U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Tyler Dickerson, a steelworker with Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, measures a hole in the ceiling for drywall repairs at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., April 9, 2025. (Yoselin Isidoro/U.S. Marine Corps)
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion budget unveiled Tuesday includes funding to fix problems with barracks.
The proposal calls for $57 billion across all services, requesting funds for “critical updates” to housing and facilities identified by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s barracks task force established in October.
The budget includes $21.5 billion targeted at eliminating all poor and failing barracks, and $4.4 billion to go toward family housing.
“The investments in this budget will fix all substandard barracks and eliminate barracks that have been deemed poor or failing,” Space Force Lt. Gen. Steven P. Whitney, director for force structure, resources and assessment, said during a news conference at the Pentagon. “We are committed to ensuring they have access to safe, well-maintained and dignified living quarters.”
Contractors work on a new $27.3 million transient training troops barracks project, known as the Fort McCoy East Barracks Project, on Feb. 11, 2026, at Fort McCoy, Wis. (Scott Sturkol/U.S. Army)
In the Army’s budget, a significant portion invests in strengthening quality-of-life initiatives. That includes $8 billion for improving barracks and almost $11.2 billion to mitigate poor and failing facilities, according to the Pentagon’s 118-page document.
The fiscal year 2027 budget also makes a heavy investment in the quality of life of airmen and guardians and provides $191 million to modernize facilities and restore unaccompanied housing.
The Air Force budget doubles military construction from $5.5 billion to $11.3 billion. It also doubles the family housing budget from $600 million to $1.3 billion.
The Navy will spend $12.5 billion to improve housing for unaccompanied sailors and Marines, and for housing for service members and their families. This includes $1.5 billion for 19 new family housing projects worldwide.
“We are making foundational investments in quality of service … ensuring they have the safe and modern living conditions that they deserve,” said Rear Adm. Ben Reynolds, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget.
A 2023 Government Accountability Office investigation detailed an array of problems — such as raw sewage overflows, mold and rodent infestations — that undermine quality of life and overall troop combat readiness.
Barracks problems vary from base to base. In some cases, the issues go back years and stem from underinvestment spanning decades.
The 2027 budget marks a significant increase in funding barracks. Last year, $7.2 billion was requested specifically targeted at improving barracks, with $1.2 billion for new construction and $6 billion in facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization.
