Convenience Big Store: Texas soldiers are unsafe, but not where you'd expect

'Disgusting' conditions on military bases

Nobody expects military barracks to be luxury accommodations, but a new federal report shows the poorly kept facilities around the country — including in Texas — have soldiers living in dangerously unhealthy conditions.

Soldiers are having to battle widespread mold, bed bugs, gas leaks and, in a couple of cases, squatters living in their barracks thanks to broken windows and malfunctioning locks, according to a report from the U.S. General Accounting Office.

"I often wake up at night sweating from the heat, itching from bed bugs and feeling like I'm suffocating," one U.S. Marine told auditors. Another soldier said: "The barracks feel like living in a rundown motel or in a prison."

It's so bad, that one group of soldiers told the GAO that they were considering getting married just so they could qualify to get out of the barracks.

The report has U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, worried about how all of it is affecting troop readiness and could impact recruiting and retaining soldiers.

"It's disgusting, unacceptable, and cannot go on," Bacon said at a hearing earlier this week.

But, as I reported in my latest story, fixing it all is easier said than done because the Pentagon doesn't even fully know the extent of the problem. GAO officials say because those required to live in the conditions are junior enlistments, many don't feel they can speak up or the chain of command isn't taking their complaints seriously.

The issue, of course, has an outsized effect on Texas. The state has 15 military bases and more than 110,000 troops stationed here.

Check out my latest but with a warning. You don't want to be eating anything when you see some of these photos.

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's up, who's down

Up: Sheila Jackson Lee.

It is not a surprise that the Houston mayoral candidate won former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's endorsement today. After all, they have served together in Congress for nearly 30 years. Endorsements are often over hyped and we're not sure many Houstonians will be swayed by Pelosi's backing. But it can't hurt Jackson Lee when it comes to the Democratic fundraising base.

Down: Yelp.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Yelp on Thursday, alleging the review website violated the state's deceptive trade law when it added an "inaccurate and misleading" disclaimer on anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers pages. The advisory, which has since been changed, said the centers typically provide only limited medical services. Paxton argued the message served to dissuade consumers from going to the centers and the company should pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

What else is going on in Texas

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., holds up a whiteboard he wrote on during a House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, comparing the impeachments and indictments of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Photo by: Jacquelyn Martin, AP

House Republicans make their case for Biden impeachment inquiry

House Republicans are making the case for pursuing an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.

DES MOINES, IOWA - JULY 28: Republican presidential candidate former Texas Congressman Will Hurd speaks to guests at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner on July 28, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Thirteen Republican presidential candidates were scheduled to speak at the event. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Photo by: Scott Olson/Getty Images

At 'inflection point' but Will Hurd says campaign presses on

Will Hurd admits campaign is facing an "inflection point," but he vows to keep campaigning in New Hampshire to help stop Trump renomination.

Jose Sanz, a former staffer for Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, is mounting a bid against his former boss as a Republican.

Photo by: Courtesy Of The Sanz Campaign

Rep. Henry Cuellar's former staffer wants to run against him

Jose Sanz said he appreciated working for the South Texas congressman, but "over time it became clear that my values and beliefs did not align." He will run as a Republican.

Books like 1984, Heart of Darkness, Fahrenheit 451 and Diary of Anne Frank are on a shelf for sale at Blue Willow Bookshop on Friday, May 26, 2023 in Houston. Independent bookstores around the state warn that a bill sent this week to Gov. Greg Abbott designed to ban books with sexual content from schools could have unintended consequences that devastate their businesses and make it difficult and more expensive for schools to acquire new books.

Photo by: Brett Coomer, Staff Photographer

Did a Texas teacher really get fired over Anne Frank's diary?

A Texas teacher was fired for assigning eighth grade students to read from a graphic illustration adaptation of Anne Frank's diary, which the district said was not approved.

Pick of the day

Photo by: Jeremy Wallace

Haley was directing the comment at rival Vivek Ramaswamy during the second GOP presidential debate.

What else I'm reading

Cochran County, which borders New Mexico, is joining a small group of other rural Texas counties that have passed ordinances that ban people from using its roads to get to abortion providers in other states. Jayme Lozano Carver of The Texas Tribune reports that despite the ordinance passing, abortion-rights supporters and legal scholars have said the policies are unenforceable and unconstitutional.