Fort Bragg leaders highlight progress, future plans during panel and housing tour

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fort Bragg is continuing to address housing concerns on post.

On Wednesday, ABC11 was invited on the installation for a housing tour and panel discussion on what's being done to correct mold and maintenance issues.

During the discussion, Fort Bragg and Corvias leaders admitted to a 2012 decision that came with a domino effect.

"In an effort to promote longe term sustainability of the project, housing here, we agreed to reduce expenses. This turned into fewer staff, less communication with residents and lower touch of service," said Sharon Shore, VP of Military Housing for Corvias.

Cutting costs caused soldiers and their families to pay the price. Some shared photos of mold and structural decay with ABC11. The Directorate of Public Works on Fort Bragg said last year's hurricanes compounded the chain reaction.

"Thirteen-hundred homes were impacted to some degree by those storms here on the installation and a lot of the mold that we've found even in the last two months have been lingering effects," said Greg Jackson of DPW.

DPW said 60 homes out of the 6,000 units on Fort Bragg tested positive for mold.

Last Month, Corvias was called to Capitol Hill to answer to lawmakers, who later demanded action.

Fort Bragg officials took ABC11 inside one of their recently repaired homes in Hammon Hills to show an example of repairs happening across the installation. Those fixes included new duct work, windows, mold mitigation, carpeting and hardware upgrades.

On the administrative side, Corvias added 51 positions, a new work order tracking system and a quality assurance hotline.

Garrison Commander Col. Kyle Reed also said the chain of command will be regularly inspecting all Corvias units.

For the fastest deploying installation in the nation, there's a direct link between the housing concerns and soldier readiness.

"Their focus really isn't on the mission their focus is on taking care of their families so it delays them in the ability to do all of those requirements associated with being able to deploy out of this installation," Col. Reed explained.

Fort Bragg also announced a new initiative that educates soldiers on the importance of home upkeep and how to report issues to Corvias and their chain of command.

Looking ahead, Corvias is working with Fort Bragg leaders on a plan that would demolish 46 older homes, renovate the interior and exterior of existing homes and build 150 new homes.