A number of buildings at the military barracks in Dongen turn out to be so bad that the air force has banned soldiers from working there any longer. According to the management, water flows in when it rains, lightning conductors no longer work and base plates are so uneven that there is a tripping hazard.
The grounds house the soldiers of 982 squadron who maintain radios and other technological systems. The approximately one hundred soldiers should have been housed in brand new accommodation at the base in Woensdrecht, but years of budget cuts and recent problems with obtaining permits have postponed this time and time again.
Because a move was imminent, there was no longer any investment in maintenance. However, the number of reports of defects in buildings O and B in particular continues to pile up. The air force management now believes that the point has been reached at which it is no longer possible to work safely due to too much overdue maintenance.
Cellars are flooding
According to an Air Force spokesman, basements flood when it rains. The temporary solution is to stop working. This also happens when a thunderstorm threatens because the lightning conductors no longer work. Military personnel then receive a signal from the weather service that they must temporarily suspend their activities. “The buildings are therefore not acutely unsafe, but the working conditions are unacceptable. To prevent accidents, we believe that it is no longer possible to work in these buildings,” said the spokesperson. The Air Force is now mapping out how the problems can be solved.
The problems with outdated barracks have been going on for years. In 2018, hundreds of soldiers stationed in Huis ter Heide had to temporarily sleep in hotels because the condition of the barracks was too bad. The hygiene was not in order and the fire safety was not good. A year later, the armed forces allocated 25 million euros to eliminate overdue maintenance at all 330 barracks, but the buildings in Dongen were at the bottom of the list of priorities due to the imminent relocation.
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