FORT STEWART, Ga. — Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield and 3rd Infantry Division leaders officially transferred the keys to Building 515, a renovated 68-bed apartment-style barracks, to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team on Sept. 30.
The key transfer marks a step in the installation’s long-term barracks modernization effort aimed at improving living conditions for unaccompanied Soldiers.
The barracks was originally constructed in the late 1970s as communal housing. With the new work done, Building 515 was completely overhauled into modern suites designed to enhance day-to-day quality of life while providing Soldiers with increased privacy.
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The renovated facility pairs single Soldiers in two-person suites featuring shared common areas equipped with a full kitchen, stove, refrigerator, microwave with air fryer settings and dedicated in-suite washers and dryers. Each Soldier has an individual sleeping room, private walk-in closet and private bathroom.
David Deloach, chief engineer for the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Directorate of Public Works, explained how the dorm-style layout benefits Soldiers.
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He compared the new barracks to apartment units, a different style than what was built in the 1970s.
“They’ve got cooking abilities they didn’t have before,” Deloach said. “They’ve got the washer and dryer in their own space instead of the shared washer. It’s a lot of things that they can do on their own now that was a shared atmosphere where they had to get in line to do certain things. Now they have the ability to do it themselves.”
To address coastal Georgia’s extreme heat and humidity, the barracks were outfitted with modern Dedicated Outside Air Systems and centralized digital controls, in addition to giving soldiers their own space, instead of the former version’s communal, crowded living situation, Deloach said.
Command Sgt. Maj. Greg Swayer, senior enlisted leader for the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, compared the renovated building to the original 1970s facilities.
“It’s night and day,” Swayer said. “Really, the old barracks, it’s going from communal living to more of the individual living, where Soldiers can really have a place that they can call home.”
He said giving the soldiers a safe, clean, place to go at the end of the day helps them rest and reset.
Swayer also said the updated facility offers reassurance to Soldiers’ families.
“I think it’s always good that parents have a sense of security, that their children are in good hands with their leaders,” Swayer said. “As a noncommissioned officer, one of our main jobs is to help Soldiers and that includes their well-being.”
To maintain standards across the facility, installation leaders are using the Army’s newly released NCO Barracks Guidebook, which outlines roles, responsibilities and service order workflows across all command levels.
“It provides resources and tools not only to the Soldiers, giving them what their responsibilities are for unaccompanied housing, but it gives the tools and resources to leaders at every echelon on how they can help the barracks process and support their soldiers,” Swayer said.
Soldiers are scheduled to begin moving into Building 515 over the next few weeks, following the Sept. 30 turnover.
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