A groundbreaking ceremony of a multi-million dollar project that will address the living conditions of US sailors deployed in the kingdom was held at the Fifth Fleet in Juffair.
Officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) Bahrain – which is the engineering arm of the US Navy’s Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command – and Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain broke ground recently on a $15.8 million renovation of housing facilities for unaccompanied sailors (without dependents).
The project aligns with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s Barracks Task Force formed last month to address substandard living conditions.
Mr Hegseth, in a video posted on the Secretary of War’s X account, highlighted the shabby conditions of barracks without basic amenities for sailors, and called on the task force to develop a department-wide investment plan for housing improvements and report its progress to him within 30 days.
He spoke about clogged showers, sewage overflows in restrooms, brown tap water, mold growth, and other poor living conditions in barracks in his video message that prompted him to address the issue with the Pentagon and set up a task force.
Mr Hegseth added that the Department of War, backed by US President Donald Trump, was investing more than $1.2bn to improve the barracks conditions, with more than $800m allocated for ‘critical barracks renovations immediately’.
The task force includes representatives from across the War Department, including experts in contracting, leaders from military installations, and experts in personnel, readiness and finance.
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