Camp Lejeune still a wreck more than six months after it was heavily damaged by Hurricane Florence as Marines say they need $3.6 BILLION for repairs and 'are yet to receive any money from the federal government' (12 Pics)
Camp Lejeune is still a wreck more than six months after it was heavily damaged by Hurricane Florence, shocking images show.
The Marines say they need $3.6 billion to repair the camp but are yet to receive any money from the federal government, according to reports.
And they are said to put part of the blame on the diversion of resources to the military mission at the U.S.-Mexico border.
More than 900 buildings at Camp Lejeune and two others nearby have been left with moldy walls, missing roofs and structural damage following the storm.
Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station New River, and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point were all badly damaged by flooding in the hurricane's aftermath.
Brig. Gen. Ben Watson, the commanding general for Camp Lejeune, said: 'We've done initial, you know, damage control surgery and triag. But we haven't got the funding yet to actually repair the buildings.'
Sen. Richard Burr said it is 'unacceptable that Camp Lejeune and other North Carolina military bases are still waiting on disaster relief we first requested last fall', in a statement to NBC News.
Sen. Thom Tillis added: 'Camp Lejeune suffered significant damage from Hurricane Florence and Senators Tillis and Burr are working with Congressional appropriators to secure additional federal relief to ensure training and readiness will not be impacted in the long-term and the base can make a complete recovery.'
It comes as the commandant of the Marine Corps warned that deployments to the southern border have contributed to budget shortfalls that pose an 'unacceptable risk to Marine Corps combat readiness and solvency'.
In memos addressed to acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Navy secretary Richard Spencer, General Robert Neller wrote that he had been forced to cancel or reduce exercises in five countries.
Neller included a long list of factors that have contributed to budget shortfalls in his plea for more money for the Marine Corps, among which he included the border deployments and unscheduled budget transfers under President Donald Trump's border emergency declaration.
He said Trump's emergency declaration to secure $6.7 billion from the Pentagon's 2019 budget for his wall meant the corps could not afford to rebuild hurricane-hit bases in North Carolina and Georgia.
Neller said the situation was 'imposing unacceptable risk to Marine Corps combat readiness and solvency'.
He called the situation in North Carolina critical, noting that hurricane season begins in June and Marines and sailors are working in 'compromised structures' that must be repaired quickly.
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Ronald L. Green visited multiple bases in North Carolina to check on the Marines and assess damage following Hurricane Florence in September last year
Most of the roofs at the camp were blown off and are currently covered with blue tarps.
Col. Brian Wolford said: 'We're here doing our work. But the conditions we're working under are just like when we were in Iraq or Afghanistan.
'Is this the way we want our Marines and civilian Marines to be working. In these kind of conditions?'
Maj. Gen. Vincent Coglianese added: 'We've done all the due diligence that we [can] and we keep on waiting for further assistance. And there's different reasons why I guess we haven't got that. That's not for me to say. I'm just disappointed.'
