Maybe shutting down the Executive suites in the 'Inns of the Corps' wherever these barracks are at, and putting the Executive level Officers, SNCOs, and Civilians in the troubled Barracks for temporary lodging would hasten rectification of the problem. "Hey SgtMaj, are you in the room with the black mold that grows on the wall in the shape of Chesty's face?".
Back in 2000, I knew of an Officer that traveled to MCRD San Diego from Parris Island as part of the RTR Exchange program. While there, during the field part of the exchange tour up at Camp Pendleton, the party of Officers and SNCOs were housed in the Weapons and Field Training Battalion Temporary Barracks. The reason was that the Battalion CO, with the blessing of the RTR CO, was trying to exhaust every opportunity to push for change with respect to the atrocious conditions in the Barracks (the Officer I knew walked through standing water on the first deck that had been there long enough to be referred to as the 'indoor pool'). The barracks were disgusting and the Command was using my favorite tool to put pressure on the problem: they were scheduling senior Officers, SNCOs, and VIPs to stay in that Barracks so their voices would be added to the chorus. Unfortunate that it came to that, but it was better than the old "it's been reported again for this quarter". Notably, the Exchange Group made a formal comment of it in their out brief with the MCRD. This wasn't inter Depot rivalry...it was done in support of the San Diego RTR when nothing else was moving the needle.
This issue of the barracks being in a state of complete shambles goes straight to the heart of the matter. OUR ethos. The MAGTF is under attack because a few select “Officers” and some consultants with propellers on their covers, decided that they knew better than everyone else about the necessary future developments for the Corps, the mission, (even though federally mandated Title X was in place) was changed. Screw the MAGTF and a history of fighting banana wars and being ready to go fight in any “clime and place.” We have used wit and sarcasm and our plastic spoons, (so gungy that they are no longer white but clear from repeated use) to get the points across. We have some brilliant people here giving light and reason to the issue of restoring the fighting capability of the Marine Corps. Now here we all are talking about the Barracks. The bloody barracks, being in such a state of filth and poor condition that we need “outside” inspectors, who will conduct the inspections, will write a report which will go into the top right drawer of the various responsible commander’s office desk, never to be seen again. The “senior officers and SNCO’s,” that’s right Sgt. Major of the USMC I am talking to you, take the cotton the out of your ears, need to get off your backsides and start not only doing their jobs, but leading by example. Hours after General Louis Wilson became CMC he headed out to “visit” various commands. As the story goes,he found himself in a local command O Club at lunch time. It was filled and many present were having beers with their lunch. That practice ended fast. Oddly, Marine Officers were suddenly found in PT gear running at noon time. Soon more Marines were found running and PTing at noontime. My Boss (Major General David Barker CG MCB Camp LeJeune) the base Sgt. Major and I could be found running 3 miles at noon most days unless there was a damn good reason not to be out soaking up the heat and humidity of ole Camp Swampy in July. This situation is a leadership failure of the highest order, period. It starts with the Commandant, whom we still do not know when he will return to his post, since it apparently is none of our business, and goes all the way down that pesky notion known as the chain of command. Why should we be remotely surprised, when accountability is only a word used vaguely when some lance corporal has made a modest error in judgement at some point in a busy day. OUR ethos does not allow for this nonsense, it must simply stop. As important as correcting the misguided direction of FD2030 is, the basics of leadership and OUR way of doing things is more important. Congress needs an earful. Now, excuse me, while I go to the back of the chow line and let my enlisted Marines have at that chow first….
Ya know what this means right? Marines will not be training, they will be field day'ing the crap out of the barracks so that these inspectors will see nothing but sparkly clean barracks. Nothing that the social media posts have shown will be seen by these inspectors.....because the people, LEADERS, who let this happen under their watch don't want to be "that guy".
They should not have announced this. Inspectors should not announce when they are coming in. Just show up, like the do for a health and comfort inspection, at zero dark early and inspect the barracks for the issues. But that is already too late. Marines are already turning to on the field day'ing and loosing training time.
NCO/SNCO issue? I once started into a barracks prior to morning formation and was stopped by the battery Gunny. “sir, you might hold off a few as we have an issue WE want to resolve”. Lead lead lead or move on!
Seems to me the leadership in the MC is taken the monkey off their backs and placing it on the backs of the “outside civilians” whoever they are.
It utterly disgusting to read reports of poor living conditions. For me, poor living conditions are the failure of every so called leader from the PFC up to the most senior SgtMaj as well as every officer who turned a blind eye to the deteriorating conditions. Hell, I lived in Quonset Huts that are 100% cleaned than the pictures we see from the various bases.
Money, while helpful in solving this problem, is only a temporary solution, leadership is what it will take to fix the barracks issues, hard, take no prisoners, caring leadership at every level, period!
It is February 9, why does it take more than a month to conduct a comprehensive barracks inspection? It appears that General Berger USMC RET destroyed “GOOD ORDER AND DISCIPLINE AT THE SAME TIME HE DESTROYED THE MAGTF”…….
