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Air Force addresses base housing concerns

  • Published
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
Responding to reports of poorly maintained and unsafe housing across several installations, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein on Feb. 19 directed commanders at every base worldwide to conduct a “100 percent review” of the condition and safety of all military housing by March 1.

Asserting that the housing conditions reported Feb. 13 during a Senate Armed Services Committee and in media reports “are not acceptable,” the Air Force’s two leading officials took steps to ensure that senior military commanders are personally aware of the conditions that exist in military housing at their bases.

The effort, which begins immediately, will be the housing equivalent of a safety stand down. The goal over the next 10 days is to conduct a 100 percent in-person health and safety check of all 74,500 family housing units in the Air Force.

Col. Samantha Weeks, 14th Flying Training Wing commander, said a team from Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, "will be reaching out to each on-base resident, via telephone, to ask questions about any health and safety concerns with your military housing. Furthermore, they will ask if you are willing to allow a brief walk-through of your home in order for us to gain a better understanding of your concerns and capture it."

In a memorandum addressed to Columbus AFB family housing residents, Weeks stated she takes the health and safety of Columbus AFB families seriously and this is an "immediate priority" for her. To read her full memorandum, open the attachment.

(Editor's note: Information was pulled from a news article published by the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Office Feb. 19, to read the full story, click here.)