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Soldiers see barracks improvements after deployment

Army News Service

Release Date: 2/10/2004

By Sgt. 1st Class Marcia Triggs

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 10, 2004) - More than $65 million is being spent on improving single Soldiers' barracks while they are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Soldiers from Fort Riley, Kan., who served in Iraq, came home to freshly painted barracks, properly working lighting and plumbing fixtures and new tiles or re-carpeted floors, said Lt. Col. Wesley Anderson, the director of Public Works at Fort Riley.

About 5,546 Soldiers will see $2.4 million in improvements at Fort Riley. That number includes Soldiers who have already returned from overseas deployments and others who are scheduled to return in September, he added.

Other installations undergoing improvements are Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Bliss and Fort Hood in Texas.

Fort Hood is making the largest improvements by upgrading the electrical systems in the barracks, said Donald LaRocque, the Public Works program manager for the Installation Management Agency.

"Soldiers now have audio-visual equipment, computers and microwaves. The Directorate of Public Works is going to increase the current capacity so that Soldiers can plug in more equipment without blowing the circuit breakers, LaRocque said.

Improving the living conditions for single Soldiers has been a work in progress for DPW officials, but it has been accelerated in most cases to take advantage of empty barracks, LaRocque said.

"Units will be rotating on a regular basis while we're at war, and we can get a lot done in a year in an empty building," LaRocque said.

In most cases the changes were cosmetic and include having a cleaning crew come in, painting and hanging up pictures.

More than $8 million in new furniture was purchased for the Soldiers who reside in the older barracks at Fort Campbell, said Col. James Duttweiler, the post director of Public Works.

Soldiers who return from serving in the second rotation of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the fifth rotation of Operating Enduring Freedom will also see significant improvements done to their barracks when they return home, LaRocque said.