South Carolina military and government leaders say affordable housing for service members and their families has become a greater challenge as the population on and off bases continues to rise.
A lack of affordable housing is an issue all over the state, leaders said.
But it's a particular problem in Sumter, home to Shaw Air Force Base, and Republican House Speaker Murrell Smith of Sumter said Wednesday the state needs to respond.
"We're going to have to take on the issue of how we're going to house people in military communities, especially when we're in a time of war and we have people transition on and off the bases," Smith said at the governor's annual briefing with military commanders from the state's eight installations.
South Carolina's Veterans' Affairs Secretary Todd McCaffrey — the retired Army major general spent 34 years in the Army and moved 19 times — said a growing state with a growing military population is causing a compression, which will require more solutions.
"When you have a growing military and you've got a growing state, again, that causes competition for space," he said. "What I'd like to see frankly is just more investment in housing by investors. I think everybody wants to see that. That's not unique to the military."
But McCaffrey said the growth of bases, particularly at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, shows the level of investment by the Pentagon.
They recognize, he added, that South Carolina is a good platform for military readiness.
