WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzales sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DoD) requesting the agency provide a timeline for when repairs to U.S. military bases damaged by Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) will be completed. This letter comes in response to a DoD Inspector General report revealing over a quarter billion dollars in damages incurred by eight U.S. military bases used for housing Afghan evacuees as part of OAW, including Fort Bliss in Congressman Gonzales’ district. 

From the letter…

“I am alarmed by how these bases will be required to cover the costs of these damages because of their efforts to support Afghan evacuees. I am equally troubled by the report’s negative assessment of OAW’s impact on military readiness, which details ongoing disruptions to training exercises…

“What’s more, the report highlights reimbursement requests for repair costs that have been denied due to their designation as occurring before official directives for reimbursement standards were established. The efforts of these military bases to sustain their full operational capacity by making immediate repairs to damages caused by OAW should not be cause for punishment because of the Department’s procrastination in issuing restoration directives. While our military continues to feel the strains caused by the withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is essential that all affected entities are returned to their full operational capacity as soon as possible.”

Read the full text of the letter here.