by Paul Wylie

Created on: April 29, 2008   Last Updated: November 11, 2008

Just when we think that our troops returning from the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan can't be treated any worse than they already have been, a story and a YouTube video hits the web today about a father who went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to greet his son, who was returning from his second tour of duty in a remote region in Afghanistan, only to be met with conditions we wouldn't force on death row inmates.

So remote was the area in which Sergent Jeff Frawley was serving that he and his fellow soldiers sometimes went eight weeks without being able to bathe or make a phone call. So remote, that the nearest U.S. base was a dangerous five hour drive away. Yet, for some of the soldiers stationed at this Forward Operating Base, this was not their second, but their third tour of duty. The third 15 month deployment into a fire zone and the new killing fields.

Never complaining, they did their duty, many having their vehicles destroyed by IED's. Many a purple heart was handed out to this particular group of soldiers, and according to Sgt. Frawley's father, Edward Frawley, that was as far as this nation's political leaders expressed their appreciation for the hardships endured and the service that was rendered by the Sergeant and his group of men.

Returning home to Fort Bragg, the soldiers were housed in the most decrepit, most deplorable conditions, that the Walter Reed debacle looks pale in comparison. Raw sewage backing up inches deep in bathrooms, paint peeling from walls and ceilings, rusted pipes and hand rails everywhere, broken toilet seats, the list goes on and on. Having become almost common place since the Bush Administration's massive cuts to the funds that go directly to helping our vets and for taking care of our on duty soldiers, one must wonder at how the company that was supposed to build the new barracks and renovate the old ones, got away with all of this.

Then we turn to the McCarty Corporation. In June,2006, this company was awarded first one contract worth 15 million dollars to build the new barracks, then one month later, secured another 16.5 million dollar contract to build or renovate even more at the Fort Bragg base. The McCarty Corporation is based where again? Ahhhh. They're based in Austin, Texas, you know who's old stomping grounds. Mike McCarty is a registered Republican, and donated to the Bush campaign. Plus, he also loves horses, being a member of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and the proud owner of at least eight prized

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