Exclusive: Army secretary hits Georgia barracks for feedback
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll this week kicked off a quality-of-life tour, consulting soldiers about food access, housing and more.
Why it matters: Living conditions influence military morale and readiness; horror stories hurt recruiting and retention.
Driving the news: Driscoll spoke with dozens of troops Monday at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where the situation in 2022 was so dire that Military.com reported on "Operation Eradicate Mold" and "disgusting conditions that would get an apartment or restaurant in the civilian world condemned."
"Fort Stewart is renowned for bad barracks," Driscoll told me after touring a few rooms, including one in a building that was shuttered and is now years into a renovation.
Some of the issues that 3rd Infantry Division soldiers brought to the secretary's attention:
Long walks to get food and odd hours at dining facilities
No ovens in some rooms, and other appliance issues
Too few trashcans, leading to garbage pileups and litter
Bug infestations requiring pest control
Larger common areas, so visitors aren't crammed onto beds
Zoom out: The Government Accountability Office in 2023 issued a damning report on military housing, documenting instances of hot-water outages, unusable elevators, broken locks and methane leaks.
"We found that living conditions in some military barracks may pose potentially serious risks to the physical and mental health of service members, as well as their safety," the watchdog said.
Thirty-one recommendations were made. The Pentagon concurred with 23.
"When I was in the Army … the same problems existed," Driscoll told Axios. "The sinful part of that is we knew they were problems in 2009, and now it's 2025."
Driscoll told multiple 3rd Infantry Division soldiers that they had raised good points. He committed to investigating them.
"Until we're able to fix how we, as an Army, structurally accomplish big goals, we will continue to let them down. I hope that we are able to succeed in the things that matter most to them," he said in an interview.
"I am very optimistic that … we're about to take a sledgehammer to all of the providers of our dining services."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Buffalo Soldiers in Utah finally getting their due
'There's a mountain of history about these guys that had never been really tapped into, and we realized it was much broader than we thought — kind of like an iceberg.' That's Ian Wright talking. Ian's the manager of Utah Cultural Site Stewardship, a state program tasked with 'protecting and safeguarding Utah's archaeological and cultural heritage.' In simpler terms, they're in charge of preserving Utah's history. The office has been operational for a little over four years, during which time Ian and his second-in-command, Lexi Little, have discovered an interesting pattern that repeats itself: When they start researching one bit of history, they often discover another bit that's even more interesting. Such is the case with the Buffalo Soldiers — two U.S. Army all-African American regiments that were stationed in Utah between 1878 and 1901. Thanks to Utah Cultural Site Stewardship, these men who played an important role in Utah history are getting a chance to take a bow more than a century later. For our interview with Ian and Lexi, we're sitting in the Fort Douglas Military Museum on the University of Utah campus. Today, the museum's buildings house an impressive array of military artifacts and information dating from the current day all the way back to 1862, when Fort Douglas was first created as a federal military garrison. But back in the late 1800s, these were the barracks where the Buffalo Soldiers lived. The story of the Buffalo Soldiers — so nicknamed by Native Americans because their coarse hair reminded them of a buffalo's — is one of those cringe-worthy parts of American history, hearkening back to a time when even the Union triumph in the Civil War failed to put the brakes on racial bigotry. In 1866, a year after the end of the war, the federal government decreed that the U.S. Army would be segregated (and would remain so for nearly 100 years), designating that four regiments (out of 60) were to be composed of all-Black troops. Two of these regiments, the 9th Cavalry and the 24th Infantry, would be posted to Utah between 1878 and 1901, sent to keep the peace, guard the mail, protect the telegraph lines and keep the Native Americans in check. The 9th Cavalry helped establish Fort Duchesne in Uintah County, while the 24th Infantry was billeted, as mentioned above, in the barracks at Fort Douglas on the east side of Salt Lake City. The ironies and incongruities of this arrangement were not a few: Black troops, already marginalized, sent to help protect and live in peace in a place populated primarily by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a people who A) had their own issues about being marginalized after being forced out of their homes in Illinois without much federal support and being invaded by the U.S. Army not long after they fled to Utah, and B) whose church restricted some of its membership rights from Black people. Not to mention the fact that Fort Douglas, home of the 24th, was named after Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln's debate rival who had been a slave owner himself. But here's the part that brings a light to the eyes of Ian Wright and Lexi Little as they talk about the Buffalo Soldiers era in Utah history: The interaction seems to have worked out just fine. There were no race riots, no protests of any historical consequence. The role the Buffalo Soldiers played was, by all accounts, a positive one. The 9th Cavalry not only helped calm tensions with the Ute Tribe in northeastern Utah, but also (although this hasn't been entirely substantiated) helped guard the train depot in Price from a rumored heist by Butch Cassidy and the Robbers Roost gang. The 24th Infantry gained fame by answering the government's call to briefly leave Fort Douglas and fight in the Spanish-American War in Cuba in 1898 — charging up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. When the troops returned to Salt Lake City, they marched up Main Street in a parade in their honor. 'Not a lot of people know the Buffalo Soldiers were here,' says Ian, 'but they were everywhere. Every time we did research, they popped up.' Adds Lexi, 'It is a vital story that needs to be told.' The Utah Cultural Site Stewardship program has established a Heritage Trail that maps all the areas in Utah where the Buffalo Soldiers made their mark (it's 475 miles in length), and a website — — that details the history in great depth. There is also an audiobook available at narrated by former KSL Radio talk show host Doug Wright (Ian's dad). In short, if any of those Buffalo Soldiers were still around, they would no doubt be gobsmacked by all the attention. 'Our job is to safeguard all 13,000 years of Utah history,' says Ian. 'This was a gap, and we filled it.'
