App reveals worst housing conditions on US military bases

By Brett Rowland
Central Square

An app that allows U.S. soldiers to anonymously post photos of conditions in military barracks and dining halls includes images of mold, mice, bugs, cockroaches, brown tap water and broken air conditioners, among other problems.

The app, called Hots&Cots, lets registered users post photos and rate properties, awarding them up to five stars. Founder Rob Evans created the app more than a year ago after a congressional watchdog drew attention to long-standing problems with junior military housing. He said the goal was to push the U.S. Defense Department to improve conditions, something he promised to do after a 2023 report.

Photos posted on Hots&Cots show bugs in Army dining rooms at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, as well as thermostats reading 90 degrees in the room. At Fort Moore in Georgia, one user posted a photo of brown water flowing out of a bathtub. Another photo shows moldy cream cheese in a dining room in New Jersey.

The U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the photos posted on the app.

The site features dozens of photos of moldy or inedible food from military dining halls across the country. Photos of thermostats at uncomfortable temperatures are also common on the site. As are moldy beds. One video on the site shows a soldier returning from overseas to a bed covered in mold.

The Center Square has not been able to independently verify the photos uploaded to the site, but Evans said the site checks the posts for accuracy.

Evans, a veteran, said he started the app after a 2023 Government Accountability Office report.

A 118-page report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office laid bare the conditions in the barracks where some soldiers live. The report detailed sewage backups, rodent infestations, mold, and faulty fire suppression systems as threats to the safety of U.S. soldiers living in the barracks. The report found that such conditions undermine combat readiness.

After the report, Brendan Owens, assistant secretary of defense, energy and environment and head of housing, said the department had failed soldiers and promised to make improvements.

The GAO report, which included photos of conditions in some barracks, prompted Congressional hearings and a promise from the Pentagon to improve the situation.

Evans founded Hots & Cots after the report as a way to address soldiers’ housing problems more quickly. And while he has seen improvements over the past year, he said not enough has been done and plans to improve facilities could take years.

“We have been doing this for almost a year now and we still haven’t made much progress in terms of the existing infrastructure for our young soldiers,” he said.

Evans said the Pentagon must take action.

“The Department of Defense must act sooner rather than later to address the quality of life issues facing our warfighters,” he said. “Every day these issues go unaddressed is another day that the well-being and morale of those who serve is at risk. It is time to prioritize the living conditions of our warfighters to ensure they can focus on their mission without unnecessary distractions.”

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said the problems are not financial.

“Every year, the Army allocates money to improve the housing of our soldiers,” he said in a statement. “The problem is that these funds are not used effectively to provide the necessary basic living conditions for our soldiers. The Army must seriously address the horrific conditions our soldiers are living in on bases like Fort Bragg and Fort Liberty.”

Problems with the barracks that house unmarried junior soldiers during initial training and on base have existed for decades. The same GAO report found that the Defense Department has failed to fully fund its facilities program for years, leading to a backlog of at least $137 billion in deferred maintenance costs for fiscal year 2020. That amount includes all facilities, not just barracks.

The report also noted that the U.S. Department of Defense does not know how much it is spending to maintain the barracks or how much money will be needed to renovate them.

In March, Pentagon officials said the president’s $849.8 billion defense budget for fiscal year 2025 includes funding to improve troop housing.

Most recently, in August, the Pentagon launched a new feedback system to help address housing issues. The Department of Defense launched the DoD Housing Feedback System, an initiative aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in privatized military housing. The system allows active-duty service members and their eligible dependents to submit feedback on their existing leased unit.

The U.S. Department of Defense also did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the operation of the Housing Information Return System since its launch.

Evans said he runs the site for free on a day-to-day basis, but lets people who appreciate the app buy him coffee.

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