Joe Fitts WESTERN REGION P.O. Box 81794 San Diego, CA 92138 E-mail: joe.fitts@usmc.mil E-mail: joefitts@sbcglobal.net

JOE N. FITTSJoe is presently a Housing Management Specialist with the Assistant Chief of Staff, Facilities, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton after serving as the Family Housing Director at Camp Pendleton for 12 years.Prior to the Housing Assignment, Joe was an Engineering Technician with the Public Works Dept. Joe left the Army in 1980 where he had served as a Field Artillery Officer.Joe served two combat Tours in Vietnam, one with the 101st., Airborne Division and one with the 173 rd., Airborne Brigade.While in the military, Joe completed the airborne schools of the United States, Great Britain, Republic of Germany, and the Republic of South Vietnam . His military assignment locations included, the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Greece . Joe is the current President of the Cabrillo Chapter of the Professional Housing Management Association (PHMA) having served four terms in that capacity.His Chapter has one of the largest active memberships in the PHMA with over 200 members.Additionally, Joe is the Western Regional Director for PHMA International. As the Director of the Family Housing Department at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Joe had the daily responsibility of overseeing the management of over 7,000 family units, which included 111 at a site 400 miles away near Reno, NV . Joe's staff consisted of 180 employees including eight active duty military personnel.His annual budget was over $30,000,000.00 (not including MILCON which reached up to $55,000,000.00 in some years). While heading the Housing Department at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Joe's Office won the Runner-Up Award for the Marine Corps Best Housing Office of the Year and twice the Best Housing Office of the year.Also under his leadership, the Housing Office received the Commander in Chief's Special Recognition for Installation Excellence Award twice and the DoD "Excellence in Design Award" presented personally by the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.The highlight of Joe's tenure in the Housing Department was when he initiated the exchange of 632 sub-standard family units off-base and $15,000,000.00 for 632 new units on Base which was the first newly constructed family units in DoD strictly for enlisted grades E-1 to E-3.In 1997 Joe was honored with the Department of Navy (Marine Corps) Commendation of Meritorious Civilian Service Award.

When Cohen unveiled the program during a visit to Camp Pendleton, service members nationally paid an average 18 percent of their housing expenses from their pocket, said Joe Fitts, Camp Pendleton's director of family housing. With the new increases, out-of-pocket costs will drop to about 15 percent, Fitts said. The increase in salary and housing allowance couldn't come at a better time for the Feddersens. Although he and his wife, who is going to college, get enough for the rent, there is little money for utilities.Charla's engagement ring remains in lay-away, and there was no money for a honeymoon.They share a car, which costs them $100 per month in payments and $170 monthly in insurance. "That's been the trend," Fitts said."Every time the (allowance) went up, the owners raised the rents." Those familiar with the phenomenon said landlords in towns with large numbers of service members are knowledgeable about subsidy and pay issues and often change rents and fees to meet increases.