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
An Army base will now honor a Buffalo Soldier
When the U.S. Army announced on June 10 that it was changing the names of seven bases back to their earlier designations, it skipped over one major milestone: Fort Lee in Virginia will now be the first base to be named after a Buffalo Soldier. The bases reverted back to their names, which had previously honored Confederate leaders, although with new, non-Confederate namesakes. In the case of Fort Lee, rather than Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general, it's now named for Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Buffalo Soldier. Fitz Lee fought in the Spanish-American War and earned the Medal of Honor for his actions at Tayabacoa, Cuba, when he helped rescue trapped soldiers. Although the biography released by the Army noted he was a Buffalo Soldier, the Army's announcement did not highlight that this is the first time a base is named for someone who was a part of the units — four regiments of Black soldiers formed after the Civil War, who served notably during the wars on the western frontier and in the Spanish-American War. Cale Carter, a historian and the director of exhibitions at the Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Houston, Texas, said that he was taken aback by the choice of the base's namesake, in part because Fitz Lee is not widely known, and his service happened in a part of the Buffalo Soldiers' history that isn't largely focused on. 'They went about with someone who had a Medal of Honor, but from a conflict you don't see much coverage of,' he said. Two years ago, the Army base that is once again known as Fort Lee was one of several U.S. military installations, buildings, and roads renamed in 2022 and 2023, following the recommendations of a special committee. The actions came from a wide push to remove names honoring members of the Confederacy, who violently opposed the Union. Many of the selected names instead honored notable soldiers and Army leaders, including Hal Moore and Medal of Honor recipient William Henry Johnson. Fort Lee was renamed to Fort Gregg-Adams, honoring both Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, Black service members who joined during a time when the Army was segregated. Gregg would eventually become the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics for the Army while Adams commanded the 6888th Central Postal Directory during World War II. At the time, it was the first Army base to be named for African Americans. The reversion to Fort Lee strips the names of Gregg and Adams, but it also creates another milestone. The Buffalo Soldiers, as they came to be known, were first formed in 1866 in the aftermath of the Civil War. They initially started with cavalry units — the 9th and 10th Cavalry — and soon infantry regiments followed, formalized as the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. They found themselves active on the American western frontier, working on infrastructure as the Army pushed west and fighting skirmishes and small battles against Native Americans who resisted the expansion. The exact origin of the nickname 'Buffalo Soldiers' isn't clear, but it is widely believed to come from their actions fighting on the plains. However, as the American reach in the Western Hemisphere expanded, the soldiers from the regiments soon found themselves taking part in actions in Cuba, the Philippines and Mexico. It was then that the soldiers found themselves up against formal military forces. In Cuba, they took part in the Battle of San Juan Hill. 'When you look at the Spanish-American War, you start seeing these regiments get exposed to the wider public and gain more recognition,' Carter said. 'They're proving their performance under fire.' The Buffalo Soldier regiments themselves did not go overseas to join the American forces fighting in World War I. However, several of the veterans from those wars were brought in as non-commissioned officers for the newly formed 92nd and 93rd Infantry divisions that did, Carter said. The 92nd Infantry Division, which fought in both World Wars, gained the nickname 'The Buffalos,' drawing on the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. The 25th Infantry Regiment would take part in the Pacific Theater of World War II, nearly 80 years after the initial Buffalo Soldier units were first raised. The term Buffalo Soldiers stuck around well into the 20th century. The last Buffalo Soldier, Robert Dixon, died in 2024 at the age of 103. Several monuments and markers at U.S. Army installations are named for the units. The once-again Fort Lee, located in Prince George County, Virginia, is a logistics hub for the U.S. Army. It's the home to the Army Combined Arms Support Command and several sustainment and transportation-related schools. There are limited details on Fitz Lee's early life, but according to the National Park Service, Fitz Lee was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia in June 1866, one year after the end of the Civil War. He joined the Army's 10th Cavalry as the United States found itself at war with Spain in the Philippines and the Caribbean. Lee went to Cuba. In 1898, he was part of a group of 10th Cavalry soldiers selected for a mission to get behind Spanish lines to connect with and resupply Cuban rebels. That is how Lee and other soldiers found themselves on the USS Florida on June 