Overview

• Hegseth announced the initiative at Naval Air Station Oceana during a speech to recruits, where about 60 enlistees took the oath.
• The task force is charged with producing a department-wide barracks investment plan within 30 days, with Hegseth pledging to personally review and approve the final proposals.
• Initial funding will come from the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Hegseth described as providing over $1 billion as a down payment on barracks improvements.
• The effort follows a 2023 GAO report that documented poor and unsafe conditions in barracks, including sewage overflow, inoperable fire systems, mold, plumbing and HVAC failures, and privacy shortfalls.
• Earlier this year, the Pentagon redirected roughly $1 billion from Army barracks upgrades to the southern border surge, with an additional $200 million reported shifted to an Arizona border wall project, drawing criticism from some lawmakers.