Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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12 UCW OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Family concerns about health and safety issues in military housing are widespread, according to a recent Army Inspector General report that re- veals systemic problems with relation- ships between the Army and housing contractors. e government's current oversight of these projects was insuf- ficient to identify housing challenges. Inspectors found there was lack of joint authority, confusion regard- ing roles and responsibilities, lack of training, dramatic personnel cuts and lack of transparency among privatized housing companies. Inspectors un- covered a 2013 Army policy that spe- cifically prohibited health and welfare inspections of military housing. Two-thirds of the 1,180 residents of military privatized housing com- munities who participated in the IG survey stated they were dissatisfied with their overall housing experi- ence. Sixty-four percent said they would move off post if there were no financial costs or concerns, according to the report. e review was ordered by then-Secretary of the Army Mark Esper in the wake of reports about widespread problems of mold, water leakage, vermin infestations and other problems in military housing. Scores of Fort Bragg soldiers and fam- ily members complained to U.S. Sen. om Tillis, R-N.C., about their military housing at a recent town hall meeting. It was the latest in a series of stops Tillis is making at military installations. It was his second town hall at Fort Bragg since summer. About 200 people bombarded him with complaints. e No. 1 issue was about mold in housing units. "I've seen the mold, and it's legit," Krista Lindholm said of mold in a neighbor's house. "ey're sick, their kids are sick, and housing is just not coming and dealing with it." Tillis said problems with military housing won't be fixed overnight, but he said he hopes the information he gath- ers at town hall meetings helps him put things in place to speed up the process. "At every one of these town hall meet- ings, I ask people to call my office and open up a case so that we make sure we prioritize where medical professionals have said the conditions in the home are most likely the root cause of their health conditions," he said. During the meeting, someone sug- gested that Fort Bragg commanders be given authority to hold private con- tractors to the same standards civilian landlords must meet. Off-post hous- ing can and is placed off-limits when landlords fail to comply with military requirements. e IG report "validates the experi- ences of the brave military families who have spoken up for change," said Shannon Razsadin, executive director of the Military Family Advisory Network, which conducted an online survey in early February of military families in all branches of service about their experi- ence with privatized housing. More than half of 14,558 military families reported negative experiences. "ere is a remarkable overlap between the Army IG report and MFAN's research," Razsadin said. Corvias Property Management is un- der contract at Fort Bragg and has com- mitted $100 million for rehabilitation and new housing units on post. Corvias relocated 4,670 families from their exist- ing homes to newly built or renovated homes. e homes were then backfilled after renovation with another round of relocations to ensure all families received upgrades. e Army is already addressing most of the 20 recommen- dations in the IG report, according to a statement issued by Army officials. Military housing still a problem by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS Scores of Fort Bragg soldiers and family members complained to U.S. Sen. om Tillis, R- N.C., about their military housing at a recent town hall meeting.