Panel urges private rooms at South Korea bases

[unhappycamper]

Pvt. Zachary Phillip Voelkel, left, and Pfc. Andrew Strzyzewski, of the 55th Military Police Company, walk by their barracks Wednesday at Camp Casey. A panel of soldiers created a presentation Wednesday at the Army Family Action Plan conference that will ask garrison officials to let all soldiers have their own private rooms. Added gear requirements have made it difficult for roommates, some of whom share older, smaller rooms than today's Army standard.


Panel urges private rooms at South Korea bases
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, November 19, 2008

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — When soldiers shared barracks rooms in South Korea in the 1950s and ’60s, they didn’t have 300 pounds of gear apiece and a 42-inch plasma television to cram into their quarters.

Today’s Army standard is a 160-square-foot room for each soldier, said officials at U.S. Army Garrison-Red Cloud, a collection of bases from north of Seoul to the Demilitarized Zone.

Some of the buildings within the garrison, also known as Area I, were built in the ’50s and ’60s to a smaller standard. Junior enlisted soldiers are sharing those rooms in some cases.

Giving those soldiers their own spaces would improve the soldier readiness and quality of life, a panel of soldiers at the Army Family Action Plan Conference said Wednesday.

Although commanders for the most part stayed out of the panel discussions so the soldiers could speak freely, Camp Casey’s enclave commander told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday that private rooms have been considered.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58944

[BOSSHOG]

1. I recall living in WWII era barracks

back in the early 70's. They were wooden open bay structures but the base skipper let us "self-help" our home sweet homes with partitions. They turned out quite nice. And we did it all ourselves.