Fort Lewis fixing up old barracks with $2.8 billion

Soldiers at Fort Lewis live in buildings that date back as far as 1927, but base officials say an ambitious barracks construction and renovation project is keeping soldier housing entirely hospitable.

Fort Lewis, base for about 28,924 soldiers, has been building new barracks and upgrading old ones for the past seven years, mostly to accommodate population growth as new Stryker brigades are formed or moved to Washington state.

The 86,000-acre base is in the midst of a $2.8 billion construction plan, which will add 6,000 new barrack spaces and renovate thousands more as well as pay for other construction, said base spokesman Joe Piek.

An inspection of every barrack this past week found no serious life, health or safety issues at Fort Lewis, Piek said.

"We did find some isolated incidents of minor maintenance issues - some peeling paint or maybe a broken toilet - but nothing serious," Piek said.

He said none of the maintenance issues represented the kind of "unlivable conditions" that inspectors were told to look for. Piek said he couldn't give any more details about the base report to U.S. Army headquarters because it had already been passed along to officials in Washington, D.C.

Another $1.9 billion is budgeted for base construction over the next five years, including facilities other than barracks.

"We've constantly been building and transforming the post," said the retired military officer who was formerly assigned to Fort Lewis but now works at the base as a civilian.

A total of 21 new barracks buildings have been built on base since 1995, so more than a third of the soldiers currently living at Fort Lewis are in new barracks, Piek said. About a quarter of its 105 barracks are in the midst of some kind of interior renovation.

Fort Lewis and an associated training center in Yakima form one of largest Army facilities in the nation with bunk space for more than 10,000 soldiers, but more than half of Fort Lewis' population lives off base or is currently deployed. The base is scheduled to grow to 32,000 soldiers by 2012.

The oldest barracks on base, two buildings built in 1927, have been completely renovated and now house the base's most fragile population: the "warrior transition battalion," made up of injured soldiers from various units.

"These are some of the best quality living conditions available on the installation," Piek said. They are part of the base's inventory of designated historic buildings, and cannot be demolished, he said.

The second-oldest barracks on base, wooden buildings dating back to World War II, are reserved for ROTC summer camps and for soldiers just passing through the base for short-term assignments lasting up to a couple months, Piek said.

As new barracks are finished, soldiers are moved out of old barracks, some of which will be renovated and others will be torn down, he said.

Piek said the Army endeavors to renovate nearly every barrack deserted as units are deployed to Iraq or elsewhere around the world.

"The quality of life for our soldiers at Fort Lewis is always at the top of our list of priorities," Piek said. "Whenever possible, the soldiers return to better conditions and better living quarters than when they left."

Besides new barracks, 985 new married soldier homes have been built on base in the past five years. Another 2,600 homes are scheduled to be renovated. They'll get new roofs, siding, flooring and kitchen appliances, Piek said.