Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth requesting an update on the Army’s plans to replace aging homes at Fort Leonard Wood.
Senator Hawley asked Secretary Wormuth about this issue at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on May 5, 2022. This latest inquiry comes as the Army appears to be going back on its pledge to allocate funding for new homes at Fort Leonard Wood.
"Servicemembers at Fort Leonard Wood do vital work to protect our nation. It is the Army’s responsibility to care for those servicemembers and their families, in kind. Yet that does not appear to be happening when it comes to housing," said Senator Hawley.
Read the entire letter here and below:
August 5, 2022
Honorable Christine Wormuth
Secretary of the Army
101 Army Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20310-0101
Dear Secretary Wormuth,
I am writing to request information on the Department of the Army’s plans to replace aging homes at Fort Leonard Wood.
Fort Leonard Wood is the proud home of the U.S. Army’s Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, including the Army Engineer School, Army CBRN School, and Army Military Police School. Fort Leonard Wood is also one of five locations where the Army conducts Basic Combat Training for new recruits. And Fort Leonard Wood provides unparalleled opportunities for joint training to Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps detachments located on the installation.
Servicemembers at Fort Leonard Wood do vital work to protect our nation. It is the Army’s responsibility to care for those servicemembers and their families, in kind. Yet that does not appear to be happening when it comes to housing.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing on June 15, 2021, I asked you and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville about the Army’s plans to replace aging homes at Fort Leonard Wood. I explained the concerns raised by servicemembers and their families about those homes. You responded with an update on the Army’s efforts to improve housing. General McConville then assured me this issue was one of the Army’s top priorities and promised additional information about the Army’s efforts at Fort Leonard Wood, in particular.
The next week, Army Materiel Command and Army Installation Management Command informed my office that “Balfour Beatty Corporation is working a private investment initiative that will make as much as $340M available to improve BBC housing across the Army portfolio beginning later this year.” My office engaged the Army shortly thereafter to learn exactly how much would be allocated for Fort Leonard Wood. Army officials then informed us that less than $50 million would be made available to meet Fort Leonard Wood’s housing requirements. We informed the Army at the time that this amount was insufficient to meet Fort Leonard Wood’s housing requirements. Army officials agreed with our assessment and assured us they would work to provide a solution as quickly as possible.
But that has not happened. To the contrary, things only got worse over the following year. This culminated with the Army notifying my office on May 3, 2022, that the private investment initiative cited by the Army in earlier exchanges was no longer viable. As a result, Army officials told us, the $50 million originally intended for Fort Leonard Wood was no longer available. Put succinctly, the Army had neither funds nor any idea how it was going to generate funds to meet Fort Leonard Wood’s housing requirements.
I raised this issue with you – again – at a SASC hearing on May 5, 2022. During our exchange, you committed to investigate the matter and provide me with an update on the Army’s plan to meet Fort Leonard Wood’s housing requirements. Nearly three months have passed, and I have received no update.
No doubt many of the housing challenges facing the Army are a result of public-private partnerships that have failed to perform as expected. And private companies should be held responsible for their failures to meet their obligations to provide quality housing to our servicemembers. But it is Army – not these companies – that is ultimately responsible for caring for servicemembers and their families at Fort Leonard Wood.
- With these concerns in mind, I request your written responses to the following questions no later than August 12, 2022:
- What is the Army’s assessment of the total number of homes at Fort Leonard Wood that need to be replaced?
- What is the Army’s assessment of how much it will cost to replace those homes?
- How does the Army plan to fund the replacement of all the homes at Fort Leonard Wood that need to be replaced?
- What is the Army’s timeline for replacing all of the homes at Fort Leonard Wood that need to be replaced?
Ensuring quality housing for servicemembers and their families at Fort Leonard Wood is a top priority for the people of Missouri. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Josh Hawley
United States Senator