In my column two months ago, I committed to remain personally involved in improving housing conditions on Army installations, and ensuring safe and secure housing for our residents.

While the summer months taught us important lessons about surging our efforts during peak PCS season, I am encouraged about the direction we are moving. We still have much work to do to gain back the trust and confidence of our Soldiers and their families, and rest assured - this is an enduring priority for me and our Army senior leaders. We are in this for the long haul.

In July, we received the results of the privatized and Army-owned housing survey. More than 25,000 residents provided input that gave the Army tremendous insight into housing experiences, both positive and negative. Installation leadership cares, and they are reviewing your feedback and forming strategies to address your concerns. I will closely monitor progress and will hold Garrison Commanders accountable to improving our support.

I have also been given the responsibility to manage incentive fees awarded to privatized housing providers, which will allow another layer of accountability. I will meticulously review incentive fee decisions for each and every installation. I am listening to residents' concerns, and my review and decision on incentive fee awards will reflect the experience of our Soldiers and their families at the installation level.

To that end, communication continues to underpin all of our efforts. We need to hear from you to know and understand what is going right and wrong. I encourage you to communicate through your Chain of Command and Army Housing Office. We will also continue quarterly town halls with your installation leaders as a forum for feedback. Bring us your issues, as well as your success stories.

We remain steadfast in holding ourselves and privatized housing companies accountable to provide safe and secure housing on our installations. We are your advocates.