Walter Reed Barracks Living Conditions Probed By MD Lawmakers

BETHESDA, MD — Maryland lawmakers are calling on the Navy’s leadership to address what they say are unsafe living conditions in the barracks for junior enlisted service members at Naval Support Activity (NSA)-Bethesda, which is the site of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and thanked him for his work so far to improve the barracks and his promise that no service member would face repercussions for speaking up about living conditions.

“However, we are alarmed by the revelation that these conditions have persisted for years despite reportedly being known to installation leadership,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Del Toro dated Feb. 17. “We appreciate fully that military installations must often operate under budgetary constraints and with competing priorities, but these conditions are critical for the wellbeing of service members and pose an immediate threat to military readiness.”

The service members in Comfort Hall and Sanctuary hall have been living without hot water, air conditioning and other basic amenities, the lawmakers wrote.

“The living and working conditions at the installation’s fire house were utterly unacceptable—plagued by mold, asbestos, roof leaks, electrical issues, and structural instability—even before a 2019 fire rendered approximately half of the facility uninhabitable,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Van Hollen, Cardin and Raskin asked for a written response to a list of their questions about the conditions and the steps that will be taken to improve them by Feb. 24.

“We owe it to the men and women entrusted to the care of this installation that NSA-Bethesda and Walter Reed are home to world-class facilities and management,” they wrote. “We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.”

Read the full letter here.