Marine Wall-to-Wall Barracks Inspection Unofficial Results
Here’s how the Marine Corps’ ‘wall-to-wall’ barracks inspections went
By Irene Loewenson
The Marine Corps has wrapped up its “wall-to-wall” inspections of its more than 60,000 barracks rooms.
Detailed results from the inspections aren’t yet available, according to Marine Corps Installations Command spokesman Maj. John Parry, who also provided the number of rooms involved in the inspection. The Corps is still analyzing the data from the inspections, and will have more information to share after senior leaders get briefed, Parry said Wednesday.
But interviews with three Marines in the barracks — who requested anonymity to let them speak freely without fear of getting in trouble — and information from the service shed light on how the inspections went and what has resulted from them so far.
The initial results of the inspection “have been consistent with the sample of barracks taken” for a Government Accountability Office report published in September 2023, Parry said.
That report estimated that approximately 17,000 Marines as of March 2023 lived in barracks that fell short of the military’s own standards regarding the privacy of the rooms and how they are configured.
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The Government Accountability Office, assessing conditions militarywide, also found mold, bad plumbing and poor temperature control across the armed forces’ barracks. Media reports in recent months have turned up similar issues, including mold, vermin, cold showers and filth, at particular Marine installations.
Marine Corps Times
View from the deckplates here, but no excuses or blaming the residents anymore. The Corps now has the inspection results, and they are as bad or worse than the GAO assessment. What happens next is the question.
Category: Marine Corps
From the article:
“The Corps plans to put civilians in charge of managing the barracks, rather than leaving that responsibility to Marines.”
Translated:
“We’re making motions to suggest improvements are or will be made, but in reality, Marines currently living in the barracks will need to suck it up because it’s only going to get worse once civilians take over. Marines wanting a quality of life can either GTFO or join a branch of service that gives a shit. We’re spending money earmarked for new or renovated facilities on more important stuff.”
Shack! Well said.
And current leadership should probably be asked how the Marines’ barracks were allowed to degrade into such a poor condition in the first place, where the Marine Corps then had to put on this big public production of conducting this “wall-to-wall” barracks inspection in order to try to show that HQMC was paying attention to the Marines’ living conditions.
Whatever happened to the old Marine Corps “tradition” of Thursday afternoon field days of the barracks, followed by barracks inspections on Friday mornings? Seems to me that we were generally pretty successful at staying ahead of these barracks “quality of life” issues back in the day when officers and SNCOs were inspecting the barracks for habitability and cleanliness every week.
Were there exceptions back then and did things sometimes slip through and go unreported/unrepaired? Sure there were. But for the most part the barracks stayed squared away and the Marines had a reasonably clean, comfortable place to live.
Sometimes the old ways are still the best ways, especially when it comes to taking care of Marines and looking out for their welfare. Another lesson that we seem to have to relearn over and over and over again.
35+ years ago and living in the barracks at Camp Pendleton, we conducted field-day every Thursday afternoon which sometimes lasted well into the evening. Rooms were inspected on Friday morning after Marines went to their work sections, and it was only when you got back to the barracks you learned if you passed or failed. If you failed, the rest of Friday evening was dedicated to correcting the deficiencies. Re-inspection periodically took place Saturday morning around 0800 or so. Otherwise, we weren’t permitted to leave the barracks until re-inspection had been performed – even if it took place at 1700 or 1900 that same evening. If you failed Saturday, then rinse and repeat on Sunday. (Not sure how they do it now.) The barracks manager was a collateral duty for a Corporal or Sergeant on a rotating basis. If that wasn’t the case, it was a permanent position for an NCO who had been banished from their workspace.
Also back then, if there were mechanical problems in a facility, someone from base maintenance would take care of it pretty quickly – but that was back in the day when installation facilities were the responsibility of the installation commander, not the way it is set up now. IMO, the deterioration of barracks started to gain momentum for two reasons: (1) When another level of bureaucracy was added when Installations Command (under Installations and Logistics) was implemented, and oversight of barracks maintenance was ignored, and 2) Lack of accountability and discipline, and diminished small unit leadership (NCO’s who fail to lead). I’ve been out of uniform for over a decade now, so I don’t know if Marines exhibit the level of pride or expectation of excellence that we did. The Marines I was familiar with who didn’t care about failing were typically shitbags and on their way to establishing patterns of misconduct, while the rest of us considered it an affront to fail and have a weekend secured over some petty bullshit game because of a ghost turd that was overlooked.
