(UnitedVoice.com) – It’s a well-known secret that the barracks on military bases across the country aren’t in good shape. America sends young men and women off to foreign lands to fight for our freedom and best interests, but when they come home, they are often forced to live in horrible conditions. Stories about the state of housing on bases are awful, even in units where families with young children are residing. The Army is now asking Congress for money to fix the problem.
Army Asks for Money
The Army is asking lawmakers to increase their funding by a massive amount in 2025 so the branch can deal with the deplorable living conditions on bases across the country. Army officials want the budget to improve the barracks to increase from $1.5 billion to $2.365 billion. They also want to triple the budget for building new barracks.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth spoke to Military.com about the issues facing the service branch. She said the branch has a pretty “flat” budget overall, but that it’s trying to get an increase for “barracks construction, restoration, and modernization.” They are going to work with lawmakers to ensure there’s a long-term investment. Right now, Wormuth admitted there was a lengthy maintenance backlog for some of the aging barracks.
Deplorable Conditions
In September, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a scathing report about the poor living conditions on military bases. According to the report, officials discovered some of the military barracks had issues with privacy, inoperable fire systems, and sewage overflowing into living spaces.
The report stated that officials visited 12 military bases to check out the housing. In their investigation, they found some of the barracks “pose potentially serious health and safety risks.” Six of them had issues with roaches, bedbugs, and other bugs. Other housing had issues with security. In one instance, squatters moved into someone’s apartment. At five of the bases, the service members complained that their water was brown and said they didn’t think it was safe to drink. Investigators asked officials at the bases about the water quality and they responded that they didn’t test it because they didn’t have to.
Thousands of troops are living in facilities that are below government standards. Service members told officials the deplorable conditions have impacted their readiness and quality of life. At one base in the DC area, which is in a swampy region known for the heat, 25% of the air conditioning didn’t work. Service members living at the base said it was “continuous misery.” Another person told investigators they felt like they were “standing in the sun all night.”
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