Peters Shares Story of Michigan Servicemember's Unlivable Housing Conditions, Presses Military Leaders to Take Action

Press Release

U.S. Senator Gary Peters, a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, questioned the Service Secretaries and Service Chiefs from all branches of the U.S. military at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing regarding the poor living conditions servicemembers and their families have reported across the country in privatized housing on military bases. Peters shared the story of Army Specialist and Coldwater native Rachael Kilpatrick and her husband Calvin, a Kalamazoo native, who were living in uninhabitable conditions at a property on-base Fort Bragg, North Carolina. SPC Kilpatrick and her husband lived in a house that was recently deemed "unlivable' due to an infestation of termites and black mold. Peters also stressed to the military leaders that they must take immediate action to hold the landlords of these properties accountable. The hearing on privatized military housing came following a troubling news report about living conditions for servicemembers.

"I want to recognize that there are two folks in the audience here today, both Michiganders," said Senator Peters during the hearing. "Rachael Kilpatrick who is a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, she is here with her husband Calvin. I had the honor of meeting with them, talking in-depth about the troubles that they went through, really kind of a nightmare they went through in relation to their home. In fact their home at Fort Bragg has been recently deemed unlivable. It's pretty outrageous. It was infested with termites and had a severe outbreak of black mold which caused significant health issues for her family…It's pretty despicable as to where they were living and it's no wonder they've had some significant health impacts."

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