Enlisted Marines in the US will not be getting single barracks rooms

Stateside Marines who looked at the new enlisted barracks in Japan featuring private rooms should not get their hopes up about the possibility of living without a roommate.

The only enlisted barracks with individual rooms for corporals and below will be built in Okinawa and mainland Japan, a Marine Corps official told Task & Purpose.

The Marine Corps currently has no plans to open similar barracks at installations in the United States, the official said.

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“The shared-room model promotes camaraderie and small-unit leadership, which are foundational to the Marine Corps ethos,” the Marine Corps official said. “This approach also ensures the efficient and optimal use of available installation space and resources, maximizing our ability to provide quality housing for all personnel.”

Enlisted Marines begin sharing living spaces the moment they start boot camp, during which they are housed in open squad bays. Afterward, junior enlisted Marines move into barracks — officially known as unaccompanied housing — unless they are authorized to live off base. For enlisted Marines, barracks life often involves living with roommates, which can be trying at times.

The Marine Corps requires that barracks lodge two Marines from the rank of private to corporal — the E1 to E4 paygrades — per room, the Corps official told Task & Purpose.

The Marine Corps has no plans to offer enlisted barracks with private rooms, such as this one in Okinawa, Japan, to Marines assigned to bases in the United States. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Dulce Alvarez Lemus.

However, the Japanese government is paying to build barracks that are an exception to that requirement by featuring private rooms for enlisted Marines…