After complaints, Fort Gordon to inspect all housing; other installations to follow

Abraham Kenmore, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff outside Fort Gordon in February 19, 2021. Ossoff has focused on housing issues at the Fort for several years.
Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff outside Fort Gordon in February 19, 2021. Ossoff has focused on housing issues at the Fort for several years.
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Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, on Wednesday confirmed that Fort Gordon will be the first U.S. Army installation to receive a unit-by-unit inspection following an investigation into poor on-base housing conditions.

In a signed letter from Assistant Secretary of the Army Rachel Jacobson from the end of December, Jacobson reported on the results of two investigations into the contractor Balfour Beatty Communities, which maintains on-base housing at Gordon.

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"Though neither investigation found presence of fraud or gross negligence, both investigations identified areas in need of improvement and/or gaps in oversight or application of oversight protocols," Jacobson wrote, adding there was no evidence of data manipulation. "Nonetheless, the investigations revealed chronic underperformance by BBC in terms of providing needed maintenance in the homes and overall services to tenants."

Jacobson wrote that a previous inspection contract expired at the end of fiscal year 2022 before Fort Gordon could be inspected, but once a new contract is in place the base will receive an inspection.

The condition of housing at Fort Gordon has been the subject of reporting by Augusta area media for years. Osoff has taken a particular interest in the subject and in April he led a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into Balfour Beatty's conduct at military installations, including Fort Gordon.

In December 2021, Balfour pleaded guilty to fraud against the the United States from 2013 to 2019 following a Department of Justice investigation. The subcommittee alleged in a report released prior to the hearing that since the 2019 investigation Balfour has continued many of the behaviors that first brought scrutiny even after the guilty plea. Balfour disputes that allegation.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Sen. Jon Ossoff announces Fort Gordon housing inspections by Army