NAPLES, Italy — Sailors with families who want to move from the economy into base housing at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, will no longer have to foot the bill, officials said.
In an effort to fill base enlisted housing, which has fallen below a 95 percent occupancy level, base officials are advertising the word: “The move is on us,” said Linda Crusing, housing director.
“We’re hoping to put the word out that if your gas bill is too high, your electrical bill, whatever the reason, we’ll help them out if they want to move to the support site,” Crusing said, referring to the installation at Gricignano where base housing is located.
The housing policy mandates that sailors E-1 to E-6 who qualify for a two- or three-bedroom apartment, basically anyone with a dependent, and who do not have a dog or do not have more than two cats, must live in on base housing if there is availability.
Dogs are not permitted in base housing. Families with a dog or more than two cats have a couple of options: They can live on the economy, or seek to live in one of the Navy-leased apartments or parcos, which are town house-style homes, on the economy, said Michaelle Sultenfuss, the facilities director for housing.
NSA Naples will be taking money from its operations and maintenance fund to pay for the sailors’ moves, a price tag that on average runs about $2,500, Sultenfuss said.
Officers and sailors E-7 and above are not required to live in base housing, Crusing said. However, most senior enlisted and officers have selected to live on base, she added, and there is a waiting list for senior enlisted and officer quarters.
NSA Naples fell below the mandated 95 percent occupancy level for base housing because fewer enlisted sailors came to Naples than were leaving, Crusing said.
The policy change isn’t likely to bankrupt the base’s operations and maintenance fund because not too many sailors and their families seek to move onto the support site once they’ve found a home on the economy, Sultenfuss said.
“We’ve only had a few ask to move in the past few months, so it’s not a huge demand,” she said. One family asked to move because their home was too far away from the support site and services such as the exchange, commissary and hospital, and another moved because their home was broken into and they felt safer living on base, she said.
