In the past few years, we have all been made aware of the horrific wait times and treatment of veterans at some of the hospitals of the VA system. Now there is a new scandal brewing which, in its own way, could be worse. The scandal talks to the way we treat our active duty military. There’s big money in military housing. But is it ethical?
The condition of housing on military bases became so bad, that in 1996 the military decided to privatize housing. That is, they put huge contracts up for bid and major construction and leasing companies took over the job of providing safe and affordable housing for military families.
One of the largest contractors is a company called Corvias. They won the bid to handle six of 13 bases. The U.S. Army and other services asked Corvias and the winning bidders to develop “Community Development and Management Plans.” Each plan details Corvias’ responsibilities to the active duty families, complete renovation, development and management plans, as well as what the projected earnings might be for the companies.
The numbers are impressive. Corvias will earn close to $255 million during the first 10 years of the agreement for housing management, construction, and development of the properties. It is important to add that the $255 million is mostly profit. Those in the know point to the fact that the expenses are covered by the rental agreements. Over the 50-year duration of the agreement, the fees paid out by the government to Corvias will exceed $1 billion.
Not surprising, the CEO of Corvias, John Picerne, has been highlighted as the richest of the rich CEO’s whose construction and management companies make huge fees from the government. It is no exaggeration that Picerne does live like a king. His homes and lifestyle are over-the-top lavish.
The other side
This is America, and I suppose John Picerne is well within his rights to live a lavish lifestyle however, the military families who are living in Corvias homes are comparing the company’s housing to slums. There are collapsing ceilings, faulty wiring, rats and mildew and hundreds of other problems throughout the housing complexes. It has gotten so bad that military families have recently appeared before the Senate as part of the Safe Military Housing Initiative.
The families complain of everything from allergies to fears of rat bites. The dissatisfaction is widespread. Recently, the organization is known as The Military and Family Advisory Network conducted an online survey asking residents in regard to their experiences with the privatized housing. They received more than 16,0009 responses with 56% saying the conditions were “negative” or “very negative.”
While the complaints have gone on for years, in the light of media exposure the Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, are first now expressing their concerns stating in part:
“We are deeply troubled by the recent reports highlighting the deficient conditions in some of our family housing. It is unacceptable for our families, who sacrifice so much, to have to endure these hardships in their own homes.”
It is again important to state that military housing is not free. The families are paying rent to private landlords. Naturally, companies like Corvias are promising changes to bring the housing communities up to some type of mythological gold standard.
An unfair opportunity?
In many ways, while America pays homage to their military families, it is largely lip service. They are underpaid, receive barely adequate healthcare and have housing that is substandard.
For Corvias and the other companies making exorbitant profits from military housing, it seems somewhat obvious that there is a lack of oversight. When oversight is lacking, along with powerful organizations taking advantage of families with little or no individual power, the result is housing that suffers from disrepair and neglect.
The executives at Corvias and the other for-profit corporations are living good lives and enjoying exorbitance because their need for money appears to be exceeding a sense of ethics. When the government abdicated its responsibility after they themselves decided to not address the needs of military families, they washed their hands of taking care of the heart and soul of their organizations.
It must be easy for these companies to rationalize their behaviors. The government is, to them, a giant piggy-bank. They are guaranteed huge profits for decades to come. However, expectations must come responsibilities. Responsibility must be dictated by ethical behavior. In the vacuum created when ethics are not reinforced, you can get developing scandals of major proportions. Someone needs to pay. There’s big money in military housing. But is it ethical?
