'I was getting sick:' Bragg leaders, lawmakers say they're working to address housing issues

Fort Bragg and congressional leaders say they are working to address issues with military housing

Pennalla Evans was at Fort Bragg for three days when she first called to report a problem in her military housing in May 2015.

Her air conditioner had stopped working in the humid spring heat.

Evans' home in the St. Mere Eglise neighborhood is one of 6,150 homes managed by Corvias, Fort Bragg's private military housing contractor.

Her more recent problems, she said, have included mold. And members of her family have health issues that she believes are related to problems with housing.

She is not alone in her concerns.

Residents at Fort Bragg and at military installations across the country have raised concerns about numerous issues including lead paint, backed up ventilation systems and falling ceilings in their military housing.

Recent investigations by the Reuters news organization revealed problems with lead paint, mold and health issues. A survey by the Military Family Advisory Network released earlier this year showed that more than 55 percent of the more than 16,700 individuals interviewed had a negative experience with private military housing.

Top Army officials have directed installations to look into the issue, and congressional leaders have visited posts — including Fort Bragg — to meet with families and walk through their homes.

Fort Bragg officials and Corvias representatives have apologized during town hall meetings and vowed to address concerns. Corvias has said it is hiring more people and revising operations to better address problems.

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, whose district includes Fort Bragg, is among the lawmakers who have been in touch with military families.

"I'm angry about it ... Our soldiers have enough to worry about without having to worry about whether their families' housing is safe," he said.

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Evans has lived in the St. Mere Eglise neighborhood since 2015.

She said when she reported problems with her air conditioner in May of that year Corvias responded.

"They came, said they fixed it," Evans said. "Two days later it was 87 degrees in my house."

She called each week, from May until August.

"They were just patching over a hole," Evans said. "We needed a whole new unit. I called and made a complaint. They put one small AC unit in the window of my house. Four people — two kids and two adults — slept under one unit for months."

The last request she made was in May 2018, when she returned home to Oklahoma and her husband told her the air conditioner went out again.

Evans said Corvias maintenance workers told them it was not an emergency. But someone arrived at their home after she posted a Facebook Live video about the situation.

"I shouldn't have to do that," she said.

The air conditioner hasn't been her only problem. She also has mold in her bathroom and in her kitchen, she said.

She said the latest attempt to fix it has involved maintenance workers tearing into the walls and using bleach to disinfect the area. It is a procedure she questions.

Evans said her son had asthma prior to moving to Fort Bragg. Her husband, however, did not have respiratory issues. He was in the Reserves for two years before becoming active duty in 2015.

Evans said her husband has developed a persistent cough, which his leaders started asking about. He is waiting on test results to see if there is a diagnosis for his respiratory issues.

Evans isn't the only raising questions about the possible health effects of mold.

Breanna Ray lived at Fort Polk, Louisiana, from 2012 to 2014 as a military spouse until she joined the military herself.

In 2014, she moved to Fort Bragg. Ray said she did not experience respiratory problems until she was placed in a military house after a deployment.

"I was getting sick ... with what was attributed to asthma at the time," Ray said. "I told doctors I never had asthma in my life."

At the same time, she said, she made repeated requests to Corvias to deal with pest control and flooding related to her air conditioner.

Records that Ray provided The Fayetteville Observer show she went to Womack Army Medical Center's pulmonology disease clinic five times for shortness of breath between February 2018 and March 2018.

"The pulmonologist said, ‘If you're just sitting in your house, this is not asthma,' and ordered a blood test," Ray said.

Doctors found traces of fungus and mold in her blood, Ray's medical records show.

A doctor wrote in a May 2018 medical evaluation that based on discussions and interactions with Ray, he believed there was no improvement to her lung function or her ability to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test.

Her records show she also went to Womack's allergy center for "unspecified asthma" twice in August 2018.

Ray said doctors advised her to retire, which she did in October.

"I had to retire. Lung issues are detrimental to soldiers. I couldn't deploy because I couldn't wear a gas mask without the risk of having an asthma attack," she said.

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Fort Bragg has held several town hall meetings in recent weeks to discuss housing.

During a Feb. 20 meeting, Tim Toohey, a senior representative for Corvias, apologized to residents who spoke. He said he's seen houses he would not live in himself.

Toohey said five Corvias representatives at Fort Bragg were let go in February.

He and other Corvias officials have said maintenance teams are being restructured, people are being added and technology is being updated to help address the issue.

Corvias maintenance technicians are now assigned to specific neighborhoods within Fort Bragg to help develop familiarity and relationships between residents and the maintenance team.

The additional staff should give Corvias more personnel to respond to service calls and monitor issues across neighborhoods, officials said.

"This hiring push means more people on post to handle service requests, follow up after a service call and monitor individual resident or community-wide needs," said Mary Humphreys, a spokeswoman for Corvias.

The company also plans to work with an environmental consultant to review processes for lead abatement and a specialist to review Corvias' procedures for dealing with mildew.

Kelly Douglas, a spokeswoman for Corvias, said the company is partnering with the Army and Air Force to free up money to improve 2,600 homes, which includes a push to eliminate exterior and interior lead-based paint hazards.

"Our goal is to return to the ‘gold standard' level of service both we and our residents expect as soon as possible," Douglas said. "We — Corvias and Fort Bragg leadership — are working together to improve the housing program, to balance short- and long-term needs with available budget, to better serve residents. Providing housing for our armed service members is a privilege, and Corvias is fully committed to this effort."

Col. Kyle Reed, Fort Bragg garrison commander, briefly spoke about military housing during a March 14 Command Performance Breakfast hosted by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber's Military Affairs Council.

He said he believes there is a "re-energized commitment″ to taking care of military families.

He said Corvias has brought on more people to assist with shortfalls. And he said Corvias' senior vice president and its owner have been at the installation.

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Secretary of the Army Mark Esper and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis met with military families at Fort Bragg and toured homes on March 1.

Tillis has said he thinks the housing program has drifted since being privately contracted out in 1996, and that housing providers, the Department of Defense and Congress all own