FORT HOOD, Texas — Lt. Gen. Douglas Gabram, commanding general of Installation Management Command, toured housing and barracks at Fort Hood Tuesday. He also thanked the workforce for their hard work during the pandemic, according to Fort Hood.
“First off, it’s always a privilege to be back at the Great Place,” Gabram said. “It’s great to see Soldiers, it’s great to hear from Soldiers, it’s great to go through barracks.”
The IMCOM commander, who is in charge of Army installations worldwide, was given a tour of Fort Hood’s housing areas and barracks to see the improvements that have been made firsthand. He was also able to speak with soldiers who live in newly-renovated barracks to find out their perspective.
Pfc. Amber King, who moved into the recently-renovated 3rd Cavalry Regiment barracks six months ago, said having her own private room and a kitchen was a huge upgrade from her former barracks, according to Fort Hood.
The newly-renovated barracks are apartment-style, with a kitchen and two bedrooms. Each bedroom has a twin bed, a bedside table with a lamp, a desk and a chair. There is also a large walk-in closet with the ability to lock it from the outside to keep items more secure, according to Fort Hood.
“It’s much better,” King said. “I like having my own room, instead of just a wall locker to divide the space.”
Gabram said Army senior leaders’ number one priority is to improve barracks worldwide. He added that they are currently working to provide the resources available to fix them.
“The good news is for our Army, our facility investment plan. It’s a 10-year strategy,” he said. “Improvements to barracks and operational infrastructure at Fort Hood are a big part of that strategy.”
During the tour, Gabram was shown the interior of some older homes in McNair Village and Chaffee Village. Chris Albus, project manager for Fort Hood Family Housing, a Lendlease privatized military housing community, told the IMCOM commanding general that they are continuously making improvements to the homes on post.
“Frankly, I can’t say enough about the teamwork between the garrison, the installation, the senior commander, the senior command, the chain-of-command and our housing partner, Lendlease,” the general said after the tour. “We have new plans and renovations in the next five to 10 years that are going to fix a lot of the issues.”
Gabram also took the time to thank some garrison employees who provided significant contributions throughout the year, who worked to provide the best service to the installation throughout the ongoing pandemic.
“You still are here, giving 110% and that means a lot,” the general told the assembled garrison employees.
Gabram encouraged them all to continue doing great things across the installation.
“This is our home and we have to take pride,” he added. “Pride in ownership.”
This all comes after 6 News Reporter Bary Roy spoke with one military wife and mother, Courtney Hamilton, Thursday, who said she's had enough of the living situation at Fort Hood. Housing on Fort Hood has been an issue for quite some time. Multiple town halls to address the issue have been hosted by the installation, the most recent was nearly three weeks ago on October 8.
"People need to see exactly what these families are living in and it's not just one or two homes, it's not even 10 or 20 homes. It is a significant amount of homes here on Fort Hood," Hamilton said.
6 News reached out to Fort Hood Family Housing to find out what has been done to improve living conditions on post, especially in light of the videos posted by Hamilton.
Fort Hood Family Housing said in a prepared statement, “For almost 20 years, Fort Hood Family Housing has maintained the commitment to ensure the safety, comfort and well-being of all our residents across over 5,600 homes as our first priority. We remain firm that any maintenance issues brought to our attention are thoroughly addressed in a timely manner. In addition, we continue to invest time, energy, and resources to make Fort Hood Family Housing a community that service members and their families are proud to call home.”
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