The Office of Management and Budget has approved funding between 6,000-8,000 new privatized beds for the Hampton Roads, Va., area, a senior defense official told reporters Thursday.
The announcement of the approved funding came during a Thursday roundtable to discuss a new memo by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that lists contiuining efforts to improve the lives of service members and their families.
Among these efforts are priorities set on housing, including the expansion of unaccompanied housing and access to wifi. In addition to the approved funding for Hampton Roads, there are projects to bring privatized unaccompanied housing to the Army and Air Force, the senior defense official said. While the official did not specify if the Hampton Roads housing would specifically be for the Navy, Vice Adm. Christopher Gray told reporters in July that the sea service was looking to add 8,000 beds, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
These would private-public partnerships, the defense official said, with Basic Housing Allowance covering costs. There are currently 10 of these ventures, the official said, adding that OMB also approved funding to expand privatized unaccompanied housing in San Diego, Calif.
Under the defense secretary’s priorities, which continue his goal of focusing on people for the past three years, the Department of Defense will open up pilot programs in the Army and Air Force looking at providing wi-fi in unaccompanied housing. These pilots build upon those already in place in the Navy and Marine Corps, the senior defense official said.
The lack of unaccompanied housing has been an issue specifically in Hampton Roads for sailors assigned to ships undergoing maintenance. Due to Congressional regulations, the Navy cannot provide basic housing allowance to sailors with ranks E-4 and below, although the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 allowed the Navy to provide BHA for sailors assigned to ships undergoing maintenance.
A series of three suicides in 2022 while USS George Washington (CVN-73) led to multiple investigations into the conditions of sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier while it was in an extended maintenance period. One of the highlighted concerns was the lack of beds for unaccompanied, junior sailors. This led to sailors staying on the ship while under maintenance, leading to problems with sleep and overall mental health.
Austin also introduced health care flexible spending accounts in his memo. Under the plan, service members would be able to put up to $3,200 in pre-tax earnings in HFSAs to pay for out-of-pocket medical costs, such as contact lenses, according to the memo.
The rollout is anticipated for March 2025, according to the memo.
Other focuses in the memo were on moves and spousal employment. This includes expanding temporary lodging expense to 21 days.
By April 2025, the department will finish a quality review of standard issue uniform clothing items, according to the memo.
“We continue to work hard every day to take care of our Service members and families. This is more than a commitment. It is a sacred obligation,” reads Austin’s memo.
