MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Public Private Venture housing at Camp Pendleton took another leap forward Tuesday with groundbreaking ceremonies for Phase II at Wire Mountain.
Rep. Darrel Issa of California, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, I Marine Expeditionary Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. James T. Conway and Maj. Gen. William G. Bowdon, the base commanding general, gripped gold shovels to break ground, then broke bread for a catered luncheon to celebrate yet another step toward modern housing for all Pendleton service members and their families.
PPV refers to a new era of government housing built and managed by private firms after decades of government-run housing.
"PPV allows the Marine Corps to provide outstanding community amenities, superior maintenance support and quality homes to our deserving military families," said Capt. Mary Hawkins, PPV liaison officer for Camp Pendleton. "Allowing the Marine Corps to partner with the private sector to construct, renovate, manage and maintain government military housing was a smart move."
"As Marines are about to go into harms way again, (families) can see at least the U.S. Congress, the Department of Defense and the American people are making some effort to show that we care a great deal about quality of life and the security of those that they leave behind," Issa said.
More than 1,300 homes aboard Camp Pendleton are considered inadequate. Phase II will demolish and replace 827 homes, roughly 64 percent, during the next four years, according to the current plan.
"We have housing that is absolutely wonderful," Bowdon said. "We (also) have housing that is not so wonderful and we're getting ready to fix that."
To eliminate inadequate housing, planners at Headquarters Marine Corps and Camp Pendleton developed the three-phase initiative to revitalize on-base homes for Marine families.
In the first phase, which ended in June, 200 noncomiisioned officer quarters in De Luz Housing were renovated, 312 junior-enlisted units were replaced, and 200 new senior staff NCO quarters were built. A new community center and pool ended the robust phase.
The current Phase II plan is privatizing 49.6 percent or 3,315 units of Camp Pendleton's inventory and will replace 812 dilapidated junior-enlisted homes, an increase of 78 units. Additionally, all general officers quarters -- with the exception of the historic Ranch House -- will be privatized.
Staff sergeants and below can expect to move into the new housing as early as fall 2004. Officials expect Camp Pendleton to be 99.95 percent privatized by fiscal year 2007.
"We're going to continue to march down this road, to improve the housing for our Marines and our sailors for 50 years to come," Bowdon said. "It's going to mean happy lives for our Marines, who so much deserve it."