Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a “barracks task force” this week, aimed at addressing living conditions for U.S. service members.
Hegseth said the task force will be responsible for creating a department-wide barracks investment plan within 30 days. He added that President Donald Trump’s budget, which was signed into law this past summer, allocated over $1 billion as initial funding for this initiative.
“We are going to fix the barracks issue across all of our services, because two years ago, the Government Accountability Office released a report that said, quote, ‘poor living conditions undermine quality of life and readiness,'” Hegseth said, referring to the 2023 Government Accountability Office report.
The GAO said in the report that “hundreds of thousands of service members live in military barracks. Concerns about poor living conditions and how DOD [the Department of Defense, since renamed the Department of War] is managing the barracks go back decades.”
“We observed barracks in poor condition, including some with safety risks like sewage overflow and inoperable fire systems,” the nonpartisan watchdog wrote. “And some barracks don’t meet DOD requirements for privacy or amenities.”
Hegseth added that “despite that report, the Biden administration did nothing.”
“It is simply unacceptable that in some cases, our warriors continue to live in substandard housing,” he said. “Every war fighter of our joint force deserves housing that is clean, comfortable and safe.”
Earlier this year, the Department of War redirected about $1 billion originally designated for Army barracks renovations to support increased troop deployment at the southern border, in line with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement initiatives.
“We can build a lot of beautiful things. Our commander in chief is a builder. He understands building and building efficiently and well.”
“Adequate housing for our force is critical to reviving a warrior ethos. In rebuilding our military,” Hegseth continued. “Barracks are where warriors go to rest and recover, a place to go to mentally and physically prepare for winning the next fight.”
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