"It is February 9, why does it take more than a month to conduct a comprehensive barracks inspection?" This should be a maintenance stand down. The stand down should be one day to ID the problems, and write and submit the maintenance/work requests. The work requests should not only be for mold they need to include, leaky showers, clogged drains, broken windows, etc. In addition, this detailed inspection including the small items like every Marine has two clean sheets, and a roll of toilet paper next to each toilet. The Commanding General can then compare the existing old work requests to the new ones and find out who are the good commanders and SNCOs. If the existing work requests match up with the new ones, the general needs to resign. What happened to CG and IG inspections? NO EXCUSE for this horse-pucky. Semper Fi
My impression over the last thirty years is that the CORPS leadership has lost sight of one of it's two most basic missions, TAKE CARE OF THE TROOPS!!. I don't know where the Sargeant Majors are hanging out during the day/night, certainly not the Bks.
Where are the SNCOS and jr. officers and whatever happened to weekly barracks inspections? If the barracks failed inspection, liberty was canceled until it passed. I still remember polishing the head drain with a toothbrush at Quantico.
The most important asset the Marine Corps has is its young Marines. The barracks problem is a command problem from top to bottom. We cannot let our Marines live in these conditions. To have civilian barracks managers is a shirking of duty on the part of command.
I'd be embarrassed, if I was the Commandant to read something like this in the Marine Corps Times. Perhaps it's time for him and the SGTMAJ to move along.
In 1967 the Marine Corps, due to our personnel expansion due to the War in Vietnam, had to go to the draft. Six Marine officers were assigned to the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Stations. I was one of those and reported to the station in Raleigh, NC as newly field commissioned Second Lieutenant, returning from an infantry tour in Vietnam. I had about 40 civilian clerks, mostly women and dozen Army enlisted men. After interviewing everyone, Inspected the living quarters of the troops. This was an independent duty assignment with no military quarters. Some were living in unbelievably bad situations and corrected immediately. The Army Lieutenant Colonel to whom I reported, was surprised and admitted that it should have been done sooner. I’m amazed that Marine officers today have allowed this quarter’s situation to exist. What the hell do these people do all day? Semper Fi
Our “leadership” wonders in disbelief why many of us would not recommend joining up and seeking the privilege to wear our emblem. Well, this is why. I despair.
We can find the money and motivation to build brand new military bases for a foreign government, but we can’t provide adequate housing for our own personnel!
Maybe shutting down the Executive suites in the 'Inns of the Corps' wherever these barracks are at, and putting the Executive level Officers, SNCOs, and Civilians in the troubled Barracks for temporary lodging would hasten rectification of the problem. "Hey SgtMaj, are you in the room with the black mold that grows on the wall in the shape of Chesty's face?".
Back in 2000, I knew of an Officer that traveled to MCRD San Diego from Parris Island as part of the RTR Exchange program. While there, during the field part of the exchange tour up at Camp Pendleton, the party of Officers and SNCOs were housed in the Weapons and Field Training Battalion Temporary Barracks. The reason was that the Battalion CO, with the blessing of the RTR CO, was trying to exhaust every opportunity to push for change with respect to the atrocious conditions in the Barracks (the Officer I knew walked through standing water on the first deck that had been there long enough to be referred to as the 'indoor pool'). The barracks were disgusting and the Command was using my favorite tool to put pressure on the problem: they were scheduling senior Officers, SNCOs, and VIPs to stay in that Barracks so their voices would be added to the chorus. Unfortunate that it came to that, but it was better than the old "it's been reported again for this quarter". Notably, the Exchange Group made a formal comment of it in their out brief with the MCRD. This wasn't inter Depot rivalry...it was done in support of the San Diego RTR when nothing else was moving the needle.
This issue of the barracks being in a state of complete shambles goes straight to the heart of the matter. OUR ethos. The MAGTF is under attack because a few select “Officers” and some consultants with propellers on their covers, decided that they knew better than everyone else about the necessary future developments for the Corps, the mission, (even though federally mandated Title X was in place) was changed. Screw the MAGTF and a history of fighting banana wars and being ready to go fight in any “clime and place.” We have used wit and sarcasm and our plastic spoons, (so gungy that they are no longer white but clear from repeated use) to get the points across. We have some brilliant people here giving light and reason to the issue of restoring the fighting capability of the Marine Corps. Now here we all are talking about the Barracks. The bloody barracks, being in such a state of filth and poor condition that we need “outside” inspectors, who will conduct the inspections, will write a report which will go into the top right drawer of the various responsible commander’s office desk, never to be seen again. The “senior officers and SNCO’s,” that’s right Sgt. Major of the USMC I am talking to you, take the cotton the out of your ears, need to get off your backsides and start not only doing their jobs, but leading by example. Hours after General Louis Wilson became CMC he headed out to “visit” various commands. As the story goes,he found himself in a local command O Club at lunch time. It was filled and many present were having beers with their lunch. That practice ended fast. Oddly, Marine Officers were suddenly found in PT gear running at noon time. Soon more Marines were found running and PTing at noontime. My Boss (Major General David Barker CG MCB Camp LeJeune) the base Sgt. Major and I could be found running 3 miles at noon most days unless there was a damn good reason not to be out soaking up the heat and humidity of ole Camp Swampy in July. This situation is a leadership failure of the highest order, period. It starts with the Commandant, whom we still do not know when he will return to his post, since it apparently is none of our business, and goes all the way down that pesky notion known as the chain of command. Why should we be remotely surprised, when accountability is only a word used vaguely when some lance corporal has made a modest error in judgement at some point in a busy day. OUR ethos does not allow for this nonsense, it must simply stop. As important as correcting the misguided direction of FD2030 is, the basics of leadership and OUR way of doing things is more important. Congress needs an earful. Now, excuse me, while I go to the back of the chow line and let my enlisted Marines have at that chow first….
