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Soldiers deserve better barracks

Our Voice

Hickory Daily Record Editorial

Published: October 23, 2009

Living in substandard barracks should not be part of the Army's training program.

Yet, that's the case at Fort Bragg, where a group studying soldier housing for the Fort Bragg Army Family Action Plan found the 17,000 unmarried soldiers live in housing that is below the Army's standards.

The group said the barracks are "not a suitable home." Inconsistencies and lack of resources are among the causes of the poor housing.

Our soldiers train hard, often in miserable field conditions, to be ready for any deployment. They should not be living with clogged sewage drains, peeling paint, mold and other problems when they return to their quarters.

It's unacceptable treatment.

These men and women prepare themselves for service in all parts of the world, and there is always the possibility they will encounter hostile environments and combat. They do not deserve to live as if the Army is afflicted by poverty, and they certainly do not deserve to return home to live in barracks that the government would deem unsuitable for landlords to rent.

While this does not qualify as an emergency, steps must be taken to improve the housing at Fort Bragg. We also wonder if these conditions exist at other military facilities.

Soldiers don't expect to live in luxury, but there is no excuse for calling them heroes and then giving them substandard barracks.

We expect a lot from the military, the military expects a lot from its personnel, and the personnel should expect decent housing when stationed on base.

Fix the barracks. Now.

Campus sirens a grudging necessity

We didn't think we'd see the day when sirens would be necessary for college campus security. Colleges across the nation are installing warning systems to alert students, staff and faculty of security crises.

Duke University has activated its sirens, and a test this week was a reminder of how the campus community would get a mass warning.

The phrase in a story by The Associated Press on the activation tells the tale: "in the case of an emergency, such as a tornado or shooting." It's shooting deaths on college campuses that spurred the sirens.

We are grateful colleges are installing early warning systems, but we don't have to accept the situation as inevitable.