Amid some of the hottest temperatures on record, many Marines are struggling to stay cool in barracks often without air conditioning, leading to lack of sleep, low morale and safety concerns, according to interviews with a half dozen Marines, former Marines, and troop family members, as well as a Military.com review of service documents.
“I think there’s a big morale crush when you get home,” a current Marine leader in the Corps told Military.com of their troops’ air conditioning situation. “You’ve been out sweating all day or even just doing hard [physical training] in the morning and then you come back to shower and change, and your room is consistently hot.”
Marines shared that they’ve spent their own money on portable coolers, fans — sometimes even taking them from their workplace — and window units they hide when leadership comes by, all in an effort to beat the heat and often against barracks policies that ban air conditioning units due to concerns about the stability of the power grid or old electrical wiring.
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Some have slept on cooler floors or in truck beds at night, run their car’s air conditioning, left their barracks doors or windows wide open despite personal safety concerns, or sought cooler spaces off-post. One experienced heat illness exacerbated by the sweltering barracks.
“When you have that day after day, and you’re just looking…
