Fort Benning family reveals horrific living conditions on post

A Fort Benning family is appealing for help after months of suffering in horrific living conditions on post. Jenny Cisco Tague detailed the ongoing financial and health issues caused by unsafe housing in an open letter to Senator Jon Ossoff on social media.

Tague said she is turning to the Georgia Senator for help on behalf of her active-duty husband and children who have been sickened by post housing. “I am writing to you as a mother and military spouse who is exhausted, scared, and desperate for someone to listen.”

“Our military home at Fort Benning has experienced repeated leaks, water damage, and visible ‘suspected fungal growth’ (mold). We reported these problems over and over, but the leaks continued.” Tague said she packed up her kids and relocated five hours away rather than remain in the home. Her husband stayed and now commutes five hours every weekend to see his family.

The military mother and spouse said this week they returned to collect belongings and during the visit their 4-year-old son suffered from “another serious episode that resulted in an asthma attack.” She said the military’s solution was to find another place for her husband to stay, at their expense. “That is not a practical solution our family can afford.”

“This situation has affected our child’s health, separated our family, created an overwhelming financial burden, and taken away our sense of security. My husband has served this country for 20 years. After everything our family has sacrificed, it is heartbreaking to feel abandoned when we need help the most,” her open letter reads in part.

Tague said the family is not asking for anything unreasonable and only seek “honest answers and a practical solution.”

“We also believe there must be a better system for military families facing unsafe housing conditions. Right now, it feels as though neither military leadership nor privatized housing is truly on our side. Families should not be passed back and forth between organizations while their children are getting sick. Someone must be responsible for listening, investigating, and protecting the families who serve alongside our service members,” her letter concluded.