(Forgot to add: One one occasion we learned our room failed (apart from being absolutely confident we passed) we barely did any cleaning except for another thorough dusting and extra wipe down of the shower. Upon reinspection the next morning we passed, and were told that had we given the same level of effort on Thursday night, we would have passed the first time. Hence the saying “The Marine Corps has more games than Milton Bradley.”) I don’t recall ever having any significant maintenance problems in any barracks I lived in, nor mold or mildew (even in Okinawa), or anything like that.)
I blame the mold epidemic on modern construction methods/materials and air conditioning. Mold requires moisture, so if your roof leaks, your building is tightly sealed for “energy conservation”, or air-conditioned (condensation), you are going to have conditions of high humidity favorable to the growth of mold.
“If you were quartered in sub-standard Marine Corps Housing, you may be entitled to compensation. Call the Law Firm of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe, today! Operators are standing by to take your call!”
Let’s hope the Corps don’t do a (image below) situation.
Maybe they can be an example for the other branch that often has problems with barracks.
I’m not naming names but it has four letters, starts with ‘A’, and has “This We’ll Defend” on its flag.
(Hint: Their birthday is also Flag Day…)
Roh-Dog…
Is this another possible clue…
Go A…Beat N…????
🤭🫡
very warm
GABN.
{giggles to the tune of The **** Goes Rolling Along}
Use the code “Camp Lejeune” for exciting free bonus offers!
Have you fixed or improved anything?
My experience only spans a 3year period beginning in Aug 67. Paris Island Plt. 1027 the old double decker barracks were old but well kept and clean. Camp Geiger I can’t recall where we stayed. Must have been ok. Las Polgas Quonset huts were clean and dry but heating gear was a little iffy. In Nam we lived a lot like woodchucks, in a hole in the ground for the most part. Chow could have been more plentiful and a shower now and then would have been a plus. Spent a couple weeks aboard the Iwo Jima and that was like a pleasure cruise. Eighth Engineers at Camp Lejeune was the best. Two man rooms in new brick barracks. My room mate was the Co. armorer. Six weeks at Little Creek Va. for embarkation NCO school . Don’t recall the housing, must have been ok. Marine Detachment USNDC squad bay barracks were very nice and in a great location. Right on the water coast of NH and Me. All the cleaning was done by ourselves at all those locations.
All that I remember was that we Marines were required to clean our own barracks. The barracks NCO inspected it daily and he held us accountable for it. Problem solved.
What is this standard of privacy or room configuration of which they speak?
Privacy? They already issue you underwear. You want some alone time with a girlfriend? They already issued you a Corpsman.
Configuration? Tent, Shelter-Half, one ea. You want more room? Here’s an E-tool and a perimeter sketch. Make sure to use some overhead cover so you and the Corpsman can enjoy some privacy.
I’m all for taking care of the troops – but that starts with quality training and turning boys into men. Let’s start winning some goddamned wars before we worry about what thread-count we supply to the frat houses and dorm rooms.
_________
Black mold and non potable water are legitimate dangers and hurt troop value. Closet space is a luxury that we clearly can’t afford. Granted, that’s not the fault of the average Marine – but he’s the one who’ll end up bleeding for that luxury.
As always a big chunk of the fix is to get NCOs in the barracks, who have been taught how to inspect, and told to do so. Leaders not being in the barracks is always a problem yet we continue to not do it. Then we make a roster and tell them to sign in at staff duty to get credit for “leader presence.” Every time I went to the barracks, the guys were invariably surprised to see an O in the barracks more than like ten seconds. Even more so when they saw me turning on washers and dryers to ensure they worked. NCOs should be in there looking at something on most days. Officers, depending on your echelon, but maybe two per month if you are not a staff guy.
I hope this doesn’t affect the amount of contract marriages in CA/NC.
Not the wall-to-wall action about sh*t being f*cked-up for which one could hope.
Rooms? In barracks?
I guess with no draft, fifty soldiers sleeping in an open bay was toooooo hard.
Yeah, surprised the hell out of me too but maybe that was just for the NCO,s . Not sure. I spent most of my time out at the range.
I don’t think the Corp did drafting back then.
The Marines Corps was drafting in 1965 when I joined.
Tour of one female soldiers barracks room. There are quite a few other such videos on youtube. Some barracks suites have shared kitchens with stoves, sinks, etc. Evidently open bays are only used in basic training.
Ahh, platoon bays with rifle racks in the center, those were the days, back in 1967.
I have always wondered why trainees were trusted with those weapons but once you became a “real” soldier they tucked those same weapons away where you couldn’t even look at them.
On another subject, who needs bombs and rockets when you have a 95,000 ton dron?