The Army Needs a Lot of Money for Barracks, But It's Fighting for Pocket Change

Military.com ^ | 10/19/2023 | Steve Beynon

[Blood of Tyrants]

"I do use this in a pejorative term, and it's adulting."

Maj. Gen. James Isenhower III, the commander of the 1st Armored Division, was suggesting to a room packed with spectators earlier this month that a key cause of the mold and other poor living conditions in the Army is soldiers and families not maintaining their living spaces.

The mold in particular, pictures of which have made the rounds on social media and become something of a shorthand for the dire state of many Army barracks, has been the subject of multiple Military.com investigations revealing rooms made fuzzy with growing fungi.

"A lot of times, we just need to teach young soldiers and young family members what is appropriate and what is part of their obligation and basic responsibility as an adult," Isenhower continued speaking at the Association of the United States Army conference. "I will tell senior leaders, 'I don't have a mold problem, I have a discipline problem.'"

[blueunicorn6]

Army housing is a problem that is not easy to solve.

You have barracks and family housing and housing allowances.

You have military run and staffed units and civilian run and staffed housing offices.

You have Americans with very different experiences and ideas of housing.

There is a limited amount of money.

A real tough nut to crack.

[Bruce Kurtz]

I was in the Army 71-78. Barracks I lived in Germany were all run down. I was at Ft. Monmouth NJ from 76-78, as an E-5 they put me in a 40 man bay room. Made E-6 and they put me in a roach infested BEQ room. Hundreds of roaches coming out at night, everywhere in your bed, clothes and lockers.

[larrytown]

Exactly - people here bagging on troops and families being lazy and not cleaning is sheer ignorance. This general is typical of his class - blame the troops for their problems, instead of the leadership not doing their jobs.

[Liz]

We’ve fallen so low as a country that the only thing that now makes a candidate
electable is whatever he says (and doe$)....not for Americans....... but about a foreign country.

Case in point: A demented Biden’s reelection chance were nil, according to the laws
of diminishing returns...........until the attack on Israel fell in his lap.

Now he’s suddenly morphing into a strong, decisive “leader.”

In Israel:
<><>Biden told Netanyahu he would offer support and he expected Israel to prioritize protection of civilians and humanitarian concerns.

<><>Biden “formally announced” the “already-arranged deal” to allow humanitarian assistance to move into Gaza from Egypt, and $100 million in new aid for those in need among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.......which was hammered out “WITH Israel in Washington” BEFORE Biden left.

<><>Biden also told Netanyahu that he would go to the Congress with a military support package for Israel of “unprecedented size.” (source yahoo.com)

snip

Backstory: Since 1973, Israel has received more than $120 billion US tax
dollars in military assistance, including “three special aid” packages.
<><>billions for signing the Israel-Egypt peace treaty
<><>billions for Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai.
<><>billions for redeployment of Israeli forces
<><>rebuilding Israeli air bases in the Negev cost $5 billion.

Congressional Research Service
US Foreign aid to Israel
60 page detailed report

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL33222/44

The concerned Israeli lobby made sure Congress is required by law to ensure that U.S. military aid in the Middle East region doesn’t damage Israel’s military superiority over its neighbors. That requirement enjoys broad bipartisan support and has served as a benchmark for ensuring Israel receives robust U.S. support.

---

Biden’s spending billions we do not have (not on America’s needs), then saddles taxpayers with onerous borrowing costs. Taxpayers’ children and grandchildren are compelled to pay the outrageous bills.

Our military is lacking, yet Biden wants $100 billion for Israel and Ukraine military.

<><>Why does the US have to go in debt for these pampered foreigners?
<><>Why cant they stand on their own two feet?
<><>Why cant wealthy Israel and money-grubbing Ukraine do the borrowing for their own needs?

[meyer]

Barracks for who? They are way behind in recruiting, thanks to the woke policies and the complete morons running the government. Who would join the military in this day and age?

Seems to me they could be selling off excess, unused property to help pay for bombs for Ukraine or whoever.

[LouAvul]

Democrats hate our military. That fat pig Klinton even said so. Yet, he got elected.

The retard in the white dump has bankrupted us with billions down the toilet. But the military can live in an outhouse for all he cares.

[Prolixus]

“We need to go back to the old WWII wooden barracks.”

