Barracks Nightmares: “This is not part of the sacrifice”

Military family housing has been making headlines the last few years for horrendous living conditions. Certain installations are slowly making changes for the better. But what about the barracks tenants?

I have spent the last two years listening to testimony after testimony of substandard military housing. I have seen thousands of pictures of poor living conditions within our military installations, nationwide.

Service members living in the barracks, are left to deal with mold, asbestos, lead, severe water damage, frequent flooding, rodent/bug infestations, poor ventilation, no AC, no electricity, no running water, no toilets, and dangerously overcrowded rooms.

Their maintenance requests are often ignored; while some experience command retaliation for complaining about the poor living conditions.

Our service members are required to live in the barracks until a certain criteria is met. They usually need to be a certain rank to move off their installation, if not married. However, I know quite a few people getting med-boarded for illnesses related to living in dilapidated housing conditions.

This is not part of the sacrifice. We can’t help with deployments or training. But while our service members are “home,” their barracks should at least be habitable.

If you want to see more of the fight for livable barracks, follow Military Housing Slumlords on Facebook and Instagram.