Leaders Pledge Continued Quality-of-Life Improvements
The Army is seeking “adequate, sustainable, predictable” funding to continue improving its quality-of-life initiatives for soldiers and their families, a panel of Army leaders told lawmakers.
The Army is seeking “adequate, sustainable, predictable” funding to continue improving its quality-of-life initiatives for soldiers and their families, a panel of Army leaders told lawmakers.
At the peak of moving season, the Army is rushing to shift report dates, lower on-post hotel rates and adjust housing allowances to pay for longer hotel stays as leaders work to address housing shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Calling it an “especially stressful” year for the summer surge in permanent change-of-station moves, Maj. Gen. Omar Jones, deputy commander of Army Installation Management Command, said the Army “is all in” to help soldiers and their families get where they’re going.
The Army’s focus on prioritizing soldiers and families will continue in fiscal 2022 with investments in barracks, housing and other quality of life initiatives, said Lt. Gen. Jason Evans, deputy Army chief of staff for installations.
In testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on military construction, Evans said the Army’s fiscal 2022 budget request and quality of life initiatives are guided by the Army Installations Strategy published in December.
The Army continues to make progress improving the quality of life of soldiers and their families, leaders told Congress.
Testifying before a House subcommittee, Army representatives said they are focused on improving family housing and barracks, expanding access to child care, improving employment opportunities for spouses and reducing the turbulence of moving.
Army families report improved satisfaction with Army-owned and privatized housing, according to a new survey.
“A higher number of residents participated in this year’s survey, and overall satisfaction rates improved as well,” Michael Reheuser, director of installation services, said in an Army announcement.
DoD’s top housing official says it is too soon to declare victory in a war over problems military families have experienced in privately operated on-post housing, but there have been some dramatic improvements.
“We’ve made headway,” Paul Cramer, acting assistant secretary of defense for sustainment, told a House subcommittee. He added, that’s “not saying that we are at victory stage,” but government oversight that had been lacking over family housing has been restored.
The Army is about halfway through a five-year, $2.8 billion family housing improvement plan.
Ambitious initiatives to improve quality of life are being planned for soldiers and Army families, including almost $12 billion for housing and barracks improvements.
This is an effort to put momentum behind the Army’s people priorities, which also extend to Army civilians.
Army housing remains the highest priority in a multifaceted effort to improve quality of life for soldiers and families, and initiatives to improve on-post housing have continued despite COVID-19-related restrictions, a senior Army leader said.
Under the oversight of a new Quality of Life Task Force, issues such as housing, health care, spouse employment, child care and household moves are being managed by subject-matter experts from Army headquarters and commands across the service.
The nominee to serve as Army general counsel says growing up as a military child gives her a good understanding of family housing needs.
Michele Pearce is a former Air Force officer who grew up in a Navy family, and her husband is a retired Air Force officer. “My values and beliefs were shaped by my parents and the opportunity I had to grow up on military bases and live in integrated and diverse communities,” she said, telling the Senate Armed Services Committee she looked forward to working on diversity issues and policies related to improving housing.