Mold is this fort's enemy

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Mold is this fort's enemy

Date published: 5/5/2008

The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star*

By MATTHEW JONES

The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/052008/05052008/376752?

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NEWPORT NEWS

--When Col. Bowes inspected all the barracks at Fort Eustis--

in response to a worldwide Army order prompted by a decrepit

building at Fort Bragg, N.C.--the problems he found were the same he

has been fighting for months.

Peeling paint. Damaged tiles. Iffy plumbing. Worn carpeting. And

mold. Lots of mold.

" This was a not a big surprise to me, because I go through these

buildings routinely anyway, " Bowes, the garrison commander, said

Friday. " They require a lot of nursing. "

Bowes said the mold had been tested and that none of the buildings

was in such poor shape that soldiers had to be moved out .

The Army took the unusual step of ordering not only inspections but

also media tours of barracks after the father of a Fort Bragg

soldier just back from Afghanistan posted a video on YouTube.

It showed peeling paint, moldy ceiling tiles, open water pipes

stuffed with rags to stop sewer gas and a soldier standing in a sink

as he tried to unclog a sewage overflow in a bathroom.

Locally, the Army houses about 2,800 soldiers in 38 barracks at Fort

Eustis and Virginia Beach's Fort Story. Fort Monroe, in Hampton,

houses 29 people in one building.

The barracks at Eustis, the largest facility, are a combination of

old and new buildings. The newer ones, built in the mid-1990s,

resemble college dormitories, with large commons areas and

individual rooms for soldiers. However, many date from the 1950s.

Those present the greatest maintenance challenge, Bowes said.

By far the biggest issue is mold, which Bowes said he has spent $3

million fighting over the past several years. It persists because of

flat roofs that tend to leak and retrofitted air-conditioning

systems that pull humidity into the older buildings.

One of the worst buildings, Eustis leaders said, houses its Non-

Commissioned Officer academy. Dehumidifiers hum throughout the

building. Some sections of drop ceiling have been replaced with

screens to improve airflow around duct work.

Inside, Staff Sgt. , a student from Fort Carson, Colo.,

said checking for mold and squirting it with antibacterial cleaner

to keep it in check is part of his daily routine.

Four of the aged barracks are scheduled for demolition starting next

month, Bowes said. New barracks will rise in their place. Eight more

are scheduled to be replaced over the next few years.

The trick in the meantime, he said, is keeping the buildings safe

and habitable yet not spending too much, since they are coming down

and the money can always be used elsewhere.

He said that while maintenance money was very tight when he first

arrived at Eustis in 2006, his budget has since improved. His

priority, he said, will always be barracks over, say, administrative

buildings.

" That's a no-brainer, " he said. " We're here because of the soldiers.

We've got to take care of our people. "

Bowes said a program he put in place last year, in which a group of

superintendents each focuses on a small number of buildings, has

helped keep problems under control. Complaints can be identified and

handled more quickly, he said. However, as long as there are old

buildings there will be issues.

" It's kind of like playing Whac -A-Mole, " he said.

Staff Sgt. Sainz came to Eustis from Schofield Barracks,

Hawaii, after two deployments to Iraq. She said she's had great

support while in the barracks and that she and her fellow female

soldiers are diligent about maintaining shared spaces such as their

bathroom.

As for housing in general, Sainz said she once stayed in a brand-new

facility elsewhere and still heard her colleagues

complain. " Soldiers just don't like barracks, " she said.

, 757/446-2949, matthew.

Email: jones@...