Marines will inspect every barracks in the force by mid-March
The inspection will give Marine Corps leaders a full picture of the condition of current barracks.
The Marine Corps will inspect every single barracks room it owns in the next month.
“None of this will happen overnight but this inspection is an important first step,” said Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, in a video statement. “Commanders and senior leaders: if your barracks have issues, get out there and own it.”
The order directs base commanders to assign a gunnery sergeant or higher to “conduct an environmental, health, and safety inspection of all Marine Corps barracks” by March 15.
“This effort allows us to get a one-time, complete assessment of the inventory, registered in the Enterprise Military Housing system as a baseline for analysis,” said Maj. Gen. David Maxwell, the commander of Marine Corps Installations Command. “The benefit as we transition to professional management will be that we have a point of reference for the condition of each barracks. This will enable our senior leaders to understand the totality of issues regarding their facility and get to quickly solving their problems.”
The inspection is aimed at barracks that generally are occupied by junior enlisted Marines. Complaints about the suitability of military barracks and housing aimed at junior enlisted have proliferated in recent months.
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The inspection matches with a host of policy announcements across the military in recent months after a scathing Government Acccountability Office report found unsanitary and unsafe barracks in several Army and Air Force bases.
In a video posted to Instagram, Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz outlined the Corps’ so-called Barracks 2030 plan. In the video, he toured new barracks at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in Virginia.
“So you want to knock down the older buildings in order to take the funding that’s going into upkeep of those older buildings (and put the money) into buildings like this,” Ruiz said. Barracks 2030, he said, has three prongs: “One is to modernize the buildings itself. Two, professionalize the management, and three is to get after what’s inside the barracks,” said Ruiz. He said upgraded furniture, fixtures, bathrooms, and wifi were among the interior upgrades the Marines expect to make.
For the Corps-wide inspection, installations commanders will use MARADMIN 289/23 Unaccompanied Housing Guarantees and Responsibilities and DoD Manual 4165.63-M DoD Housing Management Manual to ensure compliance with the Marine Corps’ commitment to its Barracks.
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