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ONLY ON KFOX: Fort Bliss Garrison Commander Weighs In On Housing Troubles

Posted: 5:37 pm MDT August 14, 2008Updated: 11:47 pm MDT August 14, 2008

Garrison Commander Col. Edward Manning responded to exclusive stories on KFOX about major issues some soldiers and their families face with Fort Bliss homes.

For example, Amber Rivera lives in the South Main Post neighborhood on Fort Bliss, and listed countless problems with her home, many of which she said never seem to get fixed. Most troubling is an issue with growing black mold.

"I'm having health issues. I'm having allergies, my daughter is sneezing all the time, I've had to take a Benadryl every morning just to keep myself from sneezing, and then a caffeine pill to counteract it, so I can stay awake," said Rivera.

She told KFOX she has had enough.

"It frustrating, because everyday I am dealing with these issues and then I lash out at him. Our marriage is suffering from it, my health is suffering, and I want this issue to be fixed," said Rivera. "My father was in the Army, I was in the Army for three and a half years, and this is the worst housing conditions I have seen."

On Thursday, Manning responded to KFOX's stories.

"The immediate things will get fixed is life, health, safety. That it's going to affect soldiers, we will follow up and insure it will get taken care of today because we can't have that," said Manning.

Manning believed that most families are taken care of on post.

"There's a lot of work orders each day that happen, and I would say the overwhelming majority we fix right away, it's unfortunate that a couple have slipped through the crack," said Manning.

He said his job as essentially mayor of Fort Bliss is to be there for everyone on post.

"Soldiers and their families are our most precious resource, we're here to take care of them, so that that soldier can deploy knowing that his family has a good house and is taken care of here on post," Manning told KFOX.

Manning also said if anyone has problems with housing that is not getting resolved, to contact your chain of command and let the Army know, so that they can get the problems fixed.

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