As Americans celebrate their freedom across the country on the Fourth of July, some of the people tasked with protecting that freedom are still living in poor conditions, months after a scathing Government Accountability Office report exposed some of the worst conditions, lawmakers said in a letter to Army leaders.
The 12 lawmakers called for the military to take faster action at bases across the country, including the sprawling Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in North Carolina.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-S.C., whose district includes the 250-square-mile base, led a recent letter to Army Secretary Christine Warmuth calling on her to fix what he called a “completely unacceptable” situation, while acknowledging that some progress has been made, though it is not enough.
“We need to know if the Army is doing everything in its power to quickly implement effective solutions to improve housing conditions like those seen at Fort Liberty/Fort Bragg,” Hudson told Fox News Digital.
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Official Department of Defense photos show the poor conditions in U.S. military barracks across the country. (Department of Defense)
“Improving the quality of housing not only helps us meet our recruiting and retention goals, but it’s also important to ensure military readiness.”
letterThe letter, addressed to Warmuth, three generals and a senior sergeant major, called for “swift action” to address “poor indoor conditions” that they deemed a significant health risk.
“[They] “These living conditions are contributing to increased long-term chronic illness and debt, and they have a negative impact on recruitment, retention, readiness, and resilience of our service members,” Hudson wrote, along with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) and Greg Pence (R-Ind.), brother of the former vice president.
Reps. Mariannette Miller Meeks (R-Iowa), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Brian Mast (R-Fla.), August Plueger (R-Texas), Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) also signed the letter.
The letter cites a 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on unsafe conditions at 12 unnamed military installations, which included photos that appeared to show overflowing feces on bathroom floors, water-damaged ceilings and patches of black mold.
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Official GAO photos show poor conditions in U.S. military barracks across the country. (GAO)
At the time, the GAO found that Defense Department officials failed to provide adequate oversight and left it up to the military services to find a solution.
The timing of Hudson’s June 24 letter, released Tuesday, suggests some of the issues and evidence in the report have not been adequately addressed.
But the lawmakers added that the Defense Department has made some progress on its “Strong and Healthy Defense Community Strategy” program, including a commitment to meet external health certification requirements for air, humidity, light and water.
The letter, the lawmakers said, cited corrective measures taken in this regard at Fort George G. Meade near Columbia, Maryland.
Smucker said military families in his Lancaster-area constituency have raised concerns about the matter directly.
He said military families there had said they found the conditions “terrible”, adding that there was no justification for such “horrible and unsafe” conditions.
“The Department of Defense must act without delay to address our concerns,” Smucker said.
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Fitzpatrick, a former counterintelligence expert who accompanied U.S. special forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Wednesday that there is no greater calling than military service and that soldiers deserve to be treated better.
“It is paramount that we prioritize military families, especially now that we have people crossing the border illegally and staying in luxury accommodations,” Fitzpatrick said.
In their letter, the lawmakers asked Army officials to specify what steps they would take to address the issue in the remainder of the 2024 budget and asked what is preventing on-base medical upgrades from being implemented in a timely manner. They also asked for a plan to use empirical standards or benchmarks to ensure future progress.
In response to the lawmakers’ concerns, an Army spokesman agreed that enlisted members have a right to live in safe, quality barracks.
“The Army’s senior leaders are committed to continually improving the barracks environment through concrete actions to enhance living conditions, improve readiness, recruitment and retention,” said Adm. Matt Ahern.
Ahern added that Army officials will respond directly to lawmakers.
Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report..
