Fort Stewart officials are working to combat a persistent foe in the soldiers’ barracks — mold.

Col. (ret.) Peter Hoffman, a civilian aide to Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, got a first-hand look at the mold problems Friday morning and will give his report to the secretary.

 “It’s an important issue because our Army is here for one purpose — to fight and win our nation’s wars. But we can’t do it without the right soldiers,” he said. “The top priority of the Army is taking care of those soldiers. Part of that is making sure they have a safe and healthy place to live.” 

Mold in barracks is an old issue, Hoffman acknowledged. He recalled mold being an issue when he was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., back in the 1980s. Fort Stewart has had two main culprits in its mold conundrum — Fort Stewart’s climate, with its high relative humidity, and the lengths of time barracks rooms go unoccupied as soldiers are on deployments.

 “When we deployed, there was a lot of mold because they were unoccupied for so long,” said Spec. Kiara Boazman, who has been stationed at Stewart since June 2019. “It’ll occur more often in rooms that are unoccupied.” Spec. Boazman said she can handle the mold, using either hydrogen peroxide or vinegar, if it is a level 1. Barracks rooms that have mold are put into three categories — level 1, which has 10 square feet or fewer of mold; level 2, which has 10 to 25 square feet of mold; and level 3, which is 25 square feet or more of mold. Those rooms designated as level 3 are closed, and soldiers are not living in them. 

There are four active level 3 rooms now, said Bill McGovern, an engineering technician with Fort Stewart’s Directorate of Public Works and its lead on the mold team. Six rooms deemed to be level 3 have been remediated.

McGovern said the post is trying to do more than just correct the current situation. Officials are working to stop it from happening in the future.

“We want to treat the root cause and not just the symptoms,” he said. There is a 12-man mold team that responds to work orders on mold. Spec. Boazman said the team is responsive, especially when pictures accompany the work order so they can see the severity.

McGovern said the DPW has worked with Army leadership from officers down to noncommissioned officers on instructing soldiers how to combat mold. They have reached out to researchers, calling on experts for the best ways to attack the problem.

“It is a more methodical approach to how we’re handling it,” he said, ”what caused the mold infestation to happen.”

McGovern added that Louisiana State University studies have shown that hydrogen peroxide is a better cleaner, killing the mold and leaving a less surface that will be less likely for the mold to recolonize.

New air systems bringing in 5-15% more fresh air from the outside are being installed, and hundreds of room dehumidifiers are being installed. McGovern said they are working on getting into rooms that are being unoccupied for lengths of time, if the soldier is on leave or deployed, to stop the mold spread. Mold has shown up in two to three weeks in unoccupied rooms.

In their discussions with commanders and NCOs, DPW’s mold team has indicated that soldiers returning to the barracks from the field often have decaying foliage on their boots and other gear, and that can lead to mold taking root.

“The things that we’ve changed over the past four months in how we treat mold and the barracks have made a difference,” he said. “Mold needs moisture. In this kingdom of organisms, it needs water.”

Hoffman praised the garrison and 3rd Infantry Division staff for its efforts in tackling the mold problems.

“I am happy to see there are systems in place to take care of these problems,” he said. “It is not an easy solution and it is not an easy fix. We have old barracks and we have an environment here in this region that would lead to mold growth. It has to be taken care of in a number of ways.”

Garrison commander Col. Manny Ramirez pointed out the barracks date as far back as 1977, and those will be undergoing renovations in the next 10 years. The post also is looking at funding for new barracks.

Hoffman acknowledged that there hasn’t been the investment in building new barracks over the last two decades.

“We were fighting wars and this division, probably more than any other division, was gone off fighting our nation’s wars,” he said. “It’s not a new problem but is a problem that demands a focus. We’re really, really focused on taking care of these soldiers and making sure they’re safe.

“You can’t focus on soldiers without making sure they have a safe and healthy place to live.”