(NewsNation) — A recent report outlined shocking conditions in U.S. military barracks including bedbugs, mold and sewage. Military service leaders now say they are aware of the problems and are working on solutions.
“Our leadership, from our secretary, our chief of staff on down, are focusing very clearly on quality of life and barracks as a piece of that,” Carla Coulson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, housing and partnerships told members of the House Armed Services Committee. “We’ve done a lot of work already.”
Coulson expects a multi-year investment strategy that puts additional funding towards the barracks, according to a U.S. Department of Defense statement.
The 100-page report detailed issues with sewage, water quality pests, foul odors and more at multiple installations. The report found at one installation, servicemembers are responsible for cleaning biological waste that “may remain in a barracks room after a suicide.”
Robert E. Thompson, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, said barracks have typically been considered a lower priority than other facilities.
“I think there needs to be a realization that we are approaching…facility criticality maybe from the wrong angle in the department,” Thompson said. “In resource-constrained environments, the bias is to put resources towards the most critical installation facilities. The reality is the introduction of a single sailor … into a facility makes it, by definition, mission critical. The fact that these are their homes makes it mission critical.”
The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) accused the DOD of not reliably assessing barrack conditions. In each of the 12 facilitates visited, servicemembers told GAO the living conditions were impacting their mental health.
Among complaints were anxiety and panic attacks, likening the barracks to living in a “dark box”
Robert E. Moriarty, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations said though the Air Force has maintained facilities well in the past, it has lost focus in recent years.
“We used to have a dorm focus fund,” Moriarty said. “We went away from that. And when we centralized a lot of our installation management, when we put all the money together, we went to a worst first or then went to a condition-based thing and prioritized everything together, looking at the best.”
In a separate statement, Brendan Owens, the assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations and environment, said he is committed to correcting deficiencies in the military barracks.
“I will move aggressively to increase oversight and accountability in government-owned unaccompanied housing and to address unacceptable living conditions impacting our service members,” Owens said. “My office will work with the military departments to ensure that you have a safe and secure place to live.
