Thursday, May 15

The Spartans used to tell young soldiers the only difference between a recruit and the king was the distance between the mud holes in which they both slept on the eve of battle.

As such, the furor caused recently over a YouTube broadcast of substandard conditions in a Fort Bragg, N.C., barracks set off a firestorm of rhetoric and bandaging by the Army. The public, too steeped in John Wayne stereotypes of the armed forces, missed the incident's double-edged nature.

Ed Frawley, father of Sgt. Jeff Frawley, shot a home video of the barracks his son stayed in after redeploying from 15 months in Afghanistan. Frawley toured the building, turning his lens and commentary to molding ceilings, overflowing toilets, peeling lead-based paint, inoperable water fountains and anything else he could find wrong.

The video was helpful in two ways. First, it brought attention to the deterioration, forcing remedial action through public embarrassment. Also, it demonstrated that citizens have grown aloof to the military except in times of danger. Even then the relationship knows no middle ground, as it usually encompasses either idolatry or disdainful tolerance.

As Frawley exhorted his

legion of Internet viewers, there is no excuse for such conditions in garrison. With billions going into defense budgets, a few coats of paint, drainage upgrades and bleaching are not unreasonable to expect. After all, if the nation is sending these young people in harm's way, the least it can do for them back home is provide adequate lodging. Cynics were quick to note prison facilities are far better maintained than the exposed barracks at Fort Bragg.

But the incident is not commonplace, and far more likely to happen in the Army than another service, even the ultra-macho Marines. There are several reasons for this, but the two principal ones are finance and philosophy. Both are linked to each other.

The Air Force has always been the glamour service, joking that it builds its clubs and gyms before its runways, so money doesn't run out for recreation. Army troops would jump through hoops to be lodged in an enlisted Air Force barracks, many which resemble upper-scale hotels. Go figure: Those same dwellings are often disparaged by the flyboys. Perspective is everything.

The Navy is in the same boat, no pun intended, and often takes its younger cousin, the Marine Corps, along for the ride. Operating at sea in sardine-like conditions for six-month tours euphemistically dubbed "cruises," the Navy has always appreciated the value of shore time. Its purpose is a mental break from the desolation afloat. For the most part, the Navy tailors its bases to reflect this.

But the Army is a different animal. Taking a cue from its Spartan ancestors, the Army has many bright and courageous members throughout its ranks, but an institutional way of addressing progress that makes tapping maple syrup seem like the Indianapolis 500. This is because, unlike the Air Force's humorous self-depiction, the Army tends to operational matters first in terms of financing, and morale and welfare matters last.

It's difficult to argue against that approach, which is enabled by the unspoken belief that doing otherwise would "soften" the troops and distract them from their original purpose. To be fair, the Army's case is sound when arguing the point from an in-theater perspective of continuous operations. And this is where Frawley's video got it wrong.

Halfway through the tape, he went off on a tangent complaining about his son's lack of access to e-mails, phone calls home and hot showers - all while deployed in the Afghan mountains. But in combat, a soldier's mission isn't to chat online or take a shower once a week, regardless of what doctrinal planning factors dictate. It's to hunt down and kill the enemy, and keep himself from being killed. Sgt. Frawley can call home from his base camp - when and if he makes it back from his last patrol.

But Frawley was on target regarding the Fort Bragg fiasco. Army authorities have long dragged their feet at properly maintaining barracks, particularly transient facilities. The reason isn't just money; it's attitude. While the Spartan ethos is alive and well with our troops in the field, you won't catch many of their Pentagon elders sleeping in a nearby mud hole.

Telly Halkias is a writer and editor from Vermont. E-mail him at tchalkias@aol.com.