State of the Base: New Homes, New School, Renovated Barracks on Horizon for Fort Carson
Across Fort Carson, crews are building a school, a gym, renewable energy projects and preparing to start on new homes. Maj. Gen. David Doyle said Thursday during the annual State of the Base speech that over the last year $58 million has been invested in Fort Carson and the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, and the […]
Privatized Barracks Would Get Deeper Look Under House's Draft Defense Bill
As the military services flirt with the idea of privatizing more barracks to deal with deteriorating living conditions, a key House panel wants the Pentagon to study the issue more in depth. In its draft National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, released this week, the House Armed Services Committee calls on the Pentagon to deliver […]
Pentagon Chief Sidesteps Question on Privatized Barracks Oversight During Congressional Testimony
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed the need to invest in housing when pressed Tuesday on how the Pentagon will ensure that any privatized barracks are not plagued with the same problems as privatized military family housing. Appearing at a wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin was asked by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., about how […]
After 2023 Barracks Vandalism, Soldier at Fort Cavazos Faces Charges of Arson, Property Damage, Child Porn
A Fort Cavazos soldier was charged last week with arson, possession of child pornography and vandalism after allegedly damaging property and setting a fire in the Texas base’s barracks last year. The soldier, Pvt. 2nd Class Javier Pantoja Tinoco, was arraigned nearly a year after Military.com first reported that two soldiers were suspected of setting […]
The Army Wants Congress to Supercharge its Barracks Budget to Fix Soldiers' Poor Living Conditions
The Army is eyeing a massive increase in its funding to maintain aging barracks and build new base housing for junior troops in one of its most dramatic single budget requests to Congress in recent years. In its proposed budget, the Army is seeking a total of $2.35 billion for barracks in 2025, a major […]
Army’s Idea to Privatize Barracks Has Some Cautious Bipartisan Support on Capitol Hill
The Army’s plans to move toward privatizing its barracks — an idea that the service had repeatedly rejected since the 1990s — has at least some bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Members of the House Armed Services Committee have said they back the idea, which the Army has now started to embrace as it looks […]
Army Eyes Privatized Barracks as It Struggles to Find a Solution to Poor Living Conditions for Soldiers
The Army is hoping privatization can fix the myriad quality-of-life issues facing its barracks, at least partly because it has few other ideas. In December, key service leaders had a barracks summit to draw up plans to get soldier housing back up to standards following months of media reports on rampant mold and other problems, […]
Barracks Habitability Standards Ordered by Recently Signed Defense Bill
The Pentagon will have to set military-wide standards for what makes barracks habitable under the defense policy bill that was signed into law late last week. Requiring minimum standards for habitability is one of several ways this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, seeks to improve barracks conditions, which have come under increasing scrutiny […]
Army Wraps $95 Million Project Renovating Moldy Fort Liberty Barracks, Demolishing Others
The Army has finished major renovations and demolition of Fort Liberty, North Carolina’s troubled Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks, which the service deemed unlivable after a slew of complaints from soldiers and media scrutiny. Three barracks buildings were renovated and are set to house soldiers again in early 2024. But a dozen barracks were determined to […]
Military Barracks Are Falling Apart. Senators in Big Military States Want to Know the Price Tag to Fix Them.
A bipartisan group of senators representing states with significant military footprints is pressing the Pentagon for an update on junior enlisted barracks and how much money is actually needed for renovations and construction. The six lawmakers from Georgia, Texas, Florida and North Carolina are pointing to media reports and a damning Government Accountability Office report […]
