thedrifter
02-10-07, 07:13 AM
Enlisted advisers want better barracks
Child care, medical treatment also top list
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 9, 2007 20:27:49 EST
More child care, comfortable barracks, and ensuring there are enough doctors at military treatment facilities top the wish lists of the services’ senior enlisted advisers.
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John Estrada said barracks construction is the top priority. “It’s even more critical as we grow the force,” he told the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs Feb. 9. “It’s definitely the No. 1 priority.”
Defense officials recently announced plans to expand the Marine Corps and Army active-duty components by tens of thousands of people over the next few years.
The senior enlisted advisers were asked to provide their top three priorities for quality-of-life improvements. Estrada said another of his concerns is the condition of facilities that support Marines, such as hangars, motor pools and offices.
The Marine Corps and the Army are both now reconsidering their barracks requirements in the light of their increasing numbers of troops. But those services are already well behind their hoped-for 2008 deadline for fixing their inadequate barracks.
The Navy is making gains in its efforts to provide quarters ashore for shipboard sailors while their ship is in homeport, but about 11,000 sailors in the Pacific Fleet are living aboard ships where there is no privacy, said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (Surface Warfare/Fleet Marine Force) Joe Campa, Jr.
While that is a huge quality-of-life issue, Campa said, it’s not his biggest concern. That would be child care.
In San Diego, for example, 500 infants are on a waiting list for 26 child care openings, he said.
The Navy is able to provide child care to meet 69 percent of its need, but with increasing numbers of single parents and dual-military couples, the need is intensifying. Two pilot programs offering 24-hour child care in Norfolk, Va., and Hawaii are very popular, he said, adding that this type of child care “is critical to mission success.”
Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston said that with the current pace of deployments, “we need more facilities” for child care. The Army is providing 65 percent of its child care need — but even to maintain that level of service, Army officials have had to use temporary buildings in some locations, he said. Child care and barracks are at the top of his wish list.
Estrada and Campa also expressed concern about the number of Navy doctors who are deploying, leaving base hospitals shorthanded. “We’re taking resources out of our hospitals,” Campa said. “I’m starting to hear about wait time and access to care.”
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley also included child care and housing for both single and married members on his wish list. But his first request was to make sure care is continued in the future for those who have been wounded.
And he said some consideration must be given to families affected by reassignment moves, where they face out-of-pocket expenses and other issues, such as spouses being denied unemployment compensation because they left their job to move with the military member, and paying more for college because their children do not qualify for in-state tuition.
Rep. Chet Edwards, R-Texas, chairman of the subcommittee, said he plans to introduce legislation that will allow military children to receive in-state tuition rates regardless of the state.
Ellie
Child care, medical treatment also top list
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 9, 2007 20:27:49 EST
More child care, comfortable barracks, and ensuring there are enough doctors at military treatment facilities top the wish lists of the services’ senior enlisted advisers.
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John Estrada said barracks construction is the top priority. “It’s even more critical as we grow the force,” he told the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs Feb. 9. “It’s definitely the No. 1 priority.”
Defense officials recently announced plans to expand the Marine Corps and Army active-duty components by tens of thousands of people over the next few years.
The senior enlisted advisers were asked to provide their top three priorities for quality-of-life improvements. Estrada said another of his concerns is the condition of facilities that support Marines, such as hangars, motor pools and offices.
The Marine Corps and the Army are both now reconsidering their barracks requirements in the light of their increasing numbers of troops. But those services are already well behind their hoped-for 2008 deadline for fixing their inadequate barracks.
The Navy is making gains in its efforts to provide quarters ashore for shipboard sailors while their ship is in homeport, but about 11,000 sailors in the Pacific Fleet are living aboard ships where there is no privacy, said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (Surface Warfare/Fleet Marine Force) Joe Campa, Jr.
While that is a huge quality-of-life issue, Campa said, it’s not his biggest concern. That would be child care.
In San Diego, for example, 500 infants are on a waiting list for 26 child care openings, he said.
The Navy is able to provide child care to meet 69 percent of its need, but with increasing numbers of single parents and dual-military couples, the need is intensifying. Two pilot programs offering 24-hour child care in Norfolk, Va., and Hawaii are very popular, he said, adding that this type of child care “is critical to mission success.”
Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston said that with the current pace of deployments, “we need more facilities” for child care. The Army is providing 65 percent of its child care need — but even to maintain that level of service, Army officials have had to use temporary buildings in some locations, he said. Child care and barracks are at the top of his wish list.
Estrada and Campa also expressed concern about the number of Navy doctors who are deploying, leaving base hospitals shorthanded. “We’re taking resources out of our hospitals,” Campa said. “I’m starting to hear about wait time and access to care.”
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley also included child care and housing for both single and married members on his wish list. But his first request was to make sure care is continued in the future for those who have been wounded.
And he said some consideration must be given to families affected by reassignment moves, where they face out-of-pocket expenses and other issues, such as spouses being denied unemployment compensation because they left their job to move with the military member, and paying more for college because their children do not qualify for in-state tuition.
Rep. Chet Edwards, R-Texas, chairman of the subcommittee, said he plans to introduce legislation that will allow military children to receive in-state tuition rates regardless of the state.
Ellie