NORFOLK, Va. — Free Wifi is coming to Navy barracks in Hampton Roads.
“Having the free Wifi would be really great," said Corpsman Kasey reynolds.
Reynolds is one of the up to 4,000 thousand sailors who will be able to take advantage of free, high-speed Wifi being offered at 12 Navy unaccompanied housing buildings.
She said it’ll save her about $40 a month.
“I’ll use it for work," Reynolds explained. "I log on to my e-mail. Navy websites. I occasionally game. I go onto my Xbox and I’ll play some games. Roku for Netflix and streaming services also, just (to) be able to relax and unwind."
From Feb. 1 through the end of September, sailors living in the 12 buildings will get 30mbps download speed and 5mbps upload speed for free or they can pay extra for faster service.
“We’re trying to evolve this stuff as quickly as possible for sailor quality of life and service," said Navy Installations Command Force Master Chief Jason Dunn.
Dunn said Hampton Roads was chosen for the Wifi pilot program because of the Navy’s large presence in the area.
“We wanted to do it in these 12 barracks so that we get that accurate data sample because if we can do it in a heavy traffic area like this, we can pretty much do it anywhere," said Dunn.
Quality of life for sailors is an issue that has been tragically highlighted in Hampton Roads by multiple sailor suicides.
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“It appears that nobody is doing anything about it," said Teri Caserta.
On Jan. 5, News 3 spoke to Teri and her husband, the parents of Brandon Caserta, who died by suicide while stationed at Naval Station Norfolk in 2018.
At the time of the interview, his parents had just written a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The letter calls for more accountability among a unit’s command when there’s a suicide in the unit and for more awareness about the Brandon Act, a law named after their son that allows sailors to self-report mental health concerns outside their chain of command.
“I’m tired of all the military suicides," Teri emphasized.
The Wifi program could help. Reynolds said it will reduce financial stress for sailors and help them stay connected.
“Being able to log on to their phone, being able to talk to families, it would be great," said Reynolds.
Once the pilot program ends in September, the Navy will assess how it went and decide if and where it will be expanded.
