Fort Bragg: Barracks of Broken Promises

A buddy of mine just PCSd to Fort Bragg and was moved into the in-processing barracks. This is what he was welcomed with. Apparently the officer that was responsible for showing people to their rooms just made sure their key cards worked and dipped when it worked, not stepping foot in the room. Are there no barracks NCOs for in-processing barracks at Bragg? I’ve PCSd twice and the barracks NCOs made sure my room was spotless. Even in Korea I left my in-processing barracks room better than it was when I moved in. Obviously military barracks/housing is notorious for being shitty but this is a no shit unlivable environment. Who should this be reported to so bare minimum health standards are actually adhered to?

I’ll have a Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish with extra tartar sauce & a large fry.

Fort Bragg In-processing barracks

Published August 25, 2022:

Army Altering How It Inspects Barracks as Bragg Troops Are Evacuated from Moldy Housing

The news comes as Fort Bragg, North Carolina, officials have begun to move some 1,200 soldiers from the base’s mold-infested Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks in a seemingly unprecedented relocation effort almost guaranteed to stress-test garrison logistics and pour an influx of new renters into a local housing market already bursting at the seams.

Roughly 50 rooms in the 12 Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks were discovered to be infested with mold after a complaint from soldiers to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth in early July spurred inspections from Daly and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston. The problem is mostly the result of leaky mid-20th century air conditioning systems, which are difficult to repair and costly to replace.

Fort Bragg is far from the only installation with moldy facilities. But the Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks were already set to be demolished in roughly five years. The Army decided to accelerate that timeline and now plans to demolish 12 buildings next year, while renovating five others in a $150 million plan.

RISE OF THE MACHINES: AI to the Rescue as the Military Continues to Struggle With Pilot Shortage

AI to the Rescue as the Military Continues to Struggle With Pilot Shortage

Only further causing headache this year was the fact that the Air Force had to temporarily ground nearly 300 trainer aircraft over concerns that their ejection seats would not fire correctly in an emergency. The problem, which also impacted the entire Air Force’sF-35A Lightning II fleet, was also discovered in 203 T-38 Talons and 76 T-6 Texans IIs.

There are now various efforts underway to use advanced technology to address the pilot shortage gap. The United States Air Force and Merlin Labs are now developing software that could allow the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules to fly with just a single pilot, whereby artificial intelligence (AI) would act as the second pilot. The C-130, built at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Marietta, Georgia, now holds the record for the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft – first entering service in 1954.

The software will be able to follow verbal instructions* from air traffic control, while the goal is for it to respond much like a human pilot. It is just one of several efforts currently underway to explore how AI can fill the pilot shortage.

The U.S. Army is also looking at how AI could be employed in its aircraft. Earlier this year, a Sikorsky UH-60A successfully conducted a 30-minute flight over Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It had no pilot or aircrew. The test was conducted as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

“All modern combat jets are inherently instable, which makes them more maneuverable, and only fly due to the help of a computer,” explained technology industry analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.

Hope that it’s better than Apple’s Voice Control.