Military Barracks, Good, Bad and the Ugly
Military.com recently published an article about the poor state of some Marine Corps barracks. I didn’t spend a ton of time in the barracks when I was a Marine, as I was married some four months into my “A” school training. I can tell you that the condition of some of the barracks was unsatisfactory then and has been demolished as of today, but living in them was gross, to say the least. It has been a long-standing problem in the military, not just the Marine Corps.
I recalled being stated in Pensacola, Florida for “A” school and the Air Force was getting new barracks furniture, which meant that their old furniture was going to the Navy and the Navy’s old furniture was going to the Army and, you guessed it the Marine Corps go the Army’s old furniture. This meant that the lumpy ass matress and the broken metal bed frame (rack) was only twenty years old instead of thirty. I mean we got some rather shitty hand-me-downs, but they were nice compared to what we had. What sucked even more, was the Air Force and Navy hired someone to move furniture, the Army and the Marine, had to move all that shit ourselves.
The worst barracks I was a resident in were the NCO School barracks at MCRD Parris Island in 1991. My class was the last to go through NCO school there, as NCO school was split into Cpl’s Course and Sgt’s Course and taught at different schoolhouse locations. The showers were steel-lined, and there wasn’t a spot on them that wasn’t rusty, and the rust attracted mold. We were told to wear shower shoes and not to touch the walls. I have photos somewhere, but I can’t locate them. The squad bay was fair enough, and I have seen worse, but the entire head, not just the showers, was beyond gross. I’m glad that was a very short school.
The barracks in Iwakuni, Japan, were condemned several times, yet we still lived in them. The rooms themselves were fine; it was the catwalk that was trashed and falling apart. I was there when the Great Hanshin earthquake hit the area and did major damage to the city of Kobe, just over 200 miles away.
It was close to 6 am when my rack and the doors to my wall locker started to shake violently back and forth. As the barracks NCO, I had a room to myself, so I was thinking that one of the Marines from my shop had taken the prank war to a new level and they were fucking with me in my room. I looked around and instantly realized it was an earthquake, not my Marines. Though it was a 7.3 on the JMA scale in Kobe, it was about a 5 in Iwakuni.
I got up and stood in the doorway of my room, which was the strongest part of the room. I looked down the catwalk and yelled at the Marines to get off the catwalk. The barracks didn’t suffer any major damage, mostly cracks that were repaired in weeks to months.
Thankfully, according to Google Earth, the barracks were knocked down sometime before 2003 (they are gone in the April 2003 image of Iwakuni).
My ratings
MCRD San Diego – Charlie Company barracks (currently Delta Company barracks) – Clean and open, shared with 80 other recruits, close to food and shopping, wake-up calls are over the top, noisy neighbors, do not recommend, lol
Homestead Air Force Base – I never stayed in the barracks there; I think I only once stayed in one of the rooms. Those buildings have all since been knocked down.
Goodfellow Air Force Base – Angelo Inn – These are hotel-like rooms with maid service and cable television in each. The bathroom is shared with the room next door.
MCRD Parris Island – NCO School Barracks – I already stated that this place was the pits. They were torn down sometime after 1992.
Naval Air Station Fallon, NV – I don’t recall the barracks at Fallon. It was for a Red or Green Flag operation and lasted two weeks, but I really don’t remember much of it. However, they were nice hotel-style rooms.
NAWC Pt Mugu, CA – I’m sure the barracks are long gone. I don’t recognize much of the base now, but the rooms were ok, they were older style hotel rooms, with two to a room and a communal restroom, that we shared with some Navy SEALs that were there for a month for some type of training.
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan – The entire base is totally different, I was last there in 1994, they even moved the flight line. Regardless, I already talked about those barracks.
Camp Gilbert H. Johnson – I was only there for two weeks of training, and I don’t recall the barracks at all. It is possible I might have stayed in a local hotel, but I just don’t recall.
Kunsan K-8 Air Base, Korea – The barracks were older, hotel-style, with a shared head between the two rooms. The rooms were long and narrow, probably 8 feet wide and 30 feet long. They were really strange rooms. There were also two to a room. I’m sure they are torn down by now.
NAS Oceana Dam Neck Annex – When I was a student here (before I was an instructor), I stayed at the barracks for a month or so. They were nice hotel-style rooms, with two people per room. I don’t recall much else about these rooms.
The nicest barracks room I stayed in has to be the rooms at Goodfellow AFB. They were hotel-style rooms with a shared head. We even had maid service, the first and only time I had that in the Marine Corps. The second best would be the barracks at Damneck Annex, Virginia Beach.
If you want to read about the poor condition of military barracks, below are a few articles posted in the past year or so.
These Soldiers Say Mold in Barracks Isn’t Just Disgusting, It’s Making Them Sick
Poor living conditions in military barracks will take years to fix, officials say
Military Barracks Blasted Over Horrid Living Conditions, Lack of Accountability
Bedbugs, Brown Water, Squatters: Military Barracks Blasted over Horrid Living Conditions, Lack of Accountability
Military Barracks Are Falling Apart. Senators in Big Military States Want to Know the Price Tag to Fix Them
Army Wraps $95 Million Project Renovating Moldy Fort Liberty Barracks, Demolishing Others
Barracks Habitability Standards Ordered by Recently Signed Defense Bill
The Army Needs a Lot of Money for Barracks, But It’s Fighting for Pocket Change
Barracks Repairs, Other Military Quality-of-Life Improvements Slam Into Congress’ Upcoming Budget Fight
