WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are demanding change, following a damning report about poor conditions in U.S. military enlisted barracks.
The Government Accountability Office found numerous deficiencies in the facilities and said there's been "insufficient oversight" by the military branches and the Defense Department.
"There were so many problems in so many facilities that we toured. But some of the areas where I think it was most concerning were barracks that we toured that had real safety concerns. So, inoperable fire systems, broken windows, broken locks, squatters in barracks. We heard stories about one person who was sexually assaulted in the barracks," said Elizabeth Field, Director of the GAO's Defense Capabilities and Management team.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia, 1st District), and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia, 2nd District) have signed onto a bipartisan letter from 17 House and Senate members to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
They write: "This is reprehensible, and we expect you to take expeditious and appropriate action. The people who choose to serve in the enlisted ranks do so selflessly with little expectation of reward. They are the soul of the military and of the Nation, and they deserve better."
"The fact that the military has allowed this to get worse and worse and worse is an indictment of them," Kaine said to 13News Now in an interview on Friday. "You wonder why we have retention and recruiting problems, you know? It's things like this that make it hard to attract the best and the brightest to consider military service."
Kaine said he'd consider looking at privatization of barracks -- having civilian companies come in and run the facilities -- with strict oversight from base commanders.
If somebody can do a better job than the military, Kaine said: "We shouldn't turn away from that as a possibility."