Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the establishment of a Pentagon-run barracks initiative on Tuesday, giving a new Barracks Task Force 30 days to come up with an “investment plan” to improve troop housing.

Substandard barracks have long been a top concern for junior troops who live in them. Complaints about mold, rodents, squatters, exposed wiring, faulty appliances, clunky ventilation and dilapidated structures have been common among service members in barracks and other military housing for years.

Military leaders have conceded that during twenty years of the Global War on Terror, military housing took a back seat to combat priorities, leaving barracks to rot and troops – typically young and under the rank of sergeant – to suffer in substandard conditions.

“Every warfighter of

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