Army creates new NCO guidebook to improve barracks management

The Army on Tuesday released a guidebook to help noncommissioned officers understand their role managing the barracks to improve soldiers’ living conditions and enforce standards.

The guidebook, which is a compilation of policies and steps to navigate typical scenarios, stemmed from Command Sgt. Maj. Nema Mobarakzadeh’s experiences and conversations visiting Army barracks across the country. Now, as the senior enlisted member of the Western Hemisphere Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., he led the development of the 20-page book over the past four to five months.

After navigating a six-week pilot with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., the guidebook is on version 59 and ready to go Army-wide, he said Monday during a call with reporters and Army leaders.

“There was also a time during the Global War on Terror where we outsourced this,” Mobarakzadeh said. “We had a number of civilian barracks managers under the First Sergeant Barracks program, and they fulfilled many of these responsibilities. So you have some NCOs that maybe have an education gap where they didn’t learn how to do this when they were more junior NCOs. Now they’re in those first sergeant and sergeant major roles.”

The Army has well-known challenges with its barracks buildings that will need more time and money to fix. Issues such as air conditioning breakdowns, water leaks and mold growth are also exacerbated by poorly funded upkeep of facilities and a shortage of maintenance personnel at many Army installations. Though NCOs can inspect the barracks and identify maintenance issues, it is up to the Directorate of Public Works to resolve work orders.

“Obviously, it is not a silver bullet,” said Jordan Gillis, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment. “It really is just another useful tool to address barracks conditions. NCOs and units obviously have a role to play, but we at [Department of the Army] and [installations, energy and environment] and me, we still have to do our part to fight for the resources like funding and staffing and then the projects that on the ground will make a difference to soldiers and to units.”

In addition to the guidebook, the Army is giving NCOs more information about barracks management during the Masters Leader Course for master sergeants and at the battalion and brigade precommand course, Mobarakzadeh said.

To highlight the education gap, Mobarakzadeh shared an anecdote from his time as the senior enlisted leader of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. A battalion command sergeant major reported to him that soldiers in the barracks had been without hot water for a week. It turned out the battalion-level leader did not know the soldiers needed to submit a work order to get the problem resolved.

“The NCO creed tells us that the welfare of our soldiers is always uppermost in our mind, and that’s hard to do if you don’t understand how to actually take care of soldiers,” he said. “This guidebook will help NCOs understand how to take care of soldiers when it comes to their barracks space.”