Supporting Our Troops Through Transparency

No American sacrifices more for our country than the men and women who serve in the United States military. You and I know the government is accountable to them as well as the civilian taxpayers they help protect. And together, we are publishing stories that directly lead to improved provision for these military service members and their families.

Grocery assistance for soldiers

Last September, The Center Square was the first to report the U.S. Army’s new official guidance for soldiers struggling to make ends meet: the Army told them to get on food stamps. While this advice acknowledged rising inflation hardships, it also showed disinterest in helping active-duty servicemen and women when they needed it most. Instead, it promoted pouring more money into welfare spending.

Once our story broke, coverage of the issue went viral, with major outlets such as the New York Post and Fox News following up. Fox TV covered the new guidance repeatedly. As a result, two weeks after we broke this story, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a change: it now plans to directly subsidize struggling soldiers’ groceries.

Through the distribution power you make possible, The Center Square’s breaking coverage was republished by 181 local media outlets, reaching taxpayers across 37 states. That reach represents roughly the same size readership as the top two single newspapers published in the U.S.: WSJ and NYT. As a result of this widespread coverage, big government was forced to take a more proactive response to assist our service members and their families.

Unveiling barracks conditions

One year later, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (AGO) released a report on September 19, detailing the poor living conditions U.S. military service members experience in barracks and proposing 31 recommendations for improvement.

We published the same day, unpacking the safety hazards thousands of troops face, including sewage overflow, broken windows, and inoperable fire systems that do not meet the Department of Defense’s (DoD) minimum standards.

While other outlets published an initial story on the AGO’s report, none worked to understand the root cause of this concerning issue as aggressively as our staff.

We published a follow-up story on September 20, revealing the AGO’s additional findings that the DoD has failed to adequately track its spending on barracks maintenance – let alone have a reliable plan for keeping the facilities up to health and safety standards.

After breaking this second story, our staff reached out to the DoD to ask what they are going to do about this. They responded with an admission that the DoD has failed its troops – and a promise to do better.

"…[T]he Department of Defense has a moral obligation to ensure that the places [service members] live and work dignify their service. The DoD has, in too many instances, failed to live up to our role in making sure housing for our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Guardians honors their commitment and enables them to bring the best versions of themselves to their critical missions." - Brendan Owens, Assistant Secretary of Defense, Energy Installations and Environment, and Chief Housing Offer

Our reporters not only published the AGO’s findings, but asked the hard questions that prompted a promise to reform. The awareness raised through the 561 republications of our reporting became impossible to ignore, and directly led to increased accountability from the leaders whose job it is to provide safe living conditions for our military service members.

Our coverage of the issue, and the widespread distribution of that coverage, led to an acknowledgement of the issue and eventually a Congressional hearing on the matter.

With the continued support of readers just like you, we will keep publishing on this issue until the government follows through on its promise for our troops.