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Published - Sunday, May 11, 2008

Fort McCoy: Barracks in good shape

By Paul Medinger

FORT MCCOY — The issue of soldier housing has become an issue on military bases across the United States after a YouTube video and national news coverage of substandard barracks conditions at Fort Bragg, NC, surfaced last week. On Monday, Fort McCoy held a tour of its soldier housing facilities for area members of the media in the hope of assuring citizens that Fort McCoy’s housing situation differs from that of Fort Bragg.

“The images that we have seen coming out of Fort Bragg were indeed alarming,” Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. David Chesser said in a media briefing before Monday’s tour. “Soldiers deserve the best that the Army can buy, and they should be treated as the heroes that they are.”

The YouTube video of Fort Bragg’s facilities showed mold and broken plumbing in barracks. Chesser said that most soldiers stationed on base at Fort McCoy live off post in hotels rooms. A small portion, he said, do live in Unaccompanied Personnel Housing (UPH). Fort McCoy has one UPH facility where transient soldiers reside during a limited stay. The facility features carpet, a microwave, range, and refrigerator.

“They are very similar to an apartment,” Chesser said. “This (UPH) facility is the equivalent to the facilities at Fort Bragg. As you can see, ours are in good shape compared to Fort Bragg.”

Fort McCoy also features 133 barracks that date back to the World War II era that have not yet been renovated. These barracks have wood floors and bunk beds, with working electricity and plumbing.

During Monday’s tour, one renovated facility, and one not yet renovated, were toured. Barracks renovations cost $301,000 per building, Chesser said, and 124 barracks facilities have been renovated. The renovated barracks do not have bunk beds, and include a tile floor and shades.

“We wanted to show the worst conditions and the best conditions,” Chesser said of Monday’s tour. “I think we have a pretty good quality of life for our soldiers here.”

Five soldiers were also on hand during the tour to field questions about the living conditions at Fort McCoy. The soldiers, who will be deployed to Afghanistan this week, said that they do not hear complaints about the barracks. Several soldiers said that they have heard about the conditions at Fort Bragg and said that Fort McCoy does not compare.

“These (barracks) are some of the most modern ones I have seen in my time in the military,” Staff Sgt. Brandon Layne, who has served for five years in the military and spent time at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, and Fort Knox, KY, said of Fort McCoy’s facilities. “The air conditioning and heat works and we have efficient showers. There is no comparison.”

Darrell Neitzel, Director of Public Works at Fort McCoy, said that eight of the 124 renovated facilities are still being completed, and should be completed within a month. He also said that a walk-through inspection of Fort McCoy’s facilities was also being completed, and that renovations will most likely continue with future funding.

“We have a contract in place to do more renovating,” Neitzel said. “We are ready to go when headquarters chooses to give us more funding.”

Chesser, who became Garrison commander on April 3, was stationed in an unrenovated barracks facility at Fort McCoy in 2003 along with a unit of 520 soldiers preparing for mobilization to Iraq. He said the unrenovated barracks are normally used for short-term stays on base such as National Guard Annual Training, and he feels the facilities are efficient. He is also optimistic that future renovations will take place and he hopes to make soldier housing at Fort McCoy feel as much like home as possible.

“The key difference (between Fort McCoy and Fort Bragg) is a concept of home,” Chesser said. “The barracks are not their homes, and while they may not be pretty, they meet the standards for shelter and hygiene, and they pose no health threats.”