WASHINGTON (Army News Service Jan. 28, 2005) -- Soldiers living in barracks will see big improvements beginning this spring as the Army's Installation Management Agency begins to execute a $250 million program to identify and upgrade the Army's most deficient barracks.

The funding was made available as a short-term fix to improve 177 barracks that were identified as "red," or substandard under the Installation Status Report. The plan is to upgrade those facilities from red to amber within a year.

"This funding gives IMA one more way to improve quality of life for our Soldiers," said Philip E. Sakowitz, deputy director of the Installation Management Agency. "It's not the end of the story, of course, and our plan is to spend about $260 million a year to sustain barracks facilities."

Sakowitz said IMA has been steadily building and renovating barracks under a long-term $10 billion program. In the past two years, much of that work has been done as flagship projects while units are deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

"Now we can tackle the barracks that need the most attention first," Sakowitz said.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston said the Army's goal is to take care of Soldiers.

"We're already taking good care of our Soldiers, this gives us a chance to do it better," Preston said. "The American Soldier deserves the highest standard of living whether they're married or single. The barracks isn't just room and board to our single Soldiers, it's their home."

George Lloyd, a strategic planner for Unaccompanied Personnel Housing, said the Army has identified 177 barracks buildings that require changes. He uses the medical term "triage" in which the most serious cases are treated first.

"We'll be working on those facilities that need the most work beginning in April 2005, and hope to finish up by September 2006," Lloyd said.

He said the Army has allotted about $250 million a year, above its normal building and maintenance budget, to the improvement program.

During the renovation process, some Soldiers will be moved out of barracks and off post. Those most likely to be affected during the renovations are "geographic bachelors" - Soldiers at locations remote from their families.

Lloyd said some junior enlisted Soldiers may also be authorized Basic Allowance for Housing while renovations of their barracks are under way.

"We've identified about 20,000 individual Soldiers' units we feel are critical, or 'red,'" Lloyd said. "Our goal is to make them more liveable, get them to 'amber' and then renovate to meet the 1+1 standard that is our goal." He said the 1+1 standard will provide a home-like atmosphere for Soldiers in the barracks environment.

"The 1+1 standard provides a two-bedroom module fore every two junior enlisted Soldiers, and each noncommissioned officer is assigned individually to a two-room module," Lloyd said. "We haven't achieved that standard Army-wide yet."

He said the Army has finished about $6 billion of a scheduled $10 billion in improvements to reach the 1+1 standard.

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