Army Secretary tours Fort Bragg housing, promises solutions

Akilah Davis Image
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Army Secretary tours Fort Bragg housing, promises solutions
Army Secretary McCarthy pledged to keep on-post housing as a top priority for the Army. He says this is about providing soldiers with the quality of life they deserve.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WTVD) -- Army Secretary Ryan D. McCary visited to survey living conditions at Fort Bragg which has been at the epicenter of the military housing crisis.

Corvias, the private military housing company, has invested $25.2 million dollars into on-post housing which equates to renovations in 132 homes, according to Fort Bragg officials. McCarthy pledged to keep on-post housing as a top priority for the Army. He told ABC11 after his visit last year many homes were in bad shape.

In the past, Fort Bragg military families came forward to share their unbelievable complaints and pictures of black mold and mildew in their on-post housing.

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Residents complain of mold problems in Fort Bragg housing.
Morgan Norwood

Fort Bragg said Corvias has hired 52 team members to improve their responsiveness to work order requests. Fort Bragg has made some additional hires to inspect work completed by Corvias.

"What you saw over time is an abdication of responsibility. We outsource this to a corporation. That's the danger when you set up these public-private partnerships. Over time, you get lazy. As an institution, we got lazy. The wake-up call came two years ago. It is embarrassing and it is awful," said Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy.

The Secretary told ABC11 this effort is about improving the quality of life they deserve.