The Air Force has ordered officials across the service to inspect every Airman’s dorm room as part of the Pentagon’s new effort to improve barracks conditions for all service members.
The Oct. 21 task order directs major commands across the Air Force to inspect 100 percent of all living areas to “certify that [unaccompanied housing facility] residents are living in clean, comfortable, and safe living conditions,” according to an Air Force internal document. The document was leaked on the popular unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco page and confirmed as authentic by Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Commands have until Oct. 29 to complete all inspections, identify problem areas, and submit a plan detailing barracks improvement projects for funding. The task order also directs the service’s Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection directorate to develop a plan for a force-wide way for service members to directly submit and track dorm work orders.
It’s unclear when inspections will begin because scheduling will be up to installation commanders, an Air Force spokesperson said.
“Leaders should use professional judgement during inspections as the chain of command has discretion to determine whether areas do or do not meet clean, comfortable, and safe criteria,” the task order states. “Immediately relocate personnel residing in any unclean, uncomfortable, or unsafe rooms to suitable living conditions.”
The order stresses that commands should “utilizing in-house labor to the greatest extent possible, develop a plan to improve” living quarters not up to standards, but “compelling contracted initiatives will be considered.”
The deadline for submitting projects to receive funding is Nov. 4, the order states.
The task order follows an Oct. 7 directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth creating a new Barracks Task Force to develop a Pentagon-wide barracks investment plan.
“As too many know, too often, barracks are shabby and without basic modern amenities,” Hegseth said in a video message posted on social media. “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?”
In 2023, the Government Accountability Office looked at 10 installations across the military and found a range of substandard conditions such as broken air conditioning, malfunctioning fire safety systems, mold growth, water quality problems, and bedbugs, conditions that affected service members’ mental and physical health.
Earlier this year, Navy Secretary John Phelan visited Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and was so taken aback by the state of the dorms that he ordered Sailors and Marines living there to move out within 10 days. That prompted the Air Force to award contracts worth $71 million to overhaul some of those dorms.
