Top Military Enlisted Say Housing and Pay Issues Hurt Recruitment, Retention

Homes that were constructed by Balfour Beatty are seen in a neighborhood at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., on May 1, 2019. Nick Oxford/Reuters

The military’s top enlisted members say poor housing, health care, childcare, and pay problems are deleterious to recruiting and retention.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) claimed that a plan promoted by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to freeze discretionary spending at FY 2022 levels would only make things worse.