30, 1898, landing in Tayabacoa, Cuba. They ran into a Spanish blockhouse and were forced to retreat, but several American and Cuban fighters were left wounded. Four attempts to get to the trapped soldiers failed, with each party from the Florida falling back in the face of Spanish fire. A fifth rescue party was formed, with four soldiers of the 10th Cavalry volunteering. Lee, Pvt. Dennis Bell, Sgt. William H. Thompkins and Cpl. George H. Wanton went ashore with 2nd Lt. George Ahern. They succeeded in surprising the enemy, rescuing the captives and escaping back to the ship. For their actions, the four enlisted soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor. They were the last Black soldiers to receive it outright for decades, rather than be awarded it years later via an ungraded award. Lee '[v]oluntarily went ashore in the face of the enemy and aided in the rescue of his wounded comrades; this after several previous attempts had been frustrated,' his Medal of Honor citation reads. The four enlisted soldiers each received the Medal of Honor for their actions in the following year. Lee, his health worsening after his time in Cuba, was at a hospital at Fort Bliss, Texas. He received a medical discharge from the Army on July 5. He moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, but his health continued to decline, with Lee eventually going blind. He died Sept. 14, 1899 and was buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. The exact illness isn't known, but it was at a time when more soldiers died from illness than combat, Carter noted. Alongside Fitz Lee, two other Black soldiers are now namesakes to the renamed bases. 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Pvt. Bruce Anderson, who provided part of the name for Fort A.P. Hill. Both fought in the Civil War and also earned the Medal of Honor for their actions fighting for the Union. Carter hopes that with the new designation, the Army base will have an education element that can teach current soldiers not just about Lee but also the Buffalo Soldiers and their legacy. Lee, despite his early death after the war, does have photographs, but many decorated Buffalo Soldiers, particularly from the frontier conflicts, have limited biographies and information, Carter said, leaving them not particularly well known. 'Hopefully this will drive more interest in [Lee],' he said. Sailors who can't deploy will be moved to empty jobs under Navy program Air Force relieves commander of pilot training squadron US military's highest ranking transgender officer says separation process is broken Army bringing in big tech executives as lieutenant colonels Trump reverts 7 Army bases to former names with new honorees, including Delta Force soldier
American Press
3 days ago
- American Press
Ralph Luke Sonnier
Ralph Luke Sonnier, 86, died at 4:39 p.m., June 23, 2025, at Harbor Hospice in Lake Charles. He was known as Pie, his nickname. Pie was a lifelong resident of Sulphur, born on Dec. 16, 1938, at Sulphur Mines. He was a 1957 graduate of Sulphur High School and attended McNeese State College before joining the Army. After serving in the US Army for three years in Germany, he worked in the IBEW apprentice program in Port Arthur, Texas. After becoming a journeyman lineman, he followed the electrical high line work for nine years. During this time, he married Josephine 'Joey' Carol Caruthers in Sulphur on July 27, 1968. In 1973, after the birth of their son, Paul, he started working at Century Steps, which later became Century Group, from where he retired with 29 years of service as fabrication supervisor. He enjoyed working in his woodworking shop building handcrafted cars, trucks, and toys, traveling, and entertaining friends on his screened porch. Pie was a member of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church. For many years he was a 'garden angel' every Tuesday and an adorer every Monday at Prompt Succor Church. He was a 3rd Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus Sulphur Council #3015 and was an active member of the Lake Charles Woodworkers Club. In 2007, Pie won first place in the miniature replica category of the national Build-A-Gift contest sponsored by Wood Magazine. He had handcrafted a miniature replica of a 1953 Duesenberg SSJ. One exciting moment of his life was when Jay Leno from the 'Tonight Show' called to thank him for the pictures of the Duesenberg. Pie was always giving a helping hand to his neighbors. Survivors include one son, Paul Luke Sonnier and his wife, Christie Sonnier, of Dallas, Texas; one granddaughter, Sara Sonnier, J.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio; one sister, Zilda Vincent of Sulphur, and one brother, Buddy Sonnier of Carlyss. His wife, Josephine 'Joey' Sonnier; one sister, Claire Richard, and his parents, Antoine and Agnes Sonnier, preceded him in death. His funeral will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2025 in Hixson-Sulphur Memorial Funeral Home. Deacon Patrick LaPointe will officiate. Burial will be at Mimosa Pines Cemetery in Carlyss under the direction of Hixson-Sulphur Memorial Funeral Home. Visitation is at 10 a.m. Saturday morning until the time of service with rosary at 1:30 p.m. in the funeral home. Memorial donations can be made to Our Lady's Catholic School Trust Fund, 1111 Cypress Street, Sulphur, LA 70663. Words of comfort and expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at
