Supporting the troops reduced to just a slogan at Fort Campbell

update Of the more than $3.6 billion that was redirected to the wall, $80 million came from projects in North Carolina, including $40 million for a new battalion complex and ambulatory care center at Camp Lejeune, $6.4 million for a storage facility for the new KC-46 tanker at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and $32.9 million for a previously canceled elementary school at Fort Bragg. The ambulatory care center was to replace current facilities that are “substandard, inefficient, decentralized and uncontrolled,” according to the military.

This report makes me sick to think about how many times we hear "support the troops" yet this verifies our politicians reduced it to a slogan!

Their loved ones serve our country but call their living conditions a slap in the face

FOX 17 News
by Erika Glover
December 19th 2019

“Why should my husband, or anybody’s husband or spouse, be deployed or be training and having to worry about if their family is sick this week and in the hospital because of the hazardous conditions?”

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (WZTV) — Back in February, concerned military spouses took their housing frustrations to Capitol Hill. Those at the top vowed to make a change.

However, Fort Campbell families allege some are still feeling the burdens of potentially hazardous housing conditions.

“I am appalled. I am frustrated. I am angry,” said one military wife who concealed her identity out of fear of retaliation.

For nearly one year, her family of four lived in Fort Campbell's on-post housing at the Pierce Village apartments. She said brown recluse spiders took over their two-story duplex, despite paying more than $1,300 per month.

“When I was doing dishes they would crawl across the counter,” she explained. “If I was sitting on the couch, they would crawl on my legs. They were in our bed. They were in our clothes.”

The concerned mother shared photos of mold hidden behind walls and chipping lead-based paint. There are other families, she said, who are currently exposed to these housing conditions.
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Add San Diego Navy housing to this.

Defense Bill Provides New Rights For Families In Private Military Housing

Will new Secretary of Defense fix mold in military housing?

Mold Displaces 200 and Counting at Joint Base San Antonio

Stars and Stripes
By Rose L. Thayer
29 Jul 2019

About one week ago, photos began surfacing on "Air Force amn/nco/snco," a Facebook group page popular with enlisted Air Force personnel. More than 290,000 people follow the page.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Mold in dorms forced about 200 airmen into new housing over the weekend at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas, after online scrutiny of living conditions triggered base leadership to conduct a full review of all facilities. As inspections continue at the Air Force's largest dormitory program, officials anticipate the number of displaced airmen to grow.

The base commander ordered Wednesday a full review of dormitories within 24 hours. Now, follow-up inspections continue, and some remediation has begun in those rooms where mold was found to be a severe problem, Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio commander, said in a statement released Monday.
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Housing privatization initiative, put military families in squalor

Families living with military housing horrors plea for reforms

STARS AND STRIPES
By CLAUDIA GRISALES
Published: February 13, 2019

Several witnesses and lawmakers agreed Wednesday that the residential horror stories can be traced back to the 1996 military housing privatization initiative that let contractors take over management of the residences. Previously, the military managed these properties.

Military spouse Janna Driver testifies Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, as fellow military spouses Crystal Cornwall, left, and Jana Wanner look on. CARLOS BONGIOANNI/STARS AND STRIPES

WASHINGTON — Termites falling from light fixtures. Toxic mold sickening families. Rodent infestations of residences. Asbestos and lead paint exposures.

This is the alarming world of dilapidated military housing today.

On Wednesday, some families who have suffered with these residential nightmares told their stories on Capitol Hill.

“Our military families do not deserve this after all the sacrifices they make,” Janna Driver, the wife of an active-duty Air Force servicemember and mother of five children, told lawmakers during an extensive Senate hearing on military housing problems. “It is criminal. It is unbelievable the extent of this cover up.”

Driver joined two other military spouses during the more than three-hour hearing to plead for help as they detailed years of battles with deteriorating housing conditions, subsequent illnesses and extensive bills.

Private military housing executives and top military officials also testified before the joint subpanel hearing for the Senate Armed Services Committee. They said they are now addressing the concerns.
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Vets displaced after mold discovered at VA Center

Vets displaced after mold discovered at VA Center
Patients to be relocated during clean-up process
The Journal West Virginia
By Jenni Vincent
August 27, 2013

MARTINSBURG - One hundred seventy-six Veterans Affairs Medical Center patients - men and women who are in residence as they go through various treatment programs such as substance abuse and post traumatic stress disorder -are now being relocated because mold was found in individual air-conditioning units where they stay, officials said Monday.

In a press release, VA officials said the mold abatement process in the facility's domiciliary is expected to take about 60 days.

The decision was made to remove patients because "the safety of our veterans, visitors and staff is paramount in all that we do," chief of staff Dr. Jonathan Fierer said in the release.
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Mold found in barracks being built at Carson

Mold found in barracks being built at Carson

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Sep 15, 2008 18:38:28 EDT

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Five barracks under construction at Fort Carson are being tested for mold after spores were discovered in least one of them.

The mold was found this summer during an inspection of modules that are pre-fabricated elsewhere, transported to the post and then stacked to form the buildings.

Hensel Phelps Construction of Greeley says the mold problem has been remedied.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_carson_barracks_091508/

At Fort Sill, stand up for wounded soldiers, get fired

Roeder’s departure Friday, following his contact with USA Today, was purely coincidental, said Col. Sam White, an executive officer at Fort Sill. He said Roeder has a history of confrontations with base officials.

Yes, you read it right. Considering Chuck Roeder was trying to take care of the wounded troops instead of the brass, this would have caused confrontations with them if they were ignoring the problems and not doing anything about them. Wouldn't it? How many times have you been on a job and faced with the frustration of your bosses not doing what needed to be done? In this case, these are wounded soldiers living in deplorable conditions no one at the top of the food chain wanted to do anything about. Roeder, based on accounts, resorted in reporting the problem to USA Today because no one was doing anything about the mold.

