Fort Jackson, SC TV Station finds problems Similar to Ft Bragg

FORT JACKSON, SC (WIS) - WIS has learned that inspectors found mold and asbestos inside the Fort Jackson barracks.
   
Officials say the problems will cost a significant amount of money to fix.

But they don't consider the findings as serious as what they've seen at Fort Bragg. Earlier this week we showed you troubling images from the base posted online by the parent of a soldier.
   
Among the dismal conditions visible is a major sewage backup.  

The images prompted inspections by the us army, visiting bases across the country -- including Fort Jackson here in Columbia.
  
WIS News 10 took a tour of the base Thursday. Here's what we found.

It isn't exactly a five-star hotel, and Commanding General Jim Schwitters knows it.

"What you see here is 50 years old. We're not proud of the floor covering. but it is sanitary, it is functional and it is healthy," says Schwitters.

But keeping the barracks at Fort Jackson functional and sanitary is a challenge. About a third of them have eight beds to a room, stained walls, rusted tiles and chipped paint.
   
"This is one of six latrines in this barracks," says Schwitters during the tour.

The 1950's-era barracks are some of the oldest on base. Maintenance issues are expected when more than 50,000 soldiers come through each year.

By KEVIN MAURER – 1 day ago

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The secretary of the Army said Wednesday the poor condition of Korean War-era barracks at Fort Bragg is unacceptable.

Army Secretary Pete Geren said improvements are coming, but some of the problems can't be fixed quickly. He made the remarks after meeting with soldiers and touring Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division barracks.

The visit came after the father of a paratrooper posted a video online showing mold inside the barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage. By Wednesday, the barracks had new paint and water fountains were fixed, but work crews still labored on the plumbing.

"Everybody on this installation knows that the conditions were unacceptable. Every soldier deserves a quality of life equal to his service," Geren said.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., urged the Defense Department on Wednesday to look into the Bragg conditions. It was one of Feingold's constituents, Ed Frawley of Menomonie, Wis., who posted the video. Frawley said he was disgusted by conditions that greeted his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, and other members of his company when they returned this month after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.