FORT BELVOIR, Va. - Over the course of military history, there have been two major military housing construction campaigns.

In the 1940s, following World War II, the military had a significant shortage of housing for Soldiers due to the overwhelming growth of the force during the war. In 1948, Congress passed Public Law 626, which was developed along with the Army's goal of providing housing on its installations for all military personnel.

Many of the existing villages on Fort Belvoir were first constructed during this period.

In 1996, the Army was again looking to update and modernize its housing. Congress again passed into law the Military Housing Privatization Initiative as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which in turn led to the Residential Communities Initiative to privatize Army family housing.

All of the renovations and developments current being constructed are a result of this program.

There is only one village at Belvoir that was not constructed in these two major housing booms: Woodlawn Village.

Constructed in 1980, Woodlawn Village was originally built to house enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officers and their families for the Military District of Washington.

At the time, it was the only village at Belvoir that housed not only the Army, but also the other four major branches of the military. It was originally not intended to house Fort Belvoir personnel.

The village consisted of 444 units and included two and four bedroom duplex and apartment style homes.

Unlike today's military unique designs, the villages were built using materials and designs comparable to many civilian family homes at the time.

As reported in this publication last week, Don Carr, now Belvoir's director of Public Affairs, and his family was one of the first occupants in Woodlawn Village. Carr was a Sgt. First Class when he moved in 1981.

"The house we lived in Woodlawn Village compared in every single way to the civilian homes built a year or so after Woodlawn was completed just across Pole Road because my wife and I remember walking across the street and looking through some of them," Carr said. "The design concepts, carpeting, windows and backyards were all very similar to the house we moved into back in 1981.

"All those similarities were present because the houses being built were not privatized as they are now," Carr said.

As Carr walked through the new model home in Woodlawn Village July 19, he looked at the home in comparison to the one he lived in 30 years ago and noticed several beneficial differences that have come with the implementation of the RCI.

"Because of the privatization, the designs of the new homes are more in tune with the needs of military families," Carr said. "I noticed the wider staircase, which allows families to more easily move boxes and furniture when they are relocating. Another example is the 'mud room,' which was added to allow residents the opportunity to have a place to take their shoes off and keep from getting the rest of their homes dirty.

"By nature, military housing's occupants are going to change every two, three or four years and the RCI provides families with a home that fits their needs," Carr said.