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Schofield's single soldiers get
their quarters spruced up
Army officials at Schofield Barracks face the added challenge of maintaining many historic buildings as they work to improve living conditions for more than 4,800 single soldiers on the post.
Of the 37 living quarters at Schofield Barracks, 50 percent were built before 1922. Among the oldest are the eight, three-story barracks known as Quads, which were constructed between 1914 to 1931, according to Michael Kumabe, chief of planning division of the Army's Directorate of Public Works. The Quads are among the most recognizable buildings on the 9,200-acre installation.
Kumabe said the Quads are in an historic district that the Army is entrusted with preserving.
"This means that nothing can be done to its exterior, although the inside of the building can be renovated extensively," he said. "Anything we do has to be cleared with the State Historic Preservation Office."
Still, the Army was allowed to demolish three of the five Quads, along Williston Avenue, with the blessing of the state historians, to make way for more modern barracks for single soldiers. Kumabe said Quad K was demolished last year, Quad J will fall next year, followed by Quad I in 2007.
The remaining five will be restored as part of a $750 million Whole Barracks Renewal project. More than 4,300 square feet of barracks space will be upgraded or constructed.
One of the oldest barracks on post is Quad D, where much of the World War II movie "From Here to Eternity" was filmed. Work on Quad D will begin in 2007.
When built, the Quads were open-bay units where soldiers were housed together, sleeping in bunk beds and using community latrines. But the housing modules in Quad D were modified in the mid-1970s and the open bays were partitioned to modules housing two to four soldiers each. The housing modules in Quad D then were about 90 square feet each. There is a common bathroom and laundry facility for every 12 rooms in Quad D.
In renovating the remaining five Quads, Kumabe said, the Army will follow its new housing standard that allows up to 140 square feet of private bedroom space for each soldier.
Two decades ago, all open bays were converted to smaller housing modules, Kumabe added. About five years ago, the modules were converted to give more soldiers a private bedroom.
About half of the 4,800 single Schofield Barrack soldiers now have a private bedroom. However, soldiers share a bathroom and a service area that includes a sink, cabinets, refrigerator and a microwave. Kumabe said that future renovations will include a small stove, but without an oven in the service area. By the time the barracks renewal program is completed in 2008, Kumabe said, all of Schofield's single soldiers will have their own bedroom.
Kumabe said the Army doesn't fund barracks renovations, such as those planned for Schofield, at one time.
"It's done in increments," he said. "As we get the money, we move the soldiers out of barracks, renovate it and then move them back in."
The Army began renovating Schofield's five Quads in 1995 with the first one, Quad F, completed in June at a cost of $43.8 million. Quad F is the home of the 725th Maintenance Support Battalion, Headquarters & Headquarters Company of the 25th Infantry Division Support Command and the 71st Chemical Company.
Kumabe said Quad C is next in line at a cost of $42 million and will be completed in two years. Another $49 million was just approved, he added, to redo Quad E over the next two years.
As part of its agreement with the state historical office, Kumabe said, the Army is required to maintain the exterior architectural design of the Quads, especially its windows, door openings and railings.
"Landscaping is not required to maintain the original look except in areas where the trees are deemed to be significant," he said. "In those cases we save those trees."
Spc. Dwight Tyler, a member of the 71st Chemical Company, said his new room in Quad F is a far cry from his old one in Quad E.
"It was pretty bad and old," said Tyler, who has been in the Army since February 2003. "The latrines were hard to clean. I have more privacy now."
