CaptionJust over a year ago, a YouTube video gave Fort Bragg the type of attention that nobody was proud of.
The father of a soldier shot pictures at one of the barracks, depicting deplorable conditions.
The so-called "YouTube Barracks" got so much attention, then-President Bush even took a tour of the infamous bathroom from the online video.
Thursday, the Army began the process of demolishing those bathrooms along with the rest of the buildings.
"The YouTube Barracks opened the eyes of Congress and the Department of the Army to send the money forward to us, so that we could bring the quality of life up for our soldiers," Fort Bragg Public Affairs Officer Tom McCollum said.
Army officials say the 13 Korean War-era barracks were already slated for destruction, but they jumped a full two years ahead of schedule after the video was posted.
Some new barracks have already started popping up, complete with two-soldier suites featuring common rooms, kitchenettes and individual sleeping quarters.
"It's a lot better than you'll see on most college campuses," McCollum said. "And it's fairly comparable to many small apartments."
The demolition process will take upwards of five months as crews remove hazardous materials such as mercury, florescent lights and asbestos.
"All those items are collected and then they'll be disposed of in a hazardous waste landfill that's properly lined to protect the groundwater," Resident Engineer Allen Hand said.
Engineers say they're recycling 75 percent of the rubble, and would like to keep as much of the concrete from these buildings as possible to use as gravel on roads at Fort Bragg.
The cost of demolishing the old buildings and construction for five new ones will total close to $89 million.
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- laura jean stroh on 06/19 02:46 PM
the real reason why these buildings were neglected and finally brought to President George w. Bush's attention, is that we, the army are more concerned with doing our jobs, and less about wimping about a hole in the ground to pee in, and a lumpy mattress. OUr concentration at Fort Bragg, is to train, and perform at the highest achievement of battle readiness possible. Lumpy mattresses and a crooked toilet is kind of on the bottom of our list, but we sure thank the President for coming to see us, and give us a new toilet? yo Republicans
- Disgusted on 06/18 11:17 PM
Remove the hazardous materials.... For years we (soldiers) were assured that there was no HAZMAT in the buildings and denied and therefore denied any medical documentation detailing exposure to lead piping and asbestos to name just two. Its a shame that it took a YouTube video to get any attention. This, of course, is just a media play. There won't be any surge of improvements for the average soldier. We have better things to spend the money on like maintaining the golf course and the two commissaries and exchange facilities. As long as it looks good on the surface that VIPs see the the conditions for the individual soldier don't really matter.
