DCRepublican.com

Mon 28 Apr 2008

Not once did I ever imagine there being evidence to actually support the claim that barracks being built for foreign armies, funded by the American taxpayer are actually in better shape than some of the barracks our troops have to stay in here in the United States.

However, CNN.com released a story today that not only brought forward accusations of poor conditions in barracks, but actually presented video and images to back up those claims.

Check out this video sent to CNN by the father of soldier who returned from Afghanistan:

Now, I know that this is the military, where “roughing it” is often an assumed way of life, but you cant help but wonder why the military wouldn’t want to ensure that these troops returning (many who will be deployed again) would have comfortable accommodations to help them bring their minds back from battle, or at least ease the stress they have endured on the battlefield.

But, I think there is some light at the end of this tunnel. Instead of taking the all-to-common “no comment,” the Army released a statement:

“The conditions depicted in Mr. Frawley’s video are appalling and unacceptable, and we are addressing the concerns he expressed,” said Maj. Tom Earnhardt, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne, in a written statement.

I don’t think our troops are expecting the Ritz-Carlton when they come back from battle (though they deserve it), but it shouldn’t be difficult to provide them with simple amenities that are less-primitive than the near third-world countries they are returning from.

I know a lot of the blame can fall on the contractors who were requested to fix this, and I would hope that after this story broke those contractors were fired immediately, and new guys brought in.