The same thing happened at Walter Reed. People knew about the problems there but did not let their conscience get to them and they avoided doing anything until the Washington Post reporters made the story public knowledge. Then all of a sudden, gee, magically they cared enough.

Maj. Gen. Peter Vangjel, Commander at Fort Sill, claimed they had begun to address the problem. When exactly was that? Before Roeder went to the newspaper or after he was interviewed?

How many reports do we need to read or see on YouTube before the commanders get it right for the sake of the troops? When will they see the men and women in their command as worthy of the best care possible? After all, with two occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are risking their lives. Why should they suffer when they manage to come home wounded? Haven't they suffered enough without their own commanders adding salt to the wound?

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Liaison in Sill mold issue forced to resign

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Aug 20, 2008 6:37:57 EDT

FORT SILL, Okla. — An Army social services coordinator here who told USA Today about poor conditions at Fort Sill’s unit for wounded soldiers has been forced out of his job, the employee and base officials said Tuesday.

Soldiers meeting with Army Secretary Pete Geren here Tuesday said Chuck Roeder, 54, was a strong advocate for their problems and should not have been forced to leave.

On Monday, USA Today reported that the unit’s barracks were infested with mold and that soldiers had been ordered by commanders not to speak about conditions there. Maj. Gen. Peter Vangjel, Fort Sill’s commander, said base officials had started to investigate and fix the problems. He told The Associated Press on Monday that complaints about mold in the barracks of wounded soldiers did not, as reported, go “unheeded for months.”

Roeder was hired at Fort Sill in January. He contacted USA Today in July about problems at Fort Sill, which were confirmed by more than 20 soldiers.

Roeder’s departure Friday, following his contact with USA Today, was purely coincidental, said Col. Sam White, an executive officer at Fort Sill. He said Roeder has a history of confrontations with base officials.

“They can say whatever they want to say, but they’re not being truthful,” Roeder said. “I stand up for soldiers. I’m sure the word got out that I’d encouraged soldiers to speak.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/gns_sillmold_082008/

Fort Sill Warrior Transition Unit, mold and morale morass

Army leaders defend supervision of soldier care unit
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
LAWTON, Okla. — Staff Sgt. Michael Riley plans to leave the Army later this month on a medical discharge. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder along with back and brain injuries from blasts in Iraq. And he's angry about the care he received at Fort Sill's program for wounded soldiers here.

Riley is among 20 soldiers who complained to USA TODAY last week about mold in the barracks, delays in processing medical cases and morale in the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) for wounded and injured outpatients at Fort Sill, an artillery training installation. While leaders of the unit are addressing the mold issues, they defended the unit's supervision and morale.

After problems surfaced last year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the Army established a WTU at each of 35 installations. Soldiers assigned to these units receive specialized care. They are assigned a squad leader, nurse case manager and doctor to care for them, and usher them to return to duty or medical retirement. "Those three people are with this soldier from start to finish … (to ensure) that the soldier can get through the system without having to fight," Gen. Michael Tucker said in announcing the program last year. "The soldier's mission is to heal."

But as the number of soldiers in the program doubled from 6,000 to 12,000 by June, individual care slipped, congressional investigators found. In July, Army leaders told Congress they were struggling to improve the program. "It takes time to kill bureaucracies," Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle said.

The mold in the barracks is just one of the problems in the Fort Sill transition unit, soldiers there told USA TODAY. The soldiers described commanders who seem more concerned with enforcing discipline and punishing infractions than with creating an environment conducive to healing.
go here for more
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-08-17-Mold-Inside_N.htm


UPDATE
Wounded soldiers complain of mold at Fort Sill barracks
By GREGG ZOROYA • USA Today • August 18, 2008

LAWTON, Okla. — Barracks at a Fort Sill wounded-soldier unit — created in response to poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. — are infested by mold, soldiers said. They say their complaints went unheeded for months.


Col. Robert Bridgford, garrison commander, said he ordered workers to replace ventilation ducts apparently encrusted with mold in two 48-room wounded-soldier barracks at Fort Sill.
go here for more
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080818/NEWS01/808180320

Soldiers stationed in Germany have mold problems

Families fear the return of irritating black mold
Army says it hasn’t heard problem is back
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, March 20, 2008

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — It’s almost spring, and for many people that means time for some spring cleaning.

Spring in Germany means lots of moisture, which not only brings beautiful flowers, but also helps nasty black mold to form.

Outdoors, molds live in the soil and plants. Indoors, molds will often grow in damp or wet areas, including basement walls, bathroom tiles and sinks. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, mold can lead to a variety of health problems, such as headaches, breathing difficulties, skin irritation and aggravation of asthma symptoms.

Last year, the Army had to eradicate mold problems at the off-post military housing area in Kaltenbrunn after an inspection found mold growing in bathrooms and attics of at least 10 homes.

Now, some soldiers and family members living in the housing area say the mold has returned, although the Army says it’s unaware of any problems.

Staff Sgt. Frederick Rowell of the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment blames the mold problems for the allergies experienced by his family.

When he first complained to the Army about the mold last summer, workers did remediation work that involved covering up the mold rather than solving the problem, Rowell said.

“I think the contractors did an excellent job on some houses, but at my house there was mold in the concrete and they just covered it up,” he said.

The 29-year-old Pensacola, Fla., native — who said he suffers from traumatic brain injury sustained in a roadside bomb blast — said he raised the issue with the Vilseck Warrior Transition Unit last month. A week later the Army found him a house at the new off-post military housing area at Netzaberg, he said.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53456