Personnel Chiefs Blame Unsafe Housing on Leadership Failures

COL Charles Williams This current housing problems exemplifies command problems from yesteryear!

Leaders must devote precious time to be know their Soldiiers, their problems and their housing.

Their Senior enlisted people are really on the front line ifor similar situations. Those Senior enlisted leaders need supervision and a whip hand as required by their performance.

There has never been enough ‘time’ for leaders to perform the necessary functions of command.

The few commanding standout leaders who manage to perform the tasks they are saddled with succeed! Others fail, survive and contaminate the system.

Senior leaders, (0-7 and up), and their enlisted advisors bear a similar amount of responsibility in knowing their troops and situations.

One division commander could drop in, ask several penetrating questions of a handful of astonished Soldiers and depart with a sense of the unit! He cared and could communicate with the personnel of the division w/o becoming trapped in the minatue of command.

I concur with you, my friend COL Charles Williams It is always sad when folks at the top pass the buck to those further down the chain of command.
Housing problems date back long before I enlisted in 1974.
Acceptable risk is factored into the budget requirements process at all levels. Sadly base infrastructure linked to family housing has been considered tangential to primary missions at many bases IMHO. Requirements always exceed available funding.
1. New construction is on a 7-year cycle [by Federal law]. That is one reason construction occurs on based slotted for closure.
2. The funding for refurbishing and maintaining base housing including barracks and water lines and other piped capabilities competes with maintenance of facilities linked directly to units such as maintenance bays, wash racks, training ranges, simulation facilities, etc.
3. Small bases have less infrastructure and yet the challenges still exist as funding tends to be below requirements based on 'acceptable"risk.
4. Large bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Hood have much more extensive base housing and barracks. The competition for funding is magnified at large bases with different military organizations whose leaders tend to outrank the base commander who actually runs the base.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSgt Boyd Herrst] SSG Ray Adkins SGT Charles H. Hawes SSG Martin Byrne PO1 William "Chip" Nagel CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning

Pointing fingers once again - just put the money, right people in charge, and emphasis back into the program! Thatall I have to say about that COL Charles Williams