The Pentagon is shifting $1 billion meant for maintaining and renovating Army barracks to instead fund its surge of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that coincides with the service's gradual deprioritization of quality-of-life initiatives for soldiers.
Redirecting the barracks funding erodes much of the additional money the Army started pouring into living quarters during the previous administration. The funding could be partially replaced by a separate $1 billion in proposed barracks investments across all services in Congress' so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill,” but that legislation, designed to enact President Donald Trump's agenda, would still leave the Army with an enormous financial loss on maintaining living quarters for junior troops.
The shift of Army barracks money to the border mission was laid out in a wide-ranging Defense Department plan, sent to Congress on May 8, to move funding between various programs. The service declined to comment on how the cut might affect ongoing projects.
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The Pentagon has broad flexibility to move money between accounts, a move called “reprogramming,” without an act of Congress.
The diversion of funds away from soldier housing contrasts with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's public persona. Having served 11 years as an Army National Guard officer, Hegseth has frequently portrayed himself as a champion for the rank and file, telling troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, last week, "I've been in your boots."
"The message from the commander in chief, straight from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is he has your back," he added.
The shift also reflects a change in the Army's priorities. During the previous administration, service planners made a point of tying soldier well-being to the Army's ability to fight. The idea was that quality-of-life issues were part of preparing for war, that when troops and families are taken care of, soldiers are more focused and ready to deploy to combat.
Current service leadership has moved away from that framework, scrubbing the Army’s mantra of “People First,” focusing more narrowly on traditional warfighting priorities such as weapon systems and acquisition reform.
The funding move is déjà vu for those watching defense budgets under Trump. During his first term, the Pentagon transferred $1 billion from its military personnel budget to fund 57 miles of border wall, siphoning funds away from the pot of money that includes troop pay and enlistment bonuses.
At the time, the reprogramming of the money to the border wall drew sharp backlash from Democrats, who accused the administration of sidestepping congressional authority. Trump had also claimed that Mexico would pay for the construction of the wall, though that never happened.
"Taking money out of facilities to fund near-term readiness isn't new; it's how the military got into this hole in the first place," Jacob Freedman, who was chief of staff to former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, told Military.com. "Instead of digging out of it, we're now digging even deeper."
Many buildings that house junior enlisted troops are decades old, with persistent issues ranging from mold and pests to failing plumbing and broken HVAC systems.
In some cases, those issues have led to soldiers getting sick from constant exposure to mold and other unsanitary conditions. According to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, the Army has a backlog of $20 billion worth of repairs and renovations to its facilities, a figure that continues to climb, worsened by inflation, with the average building being 47 years old.
“It’s shameful for the Defense Department to divert resources dedicated to improving living quarters for military personnel for a political stunt,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Military.com in a statement.
The Army has acknowledged that some barracks have been allowed to deteriorate due to funding shortfalls and shifting priorities. Maintenance teams have struggled to keep pace with demand, and soldiers have reported lengthy wait times to fix basic issues like non-working air conditioning in the sweltering summer months.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has deployed more than 9,000 troops to the border since January, including part of the 4th Infantry Division with armored Stryker vehicles out of Fort Carson, Colorado. The surge is part of Trump's crackdown on border crossings, which is itself part of a wider national effort at large-scale deportations.
The border has always had some level of troops for decades, most notably the Texas National Guard through Gov. Greg Abbott's troubled Operation Lone Star mission. Trump's megabill includes an $11 billion provision to reimburse the state of Texas for its mission that started in 2021.
"This, now with the lack of comments on quality-of-life improvements … it really gives the impression it's not a priority," said Rob Evans, who runs Hots & Cots, a Yelp-style app for troops to review barracks and dining facilities.
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