Pentagon takes note

 

August 24, 2024

Editor’s Note: There will be no Weekly Spotlight next weekend. We will be back in your inbox on September 7, 2024. Over the past year, we’ve published two investigations into the privatized industry of military family housing and the rigged housing dispute process that overwhelmingly favors housing companies over service members and their families. The uneven dispute process has made it so that military families living in poor, unsafe, even hazardous housing conditions are silenced and left without recourse when they attempt to raise concerns and hold their landlords accountable. Our investigations made it to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last month, when lawmakers cited our findings in a letter demanding the Pentagon strengthen its oversight of the private housing companies — and the secretary appears to have taken note. Last week, the Department of Defense launched a searchable database that allows military families to submit housing feedback publicly and directly to the Pentagon. It’s encouraging that the Pentagon appears to be responsive to the findings of our recent investigations. We’re continuing to dig deep into the state of privatized military housing and will keep exposing the issues we find. WANT MORE FROM POGO? The latest from us, straight to your inbox For updates on POGO’s investigations, upcoming events, and more ways you can get involved, subscribe to our emails. ANALYSIS We Built a Surveillance State. What Now? For decades, Republicans and Democrats have greenlit a massive surveillance apparatus. What happens when this powerful tool is in the hands of the wrong person? Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The Pentagon has got to stop developing bejeweled platforms designed to last for a half-century or more. U.S. weapons have gotten so expensive and take so long to develop that there’s little chance for real competition and the innovation it can generate.” Mark Thompson, National Security Analyst, in Washington Examiner OVERHEARD Read the whole thread on X. ONE LINERS “Whistleblower retaliation is rampant. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Democratic or a Republican administration. It happens across all agencies and it happens in overt and more covert ways.” Joe Spielberger, Policy Counsel, on Future Hindsight   WANT MORE FROM POGO? Eyes on the federal government from every angle:   Paper Trail: Quick links to the news in the world of government oversight The Bunker: Military intelligence from POGO's Mark Thompson   🎧 Bad Watchdog Podcast 📺 YouTube 📱 Instagram 💸 Support our work

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