Army-Navy unhappy with housing

The satisfaction rates for privatized military housing have declined for both the Army and Navy, according to surveys released July 25 by the services. Army families living in private base housing can view the survey results of each installation, but the Navy results don't specify bases by name only a general look at the state of Navy housing. After an early-year scandal that came to light the presence of vermin, mold and lead contamination in military housing managed by private companies, the services launched a series of inspections and fixes, including resident surveys, to determine the extent of the issues, and how to address them. The Navy saw its average satisfaction rates drop nearly 12 points. No Navy housing scored either "very good" or "outstanding"; and none saw an increase of satisfaction rates. For the Army, “outstanding” bases were Fort Greely, Alaska; Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; and Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. Housing management was by Lendlease, Michaels, and Balfour Beatty Communities, respectively. Fort Bragg, N.C., was at the bottom ("very poor”). Bragg is managed by Corvias. Fort Carson, Colo., managed by Balfour Beatty, was one of two to receive "poor" ratings. A spokeswoman for Corvias told Military.com that the survey was taken before the company made improvements to its property management operations. She added, however, that Corvias is "using the survey … to continue to make improvements." The remainder of the Army's bases ranged from very good to below average. Navy survey results did not contain the names of the installations or the contractors. (Source: Military.com 07/28/19) Gulf Coast Note: Corvais manages Army and Air Force base housing at Gulf Coast regional commands at Fort Rucker, Ala., and Fort Polk, La.; and Air Force bases in Florida at Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field. Balfour Beatty manages regional base housing at NAS Meridian (Miss.), NAS Pensacola (Fla.), NAS Whiting Field (Fla.), NCBC Gulfport (Miss.), NSA Panama City (Fla.).