29 October 2024
You would think that with a budget of almost $821 billion, there would be little to no problems with funding any essential services for the Department of Defense [1]. Yet, somehow, two main areas– housing and nutrition– are problem areas affecting the most important people in the military: military families.
Barracks inspections of conditions at multiple bases have found problems such as black mold and a cockroach infestation. Inspectors have even found severe problems like asbestos and lead-based paint. These issues have persisted across barracks and private housing for military families. In the 2022 Blue Star Families Military Family Lifestyle Survey, 22% of active duty families responded to the poll saying that their families had been exposed to environmental toxins in military housing [2].
In 2019 and 2020, Congress enacted reforms to address some of the problems reported throughout the news. They were supposed to address the problems and create a better process so that military officials would have better oversight of privatized housing, which is where 99% of military families live. For service members with dependents, the military contracts out their housing to companies that build and maintain the housing for the military. However, privatized housing only accounts for 2% of the housing for service members without dependents [3].
One of the processes created by the new legislation was to create a formal dispute resolution process for families living in substandard housing where another third party would hold rent until the problem is fixed. But most people, including military leadership, housing contractors, and military families don’t particularly know how the process works. Auditors found that military housing officials have not received adequate training and that guidance to military families is unclear and does not have essential details about the process. Families have also raised concerns about potential favorability towards the private housing companies along with confidentiality concerns. Additionally, a part of the reforms was the supposed creation of a public complaint database for private military housing. This has not been created [3].
This lack of funding and oversight continues to be another essential part of life: food. According to a RAND study, around a quarter of active duty service members qualify as food insecure [5]. This means that tens of thousands of service members and their families are not getting enough healthy food.
Two frequently reported reasons for the lack of healthy food are the loss of spousal income and frequent moves. Service members are constantly being reassigned across the country and around the world. This means that when they get reassigned, often the spouse has to quit their job to follow them to the new posting. There they will have lost the second income that they depended on. Additionally, many service members argued that child care was a significant factor in their food insecurity as well as an unexpected bill like a car repair or unplanned financial support to a family member. Moreover, many service members are young, so they may be targeted by predatory lenders [6].
This is a disgrace and a national security concern. Our troops deserve better from the government and the military. They shouldn’t have to live in conditions where they must tolerate environmental toxins and there is no recourse to solve it. They shouldn’t have to deal with a process where everyone involved doesn’t know how it works. And they shouldn’t have to go hungry because the military doesn’t provide enough food to provide for a service member’s family. Troops should not have to worry about whether they are getting enough healthy food or whether they will have enough food to live on at all. While using food stamps is not a shameful thing, military families should never have to use food stamps while someone in the family actively serves in the military. It should be on the government and the military to provide enough adequate meals and food for service members and their families, not on the families to figure it out.
Additionally, these two problems are a national security concern. If troops and their families are living in substandard conditions, then that could directly impact troop readiness. Troops or their families could be exposed to toxins that would make them unfit to serve when they are called upon. Or, if their families get sick while they are away, they could spend energy and time worrying about their families and making sure they are okay. Moreover, if troops and their families are not getting the nutrition they need, how can we expect them to go out and serve to the best of their abilities? That is an unrealistic expectation for the military to have.
There are a few easy-to-implement solutions for the housing issue. The first is to improve the communication with the residents about their rights and what the necessary processes are. Having clear organization on who handles what and communicating that to residents is one of the clearest solutions possible. Another solution is to have reimbursement for housing-related healthcare costs. If problems like lead paint or asbestos are found, it is on the private companies to provide the healthcare costs to their residents because of the problems. This provides an incentive for the companies to fix the problem as fast as possible [7].
For food insecurity, one way to attack the problem is to pass a bill called the Military Family Nutrition Access Act. This bill excludes the Basic Allowance for Housing from income calculations that determine whether someone is SNAP eligible. This act wants to allow more service members and their families access to SNAP so they are getting the nutritious food they need [8]. This is just one part of the solution. Next, the government should change the calculation method for the Basic Allowance for Subsistence figure. This money is intended to offset a service member’s meals but can often fall short, especially when the service member has a family. These are intended to allow more service members access to healthier food so that they are not facing food insecurity [9].
Tackling these two problems should be a high priority for the Department of Defense and Congress. With the largest military budget in the world, service members should not face food insecurity and third-rate housing. Fixing these issues would improve morale and ensure that the people serving our country are taken care of.
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Works Cited
[1] USAFacts. “How Much Does the US Spend on the Military?” USAFacts, August 1, 2024. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-does-the-us-spend-on-the-military/.
[2] Jowers, Karen. “Senators Say DOD Has a ‘long Way to Go’ to Fix Military Housing Issues.” Military Times, December 6, 2023. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/12/06/senators-say-dod-has-a-long-way-to-go-to-fix-military-housing-issues/.
[3] Grady, John. “House Panel Questions Pentagon on Military Housing Problems.” USNI News, February 7, 2024. https://news.usni.org/2024/02/07/house-panel-questions-pentagon-on-military-housing-problems
[5] Why are U.S. military families experiencing food insecurity? | Rand. Accessed October 3, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/articles/2023/why-are-us-military-families-experiencing-food-insecurity.html.
[6] Jowers, Karen. “Gaps in Military Housing Improvements Lead to Frustration, Confusion.” Military Times, April 15, 2023. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/04/15/gaps-in-military-housing-improvements-lead-to-frustration-confusion/.
[7] “7 Practical Recommendations for Improving Military Housing.” Gordian, August 13, 2024. https://www.gordian.com/resources/improving-military-housing/.
[8] “Rep. Panetta Reintroduces Bipartisan Effort to Reduce Hunger among Military Families.” Congressman Jimmy Panetta, April 19, 2023. https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-panetta-reintroduces-bipartisan-effort-reduce-hunger-among-military.
[9] “Military Hunger.” Feeding America Action, June 20, 2024. https://feedingamericaaction.org/learn/issue-areas/military-hunger/.
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