Fort Cavazos Soldiers Endure Weeks of AC Failures in Barracks

Testimonials shared on military review apps and with Military Times say that soldiers at Fort Cavazos had to deal with weeks of extreme temperatures because the air conditioning in several buildings broke down for long periods of time.

Reports say the problem went on for five to six weeks, and rooms got as hot as 89 degrees Fahrenheit. On the app Hots&Cots, which reviews dorms, some troops vented their anger. One wrote, "We're going on 5–6 weeks of NO AC, I'm at my wits' end."

When Fort Cavazos first admitted there was a problem on February 7, they said it was because of a mechanical issue with the water pumps that run the AC units. At the time, the people in charge of the base could not say when the fixes would be done. By February 28, officials were sure that the chillers were fixed and the air conditioning was back up and running.

The Directorate of Public Works said that the problem was caused by a recall by the maker of one of the three chillers, which took it offline. But complaints kept coming in, and some reports said the problem touched more than the 10 buildings that were first said to be affected. Rob Evans, the founder of Hots&Cots, said the number was as high as 41, but Fort Cavazos could not confirm that all of them were affected by AC problems.

Soldiers were angry that fixes were taking too long, and some said the rooms were getting too cold. A post from February 20 showed a thermostat reading 57.5 degrees Fahrenheit, which showed that the barracks' temperature control wasn't always working right.

Fort Cavazos says the problem has been fixed, but the event shows how worried people are about the conditions of the barracks and the quality of life for service members.

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