Navy officials are asking industry whether temporary housing, including apartments, hotels, modular buildings, recreational vehicles, houseboats, and workforce camps, could help address a barracks shortage that may approach 12,000 beds.
A July 24 request for information from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command sought “safe, habitable, code-compliant” accommodations at 10 Navy locations. The Navy said it has not selected a housing plan, awarded a contract, or committed to any of the listed options. Responses are due Aug. 24.
Current Navy estimates show an immediate or projected shortage of 8,150 to 8,600 beds. Demand could rise to about 11,900 during recruiting surges, training increases, and major housing projects.
The service said companies may submit complete, partial, or phased proposals for one or more installations. Options listed in the request include prefabricated buildings, commercial apartments, extended-stay hotels, containerized units, trailer parks, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, campus-style developments, and houseboats “where locally feasible.”
The largest projected shortfall is at Naval Air Technical Training Center Pensacola, Florida, where the Navy said it expects to need about 2,000 beds, and as many as 2,500 during surges, from fiscal 2026 through 2028. The request also sought temporary shower facilities there during renovations.
Nearby Corry Station faces a shortage of about 600 beds, potentially rising to 1,000. Recruit Training Command and Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, need about 1,000 beds, with surge demand reaching 1,500. Smaller shortages are projected at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, and Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida.
The Navy said it also needs temporary “swing space” while sailors move out of barracks being renovated, modernized, or transferred into commercial housing arrangements. In Hampton Roads, Virginia, including Naval Station Norfolk and Newport News, the requirement is about 1,300 beds, with possible demand reaching 1,500. Additional needs could reach 1,200 beds each in San Diego, central California, and the Pacific Northwest. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, could need as many as 1,000.
The request comes as the Navy expands its “No Sailor Lives Afloat” initiative. About 6,000 sailors had moved from ships into shore housing by May, according to Navy officials.
“When our ships are in port, our sailors should be able to rest, recover and reconnect in safe and modern housing ashore,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said in February.
The Navy has not said which sailors would be assigned to each type of temporary housing, how far they could be housed from their commands, or whether transportation, meals, kitchens, laundry, internet access, private bathrooms, Basic Allowance for Housing, or other payments would be included.