Monday, November 01, 2004
Navy Housing Outsourced
As reported yesterday in the Kitsap Sun, control of local Navy – and all military - housing is moving to Texas.
With defense funding going toward the war effort and transformation initiatives, military branches have struggled to keep their housing up to livable standards.
And that's why the military, including the Navy in this region, is moving toward privatizing the management of all its housing — inside and outside base gates.
On Dec. 1, the Navy will turn over the management of the majority of its 4,000 Northwest housing units to Dallas-based American Eagle Communities LLC, a private company that has eight military housing contracts to its credit.
"A community housing manager can provide for them what the Navy cannot," said Rear Adm. Len Hering, the Navy's Northwest regional commander. "And what people will see is a company that looks after every one of their needs.
Let me see if I have this straight: The Department of Defense doesn’t have enough money to build new housing and maintain existing housing. So they move the money allocated for this purpose from local economies to Texas. And the money sent to Texas that was insufficient for the Navy to meet these housing demands will be sufficient for this centralized business to do so – and make a profit at the same time!
What am I missing here?