Ya know what this means right? Marines will not be training, they will be field day'ing the crap out of the barracks so that these inspectors will see nothing but sparkly clean barracks. Nothing that the social media posts have shown will be seen by these inspectors.....because the people, LEADERS, who let this happen under their watch don't want to be "that guy".
They should not have announced this. Inspectors should not announce when they are coming in. Just show up, like the do for a health and comfort inspection, at zero dark early and inspect the barracks for the issues. But that is already too late. Marines are already turning to on the field day'ing and loosing training time.
And you all know this is what is happening.
NCO/SNCO issue? I once started into a barracks prior to morning formation and was stopped by the battery Gunny. “sir, you might hold off a few as we have an issue WE want to resolve”. Lead lead lead or move on!
Seems to me the leadership in the MC is taken the monkey off their backs and placing it on the backs of the “outside civilians” whoever they are.
It utterly disgusting to read reports of poor living conditions. For me, poor living conditions are the failure of every so called leader from the PFC up to the most senior SgtMaj as well as every officer who turned a blind eye to the deteriorating conditions. Hell, I lived in Quonset Huts that are 100% cleaned than the pictures we see from the various bases.
Money, while helpful in solving this problem, is only a temporary solution, leadership is what it will take to fix the barracks issues, hard, take no prisoners, caring leadership at every level, period!
It is February 9, why does it take more than a month to conduct a comprehensive barracks inspection? It appears that General Berger USMC RET destroyed “GOOD ORDER AND DISCIPLINE AT THE SAME TIME HE DESTROYED THE MAGTF”…….
Good Question!
Samuel W. asks a good question.
"It is February 9, why does it take more than a month to conduct a comprehensive barracks inspection?" This should be a maintenance stand down. The stand down should be one day to ID the problems, and write and submit the maintenance/work requests. The work requests should not only be for mold they need to include, leaky showers, clogged drains, broken windows, etc. In addition, this detailed inspection including the small items like every Marine has two clean sheets, and a roll of toilet paper next to each toilet. The Commanding General can then compare the existing old work requests to the new ones and find out who are the good commanders and SNCOs. If the existing work requests match up with the new ones, the general needs to resign. What happened to CG and IG inspections? NO EXCUSE for this horse-pucky. Semper Fi
My impression over the last thirty years is that the CORPS leadership has lost sight of one of it's two most basic missions, TAKE CARE OF THE TROOPS!!. I don't know where the Sargeant Majors are hanging out during the day/night, certainly not the Bks.
Fire a few base commanders.
Phil, to be fair, for the first time I agree with you. Thank you...I think cats and dogs are now living together.
Where are the SNCOS and jr. officers and whatever happened to weekly barracks inspections? If the barracks failed inspection, liberty was canceled until it passed. I still remember polishing the head drain with a toothbrush at Quantico.
Well said, Martin. Our Marines deserve nothing less.
The most important asset the Marine Corps has is its young Marines. The barracks problem is a command problem from top to bottom. We cannot let our Marines live in these conditions. To have civilian barracks managers is a shirking of duty on the part of command.
poor leadership!
I'd be embarrassed, if I was the Commandant to read something like this in the Marine Corps Times. Perhaps it's time for him and the SGTMAJ to move along.
In 1967 the Marine Corps, due to our personnel expansion due to the War in Vietnam, had to go to the draft. Six Marine officers were assigned to the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Stations. I was one of those and reported to the station in Raleigh, NC as newly field commissioned Second Lieutenant, returning from an infantry tour in Vietnam. I had about 40 civilian clerks, mostly women and dozen Army enlisted men. After interviewing everyone, Inspected the living quarters of the troops. This was an independent duty assignment with no military quarters. Some were living in unbelievably bad situations and corrected immediately. The Army Lieutenant Colonel to whom I reported, was surprised and admitted that it should have been done sooner. I’m amazed that Marine officers today have allowed this quarter’s situation to exist. What the hell do these people do all day? Semper Fi
Our “leadership” wonders in disbelief why many of us would not recommend joining up and seeking the privilege to wear our emblem. Well, this is why. I despair.
We can find the money and motivation to build brand new military bases for a foreign government, but we can’t provide adequate housing for our own personnel!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/u-s-will-build-five-new-military-bases/