Military Barracks Are a ‘Total Disgrace’ – The American Spectator

On Oct 3, 2023

The U.S. military is suffering from a growing list of self-inflicted wounds, with the most recent regarding poor enlisted housing conditions (barracks and related unmarried housing), which were discovered by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to be unfit for even Marines to live in. Commenting on the GAO’s report, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, does not coddle his wardroom fellows.

Gallagher writes:

Any American who serves our country does so knowing they won’t be staying at the Ritz, but they rightly expect a basic and safe standard of living. This GAO report reveals this is far from the case in many instances. While the Department of Defense takes pride in the well-maintained golf courses and new EV charging stations at its installations, it has turned a blind eye to the living conditions endured by servicemembers, which can include collapsing ceilings, mold and mildew, and even squatters raiding servicemembers’ personal possessions. This is a total disgrace that warrants further investigation. Congress must implement more rigorous oversight into the Pentagon’s prioritizations and work to pass a defense appropriations bill that gives sufficient funding to improve servicemembers’ quality of life.

As a Navy guy, it’s difficult to feel an abundance of sympathy for those with separated beds and windows — not to mention that all the conditions listed are par for the course on a ship, a creature that merrily spews waste and all sorts of concerning vapors without apparent reason — but my troubles should not hinder compassion; instead they should engender sympathy. Military life is tough (relative to civilian life, for all of those “back in my day, we ate bricks for breakfast and ran 20 miles before sunrise with half-tracks on our backs” old-timers grumbling to themselves), and recruitment is down. Building maintenance protects taxpayer assets and manpower investments.

Gallagher raises two points, both worth considering. The first is that base appropriations can be used for almost anything, and the staff in charge of making those choices are the upper enlisted and officers who’d prefer to see those monies applied to things they like and interact with (e.g., golf courses and EV charging stations). What the superiors forget about are the living conditions of the lower enlisted — because when would they ever tour those facilities? It’s the job of the middle enlisted to police those barracks and ensure that everything is satisfactory. However, room inspections can only go so far when the issues aren’t beer cans and questionable-looking socks but clogged, regurgitating piping and mold blooms.

Further, supervisors can easily fall into the mental trap of considering enlisted housing to be agricultural waste lagoons — i.e., that the enlisted are carousing, puking idiots who’ll trash whatever they’re given, so it makes no sense to invest anything into their accommodations. There are days when the brass’ assessment of the enlisted’s penchant for property damage isn’t wrong, but, as Gallagher notes, barracks don’t need to be the Ritz, but they do need to function and preserve the health of servicemembers. After all, the U.S. taxpayer is on the hook for the health expenses of these men and women, so favoring thrift via non-intervention is a short-sighted effort.

Congress directing funding with delineated prioritization is the right call. Base commanders ought to prioritize their men over perfect greens and vanity projects.

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