Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-VA, on Wednesday, said she believes providing better housing for members of the U.S. military could help address the current recruitment crisis.
Speaking at The Hill's "Completing the Mission: Supporting Veterans & Military Families" event, Kiggans called on the government to provide "the best quality of care," including better housing, in hopes that it could help the U.S. Army hit its recruiting goal.
"Looking at just some of our infrastructure issues, with the quality of housing that we're putting our military members in and especially on the unaccompanied side, so much room for improvement - not just where they work, where they live, where they play," Kiggans, who is a member of the House Armed Service Committee and co-chair of the Servicewomen and Women Veterans Caucus, said.
"It's an all-volunteer force. We've got a great military, a great country that needs to be defended, but we've got a lot of competition out there for jobs right now. So making sure we're taking care of our military members is of the utmost importance to me, and I work on it every day," she added.
The military has struggled to bring in new recruits to its ranks, missing its recruiting goal of 15,000 soldiers in 2022 and failing again to meet its enlistment goals for fiscal 2023, according to Military.com.
Substandard Military Housing
Over the past year, there have been a number of reports on the unsafe living conditions in the military barracks. In September, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a nearly 120-page report where it detailed its findings upon examining military housing.
In the report, the GAO said it found substandard conditions when it toured 10 unspecified military bases across the nation. Some of the barracks reportedly had broken windows and door locks, and others had non-functioning fire systems. The GAO also noted that one installation official said methane gas had leaked out of aging plumbing sewage pipes, which filled the barracks with a bad odor.
Six out of the 12 discussion groups in the report brought up issues with pests, such as cockroaches and wasps. Another discussion group also reported that their tap water was often brown and appeared unsafe to drink.
Clothing hangs to dry on the stairs of a barracks use to house Afghans at Fort Pickett on December 16, 2021 in Blackstone, Virginia. Fort Pickett normally operates as an Army National Guard maneuver training center, but converted its capabilities to house up to 10,000 Afghan refugees as of August 28, 2020. Approximately 5,500 refugees have been resettled in permanent housing, and the camp is beginning the process of being descoped as Operation Allies Welcome comes to a close.
