Department of Defense needs $260 million to fix military housing damaged by Afghan refugees

The refugees who fled Afghanistan and were housed on US military property caused $260 million in damages, the DoD reports.

In the summer of 2021, the US Air Force airlifted 120,000 refugees from Afghanistan in a haphazard fashion, scattering them to bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Italy, Bahrain, and Germany for processing.

Post-processing, many refugees were taken to US military installations, including Fort Bliss in Texas; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey; Fort McCoy in Wisconsin; Camp Atterbury in Indiana; Fort Pickett, Fort Lee and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia; and Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

According to the Associated Press, the areas used to temporarily hold the families were left in quite a state after the refugees were processed and released into the general American population.

The facilities need to be restored “to a condition that enables them to conduct trainings, prepare for future events, and return to normal base operations,” the Inspector General investigation found.

Around $16 million alone of the recent defense budget was earmarked for Camp Atterbury, Indiana, where countless refugees were housed.

The $16 million is needed “to replace mattresses and furniture and repair floors, doors, windows, plumbing, fire alarm systems, and landscaping.”

In New Jersey, Fort McCoy housed 12,706 refugees, needing $145.6 million to repair buildings and plumbing.

An Inspector General investigation has questioned whether all the needed repairs were 100% related to the refugees, though there was a little elaboration on the matter.

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