The Department of War will spend more than $1.2 billion to improve living conditions in military barracks, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a video shared in a Nov. 25 post on X.
Hegseth announced the launch of a Barracks Task Force last month, saying it was tasked with developing an investment plan to ensure that every member of the military has access to “clean, comfortable and safe” housing.
Hegseth said at the time that most barracks are shabby and without basic modern amenities, which impacts morale, readiness, and the ability to recruit and retain the best people in the military.
“Barracks, that’s where our warriors live, rest, and recover. How can we expect them to be ready for anything on the battlefield when their own living space is a constant source of stress and frustration?” he said in the Oct. 9 post on X.
In the Nov. 25 update, Hegseth credited the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, for the $1.2 billion investment in improving barracks conditions.
According to the Pentagon chief, barracks have been plagued by poor conditions such as clogged showers, hot water interruptions lasting months, brown tap water, sewage overflow in restrooms, broken windows, mold growth, inadequate lighting, nonexistent heating, methane gas leaks, and non-operational fire alarms.
“The task force is empowering local commanders, think garrison commanders, with more than $400 million to direct immediate work. And we’re launching more than $800 million in critical barracks renovations immediately,” Hegseth said.
“We’ve completed wall-to-wall assessments across the entire Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, and the 18th Airborne Corps. And inspections are underway in the Army Reserves and National Guard that will finish by the end of January.”
Under the task force, authorities have so far purchased new furnishings and mattresses for 81 barracks for more than 15,000 service members, Hegseth said.
Since Oct. 27, completed quality of life improvements include new door locks fitted at 10 barracks that impact 6,000 warfighters and new security systems in 13 barracks that benefit more than 1,500 personnel, he said.
Hegseth also referred to a September 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which had criticized living conditions in the barracks.
GAO said in the report that its investigators found living conditions to be poor in barracks, with some of them not meeting the Department of Defense (DOD) requirements for privacy and amenities. In September, Trump signed an executive order to restore the historic name “Department of War” as a secondary title for the DOD.
The report criticized the department for not reliably assessing the conditions at these places and for not having complete funding information to make informed decisions on the matter.
“For example, DOD requested about $15 billion for overall facility sustainment for fiscal year 2024 but could not identify how much of this total would be spent toward barracks,” GAO said.
“In addition, DOD did not know how much it spent on housing allowances for service members who would normally be required to live in barracks, but did not because of insufficient space or poor living conditions.”
In June, Trump said during a speech at the Fort Bragg military installation that the government would upgrade housing for soldiers.
Despite housing concerns, branches of the military, such as the National Guard, have seen strong recruitment.
In September, the Department of War announced that since November 2024, it had achieved its strongest recruiting performance in three decades, with the National Guard exceeding its recruitment goals for fiscal year 2025.
“The Army National Guard and the Air National Guard have combined to enlist almost 50,000 new members this fiscal year as of this month, bringing total National Guard end strength to over 433,000, surpassing each component’s goals and marking one of the most successful recruiting years in over a decade,” the department said.
