Military family houtilizing in Katterbach, Germany, part of U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, which had the lowest rating in a recent Army houtilizing survey. (U.S. Army)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Soldiers and their families in Europe give government houtilizing substandard marks, while some serving in Asia were more upbeat, according to annual survey results.
Concerns reported by soldiers worldwide who participated in the 2025 Army tenant satisfaction survey included mold and pest infestations, cramped living conditions and security breaches, leading to theft and privacy invasions, according to a survey summary the Army provided to Stars and Stripes.
Some of the chief concerns among family houtilizing tenants in all survey areas included overcrowding and outdated facilities, an unfair houtilizing allocation process, “depressing” living conditions and inadequate trash management.
“Many of our government-owned units in our houtilizing areas are roughly 70 years old and lack some of the modern amenities that our families might be accustomed to prior to arriving in Europe,” Mark Heeter, a spokesman for Installation Command-Europe, stated in a statement Wednesday.
In Europe, the Army plans to build significant investments “to either upgrade, replace or build new Army-owned family houtilizing to a standard similar to houtilizing at installations in the United States,” Heeter stated.
That work includes construction at U.S. Army Garrison Italy that he called the largest overseas houtilizing project in the world.
Out of 16 installations in regions throughout the U.S., the Pacific and Europe, five of the six lowest-rated family houtilizing communities are in Germany or Italy.
U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria’s houtilizing in Ansbach scored 59.1 out of 100, the only post to receive a rating of poor, indicating tenants’ “strong displeasure with the property and/or the level of service” and the required for immediate improvements.
“We are currently evaluating and diving deep into the survey results for all our garrisons on an individual basis and will be viewing at Ansbach and the others to identify trfinishs and areas of improvement,” Heeter stated.
The other five locations, from the bottom up, in satisfaction were Stuttgart, Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific and Rheinland-Pfalz, landing in the below-average range; and Wiesbaden, Germany.
The highest overall satisfaction scores came from Fort Eisenhower in Georgia, recently renamed Fort Gordon; Hawthorne Army Depot, Calif.; Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and U.S. Army Garrison Daegu, South Korea.
For the first time, this year’s survey included service members without families. The Army annually seeks feedback on houtilizing and services to prioritize areas for improvement, the service stated in a statement Wednesday about the findings.
The family houtilizing survey was conducted from March to May. Surveys were sent to 9,095 homes, and a little more than 1 in 5 responded, according to CEL & Associates, the consulting company hired by the Army to do the survey.
The unaccompanied houtilizing survey was distributed to 93,725 tenants, with an 11% response rate. The consulting company stated the number of responses is typical for the demographic in a first-year survey.
Europe as a region scored the worst overall among barracks residents, with a “poor” satisfaction score of 63.1. Pacific houtilizing wasn’t rated much higher, with a below average score of 65.9.
Wiesbaden’s barracks had the lowest satisfaction rating in Europe, ranking 41st out of 46 installations, according to the survey summary.
Some results were encouraging for Europe, Heeter stated. For example, U.S. Army Garrison Benelux received an award for providing a high level of service to barracks residents, he stated.
In family houtilizing, he added, Europe’s total score either held steady or improved in property condition, service and satisfaction compared with last year’s results.
The command remains committed to improving homes and the services it provides, Heeter stated.
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