BY ROGER WATSON
I have written previously in these pages about military matters: about my old regiment, the national memorial, and military accommodation. With the British Government having just announced a £9 billion package for the refurbishment of military housing, I want to return to that last topic.
First, the scale of the refurbishment. By any standard, £9 billion is a huge amount of money, and it indicates just how poor some military accommodation in the United Kingdom has become. Some housing has been described as being in a “shocking state,” with frequent complaints of damp and mould leading to concomitant health problems, especially for military children.
Two of our children have lived regularly with their own families in British military accommodation. The standard has varied, and it has always been a bone of contention in the British Army that Royal Air Force (RAF) accommodation was better. My son-in-law, an officer in the Royal Engineers, has lived with our daughter and grandson on two former RAF bases, and the houses are indeed much better—more spacious, with generous gardens. However, their most recent house at the former RAF Kinloss was in a poor state of repair. Our daughter was very glad to get out of it.
In fact, they were able to escape Kinloss and the dreich Scottish weather when my son-in-law was seconded to the United States Army. My wife and I have just been to visit them.
Our experience of visiting British Army bases across the United Kingdom – and I stayed on a few myself during my own brief military service – has been consistent: relatively easy access, a convoluted drive past abandoned and dilapidated buildings, unkempt acres of grass, and rusting military hardware. There is usually little provision for families on these bases—no shops or decent gyms. Children’s playgrounds are typically neglected and, frankly, there is often very little sign of life.
Stateside, things are somewhat different. We arrived at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, having submitted copious personal details in advance with our ESTA forms printed and ready. Our son-in-law had to take us to the visitor centre at the entrance to have our credentials checked and to be issued passes. These passes, however, did not allow us unaccompanied entry; we had to be with a family member at all times to be allowed on the base.
The scale of the fort is impressive. At five miles in breadth and six miles in length, it is larger than my hometown of Hull. Most British military establishments could be dropped into the fort, never to be seen again. Everything you need is available; if you were so inclined, you need never leave for any of life’s necessities. There are three major supermarkets, three gyms, three elementary schools, a swimming pool, bars, restaurants, churches, a huge museum, and a golf course.
The base even contains a designated wilderness area with a natural spring and a major river where fishing is permitted. If you are lucky, you may see a black bear. If you are unlucky, it may chase you. Hunting is permitted on the base, but the bears are protected. Snakes are plentiful, including the lethal—if untreated in time—copperhead. While out walking, we saw two snakes, both harmless and beautiful creatures. There are also cheeky chipmunks, thieving raccoons, and smelly skunks on the base.
It is all very impressive and on the grand scale one gets used to in the United States. I have visited some major land-grant universities, such as Iowa State and Pennsylvania State, and while not on the same scale as the military bases, they make Oxford and Cambridge look like minor establishments.
What impressed us most was the accommodation. Allocated based on family size, the ranks tend to be mixed. But these are not the characterless rows of dreary houses characteristic of British Army bases. The housing is scattered across the base in small patches, imaginatively laid out and landscaped, with spacious rooms and attached garages.
The grass is cut every two weeks; there is absolutely no hint of neglect. Even the military hardware on display outside the museum is well kept, with each piece labelled to explain what it is and its history in warfare.
The state of the accommodation is excellent, and between families, the houses are meticulously cleaned and refurbished. I am quite sure my daughter and son-in-law will not want to return to standard British Army accommodation after this experience.
Clearly, the United States is a bigger and economically more successful country than ours. But it also takes its armed forces seriously. The US Army recruits annually almost as many soldiers as we have in total in the British Army. They are well paid, with good retirement packages and the option of continuing to work in a veteran—but civilian—capacity on army bases. This way, their expertise is not lost, and they continue to feel part of the organisation to which they have given most of their lives.
It is hard not to be impressed by the sheer scale and efficiency of the American military way of doing things. Their bases feel less like outposts and more like self-contained towns; ordered, purposeful, and curiously cheerful. Whether £9 billion will buy us that for our own armed forces remains to be seen.
Roger Watson is a Registered Nurse and Editor-in-Chief of Nurse Education in Practice.