Originally Posted by
paulcg77
The military in general (not just the AF) has done away with a lot of the "luxuries" and benefits for O's. Not to say there aren't still O Clubs but they definitely aren't what they used to be. Same with MWR/Space A lodging. The Army privatized completely with IHG and prices doubled or tripled and then the previous admin withdrew funding for the remaining military-owned hotels like AF Inns and NGIS, which led to them having to be self supported/self sufficient like civilian hotels -> significantly raising prices in 2019-2020, sometimes doubling or tripling fees. Only, they haven't actually modernized or upgraded a lot of the older hotels on bases, so you're paying $80-$120/night (for what was $45-65/night as recently as 2018) for a decrepit room with cockroaches that hasn't been updated since the 1990's or early 2000's at certain locations in the Puget Sound, California, Hawaii and Alaska. It's super!
Well, the servicemembers in Alaska here see all sorts of stuff that I never even dreamed of 20 years ago and it's been here all along. The MWR equipment and facilities are absolutely off the charts compared to what I knew back in the day and I would consider the current state to be "luxuries" compared to what I experienced. Not that things haven't changed...but the evolution is definitely interesting to watch. I was in the middle of transition between old-style enlisted barracks and new-style "apartments" where NCOs got their own setup. That was one hell of an upgrade in quality of life. We could even put the standing lamps right next to the thermostat to bring the air conditioning temp down to a reasonable non-government-issued amount...