LOL, you mean the zero privacy barracks? I can’t see many of the new generation spending more than five minutes in one of those barracks and all of those fives minutes in absolute shock before quitting the service on-the-spot.

[George from New England]

Gotta remodel and put in those gender-neutral heads.

[Cen-Tejas]

In the civilian world, “barracks” are called apartments. I’ve developed, built, or rehabbed thousands.

I recall reading an article not too long ago about HOW MUCH the federal government spent on “barracks”. I remember shaking my head with “incredulity”. Once all the bribes and kickbacks were blended in, Army housing costs are ridiculous. Then, having slept many a night in one somewhere in the world, I KNOW how SIMPLE and shoddy they are built.

Prefab housing is cheap and quick. When Trump get’s in he should work to cut out the shysters and the bribes and use prefab housing. Then and only then will we be able to properly house our soldiers.

[Tupelo]

Methinks, General Isenhower is correct.
He has a major Adulting problem and a large Disciplinary problem.
One is his fault (discipline) and can be corrected, the other is a parental problem (adulting) and cannot be corrected.
Sad part is this is what we are going into Biden’s war(s) with.

[Jumper]

BS, soldiers have to meet some standards. If Wokeness creates Mold then this bunch of General’s own it, not the troops.

[bigbob]

My dad was very proud to be in the Big Red One in WWII as he thought it was the best outfit. Probably no longer true.

[T.B. Yoits]

A building on our base had big x painted on it as condemned, and it was condemnation worthy. One day the x was gone.

A few weeks later a squadron moved into offices there because their offices in another building weren't ready. Change over the fiscal year, new offices ready, squadron moves, and the x reappears on the old building.

A month later the building is razed.

[Feckless]

The wife and I retired in1992. Last tour of Germany the BN CSM reamed me out for inspecting my troops billets. One reason we retired when we did.

I used to tell my shitbirds that their idea of planning was saying “Why should I wipe my ass when I know I’m gonna shit again tomorrow?”

[dljordan]

“We need to go back to the old WWII wooden barracks. “

I lived in them. The ones at NAS Millington (Memphis) were un-airconditioned and full of cockroaches, rats and snakes. The first thing you saw when you walked in the door was a big poster showing a burnt body and a legend which told you the barracks could burn to the ground in minutes. No thanks.

[Night Hides Not]

I was Army ADA at Spangdahlem and Hahn from 77-81. Air Force facilities were far superior to other branches, probably still are.

[Night Hides Not]

Don’t leave the Platoon Leaders out of the equation. They need to learn the definition of a leader: Everything my unit does, or FAILS TO DO, is my responsibility, and mine alone. Put it on the training schedule.

In college, every spring break included 4-5 days at North Fort Lewis. Those old barracks required a lot of cleanup. Just when we thought we were ready for inspection, one of our instructors went to a commode and ran his fingers underneath the lip. He produced a handful of rust and other gunk. What a great learning experience! lol

[Seruzawa]

Heh heh. I thought that the Platoon Leaders were too buried in paper work and undergoing sensitivity training and pronoun protocols orientation seminars to bother with niceties like combat readiness and basic hygiene.

[Night Hides Not]

Well, I did have a few “extra duties” as a Platoon Leader, such as NBC Officer and Energy Conservation Officer. During Tac Evals at Hahn, I was the Army Liasion Officer. I was in the Wing CP all 4 days. I’d catch 40 winks at night, no big deal.

I had great platoon sergeants, all 3 had at least one tour in Vietnam. When we had our own alerts and field exercises, that’s when I did my thing.

There was one time when a senior NCO asked for my advice…lol. We had a new First Sergeant, Infantry, 3 tours in Vietnam. It was during my Battery’s Tac Eval, where I was acting XO. He came over to me, “LT, what am I supposed to do? I know nothing about ADA.”

”Top, you know how to run a CP?” You do that, and I’ll take care of the ADA bull$hit.” The way we worked together was a big reason why we passed, and that was said to me by the Chief Evaluator. The CO just didn’t have it, he read maps about as well as Captain Sobel of Easy Company.

[Organic Panic]

So.... If it is a case of enlisted not maintaining their leaking barracks maybe they should get some time away from the DEI, tranny, and “white rage” indoctrination classes to fix the roofs and clean the barracks.

I’ll be when the military is majority illegal aliens the barracks will be 5 star hotels.