NASTY! DEFINITELY NEED TO ALLOCATE SOME FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO INFRASTRUCTURE! NO ONE SHOULD EVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS DISGUSTING CONDITION! IT''S WORSE THAN BEING IN A 3RD-WORLD COUNTRY! YUCK!

[naucoming4u]

Yet another example of how our government treats the men and women called to defend it.

Over the past few decades, from the treatment of our soldiers to the lack of priorities for the MAJORITY of the AMERICAN population...

..all these examples, (the ones the are actually reported), would make any sane person question whether this government is worth defending anymore.

[rebelscout]

I was stationed in Germany in barracks built for the Nazi army and they were in great condition! These were at least 15 to 20 years older than Braggs! NO EXCUSE FOR THIS! This admin wants the troops to fight yet they dont care about them as people! Typical Bush policy.

[dj1943]

While I agree that the Bush admin is at fault, because his folk are driving, still some of the blame goes to NOT having military take care of their own. I was in the Navy beginning in July 1961. All sailors had to do a stint or two cleaning, cooking, etc. Now like everything else we farm it out. I know the GIs dont like the idea of cleaning and cooking, (I damned sure didn''t) it still is *in house*, take care of your own.

[xraytwonine]

Welcome to America, where human life and moral values are as disposable as a third world country.

[whitetrash72]

Another lie Macu.....everyone is to blame about our current situation.....congress and Bush! Get out in the world....as I do....doing business in Europe, Mid East, Asia and see how economists there are so happy about our economic mess....as the foreign money people are saying......if you can not solve your problems in your own country..then why in the h*ll are you in Iraq *** things up.....the truth hurts!!!! And to think I voted for Bush in the last 2 elections....history will prove how incompetant this adminsistration is in about 20 years. Like the mob trying to cover up so many details.

[naucoming4u]

All you illiterate Baptist evangelical baby-protectors have your patron Saints, the Republishit Party, to thank for killing your sons and daughters in this interminable war AND housing them in ******** barracks when - and IF - they come home.

All you kweer-rights violators and race-bating ''''christian'''' right-wing dogfuckers have your Republicrap Party operatives to thank for this.

***************

Posted by FlangeSqueal at 08:55 PM : Apr 30, 2008
............

Awh, stop sugarcoating the issue...

...tell us how you really feel!

LOL!

:-)

(I couldn''t have said it any better).

[gkc99]

Yessir, put General Pet on it right away! If he can "surge to victory" in Iraq, surely he can stop the surge of sewage out of the drains!

This is how much the Neoconscum, Darth the Evil, and Bushit the Moron, really care about our troops.

Cannon fodder for the fascists!

[kansas1946]

Just another example of the Bush administration "supporting the troops." We have seen this over and over. These brave soldiers are only valuable to this administration if they are fodder for IEDs, and when they have miraculously survived, then to hell with them. This administration is evil.

[shanev137]

Nice.

I guess this is as good as it gets after you spend trillions on your military.

I guess a trillion dollars just ain''t what it use to be.

[on_alert247]

Typical liberal thinking in posts here. Apparently they think each president runs the country like a dictatorship. Get a grip people. This is typical bureaucratic BS speaking as someone who served in the military and reserves. If there is anyone to blame, it is first the base commander and it is the congress that approves the pentagon budget.

[ianlou]

I thought I heard Haliburton was awarded a billion dollar contract years ago to take care of this.

[firststate]

From the top down the dicknbush administration thinks supporting the troops means buying a $5 yellow ribbon magnet, made in China that says "Support the Troops." This is probably just another isolated incident like Walter Reed, stop-loss orders, and multiple deployments without the equipment the troops need, but they have their magnets.

[macusweil]

"If there is anyone to blame, it is first the base commander and it is the congress that approves the pentagon budget."

First its not just one base it''s systemic which means commander in chief is responsible, if it were a Dem you neo.con nut jobs would be all over it. Second it''s also the at the VA hospitals, anywhere GOP insiders can''t make a fast buck.

Keep in mind too that Congress approved a budget which is half a trillion dollars, figure they could afford a plunger or three!! Not so much with 256 billion in cost over runs which is 10 times greater than all the pork projects combined.

The right wing spin machine complains about pork simply as a smoke screen to hide the real graft coming from enormous leakage in US defense spending.

[aciescott]

"Typical liberal thinking in posts here. Apparently they think each president runs the country like a dictatorship. Get a grip people. This is typical bureaucratic BS speaking as someone who served in the military and reserves. If there is anyone to blame, it is first the base commander and it is the congress that approves the pentagon budget."
on_alert247
Blame the base commander of Fort Stewart when it happened there in the early years of this war. blame the base commander of Fort Benning when it happened there. Blame the base commander of Walter Reed when it happened there. Have you noticed that any high level general that doesn''t agree with this administration is summarily fired IE. Tommy Franks Adm. William J. Fallon Gen Colin Powell and many more. I have to wonder when this administration will be held accountable for the crimes they have committed or will they just ride of into the Texas sunset with the billions of dollars they have personally made from this war. I am by no means a liberal I was a Reagan republican, and have served 11 years in the military but these people have destroyed everything that was once great about our country for personal gain and i wonder if our country can ever recover. Just the Humble opinion of an Army Staff Sergeant that has seen more than enough to convict this administration if asked to be on the their war crimes jury.

[cdfoxtrot]

This is the #1 story in the whole world, according to the (tabloid) editors of CBS???

[michellem99-2009]

I am appalled. And I do mean appalled at the shape of their quarters..I asked Vince about the barracks he was in. He said they were good. Today the troops live in rundown quarters? That is wrong..I saw this on the news..I am appelled..

[flreason]

You can bet it would get taken care of if the brass were told the cost for the repair of barracks that were found to be sub-standard would come out of their pay. Ditto for corporate officers of any "contractors" like Haliburton who are bilking American taxpayers to the tune of billions of dollars.

[mh4cbs1]

Really, is anyone really Surprised??

This is the 5th Anniversary of Bush''s "Mission Accomplished" photo-op, when he flew into the carrier for his big victory celebration.

FIVE LONG UGLY BLOODY YEARS

An Iraqi Invasion that was based on deliberate LIES.

4,050 Dead US Troops (5 miles of end to end coffins).

Hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis - men women and children.

Cities left in ruins.

$1 Trillion in wasted War costs, while we have massive debt, a sinking dollar, tax cuts for the rich and jobs going overseas.

A $500 Million Iraqi Embassy. Permanent US bases. The Oil is ours.

Our Constitution has been shredded.

JAIL BUSH and JAIL CHENEY for their WAR CRIMES !!!!

[michellem99-2009]

I am appalled as a legally blind person taught from childhood to honour and thank them. Today thay live in guarters not fit to live in. We are told they have the best and that is the best..I don''t think so. I am 53.

[pensacola88]

This isn''t the only problem Military Base. The Marines nearby in Cherry Point have similar conditions. There is little money in their budget for repairs. They have shortages of working washing machines and dryers. The facilities need improvement and more barracks are required. Three people to a room with wall lockers and little room to manuver is substandard.

It dismays me to know that many animals or pets in this country have a better place to sleep.

[rosesnpearls]

It was Bill Clinton who first cut funding for the military. I remember seeing pictures right after he left office of water standing in the floors of military buildings because of plumbing problems.

[andrew_693]

After all the millions the military is wasting in iraq and afghanistan they got the nerve to ask for more money. Bankrupting the country is not enough to some.