Plan to tear down old Fort Bragg barracks delayed

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Fort Bragg again postponed a plan to tear down a Korean War-era barracks Wednesday.

Fort Bragg officials said the barracks, which saw its poor condition publicized on YouTube, will be one of 13 demolished this week.

The scheduled work was delayed because of problems with equipment. An official said the demolition may begin Thursday.

The barracks demolition process began last week with interior prep work that included asbestos abatement and the removal of environmental hazards, such as mercury thermostats, smoke detector batteries that contain acids and florescent lights because they contain Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB).

The debris for the barracks will be taken to Fort Bragg's landfill where 75 percent of it will be recycled.

The demolition of all 13 barracks is expected to take four to five months.

The infamous building drew national attention last year when it was filmed by the father of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper.

The video showed peeling paint and mold, a torn toilet seat and a soldier trying to unplug a floor drain that appeared to be clogged with sewage. The barracks had been repaired by the time then-President Bush visited the post in May 2008.

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Latest Comments

itls-- you have no clue what your talking about, soldier do tried to keep the building up. When you leave for a year or more at a time maintenance does fall behind (no excuse) mostly civilian work force does that work maintenance work. I would also said that building the new barracks will put some jobs out there (secondary), primary thing is those servicemember earned and deserve those new building.

Bob3425
June 18, 2009 10:49 a.m.

There are plenty of buildings in this state older than these that are still quite servicable. The difference is that the occupants had some pride in them and maintainance was done when necessary. Neither condition apparently existed at Bragg.

WHEEL
June 17, 2009 12:52 p.m.

What about the 1930's-era barracks that are "reserved" for the NC National Guard? And these whiners are crying about a clogged drain and peeling paint!!! Give me a freakin' break!!! The military I enlisted in, you maintained your building as if it were your home.

Put the sissys in a GP medium out at All American drop zone and see just how fast those Korean War-era buildings become habitable.

5-113 FA Retired
June 17, 2009 12:17 p.m.

yes it might cost us to tear those dilapadated buildings but so does the war in the Middles East too. Which would you rather see your soldier in good living conditions or over there fighting a war that should be over by now!!! We keep spending millions of dollars on that,where things in the US need to be looked after too.

lmatt34
June 17, 2009 10:46 a.m.

Don't tear them down! Use them as "new" prison quarters. Make prisons more like Army basic training, and we'd have a lot less crime.