[bruinbirdman]

But then again, I've seen soldiers packed four to a room

There are many on this forum who know better than I about military housing.

Does anyone remember AFE-6, a sergeant in the Air Force. He was given a housing allotment of $600+ to live off base in Texas. He and two buddies lived in a fine apartment on their combined stipends.

I lived in Orange County, California a few years ago. There was a Marine sergeant, wife and two kids who lived across the street. He commuted to Camp Pendleton, 50 miles away. He was buying the house.

yitbos

[SJSAMPLE]

Hell, I had two soldiers in my company motor pool (one male, one female - of course) who decided to get "married" so they could move out of the slums the Army called barracks. Everybody, including myself, knew this was a sham marriage, but married soldiers get housing.

$600 is nothing. When I was a 1LT in Germany, they paid my landlord $1200 a month for my one bedroom apartment. Housing in some areas was very tight. That same year, the Army's European "Military Family of the Year" was a Chaplain with 9 kids living with him in three combined apartments. That caused a lot of dissention, as soldiers were crammed into living conditions similar to a cellblock.

Personally, I had no complaints. But my soldiers were packed in with little regard.