Private military housing jeopardizes the health and safety of families due to inadequate supervision by authorities
In a recent report, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Defense has identified significant issues with the oversight of military housing by officials at Fort Sam Houston. The report, which focuses on the actions of military housing officials to ensure that maintenance work is performed properly and in accordance with agreements on base, has raised concerns about the safety and habitable conditions of military family housing.
The system for work orders at Fort Sam Houston is similar to that of a traditional apartment building, with residents submitting work orders that are reviewed and assigned to a category by military service officials. However, there is inconsistency within the department in ensuring that a certain number of orders are reviewed to ensure they were done properly.
One of the key issues highlighted in the report is the performance incentive fee plans of the Army and Navy, which did not comply with all aspects of the common incentive fee framework and included certain metrics incorrectly. This improper incentivizing of Hunt Military Communities, one of the largest contractors managing maintenance and operations of Department of Defense family housing, could result in overpayments to the company. At Fort Sam Houston, this led to an overpayment of $11,423 in one quarter.
Another issue identified in the report is the lack of consistency or clear instructions on how to complete change-of-occupancy maintenance checklists. The Department of Education created this checklist to help military housing officials ensure that housing units are ready for move-in, but officials failed to complete the checklist or skipped parts of it. One of the requirements missed in the inspections is ensuring that rooms have proper egress or routes of escape in case of emergencies.
In addition, the report details the failure of military housing officials to ensure that washer and dryer outlets are free of electrical hazards and that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. Furthermore, the military housing officials at all seven installations lack the proper tools to test for electric and gas hazards.
The OIG report also highlights the failure of military housing officials to comply with the actual oversight of the work orders performed by Hunt. Mold can be a hidden hazard that military housing officials may not be able to identify without the proper tools, and the report details several instances where this may have occurred.
To improve supervision, the OIG report has prompted calls for enhanced inspection practices and stricter military supervision over private operators like Hunt. If the process is not changed, Fort Sam Houston could potentially misuse an estimated $228,460 over the next five years, totaling $1.4 million over the remaining 30 years of the partnership agreement.
The Army installation visited by the OIG managed to contact only 2% of residents, less than the 5% required. The OIG is currently examining the oversight of privatized military housing units by military housing officials across seven installations. The report serves as a call to action for the military services to address these issues and ensure the safety and well-being of military families living in privatized housing.
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