{"id":50816,"date":"2023-11-16T16:13:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T16:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/16\/why-an-army-veteran-created-an-app-to-rate-barracks-dining-facilities\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:19:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:19:03","slug":"why-an-army-veteran-created-an-app-to-rate-barracks-dining-facilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2023\/11\/16\/why-an-army-veteran-created-an-app-to-rate-barracks-dining-facilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Why an Army veteran created an app to rate barracks, dining facilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s Note:&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fayobserver.com\/story\/news\/military\/2023\/11\/16\/is-hotscots-app-the-military-version-of-google-reviews\/71516328007\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>This article<\/i><\/a><i>&nbsp;was published as part of a content-sharing agreement between Army Times and The Fayetteville Observer.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new app for mobile devices developed by an Army Reserve veteran this year ranks military barracks and dining facilities on a star system similar to Yelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The app,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hotscots.app\/\">Hots&amp;Cots<\/a>, was developed by former Staff Sgt. Rob Evans, a software developer, who served in the Reserve and North Carolina National Guard for 12 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a Zoom interview Monday from his Charlotte-area home, Evans said the idea for the app started with a conversation with a friend who\u2019s also served in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKnowing that I\u2019m third generation military, my dad and my grandfather were in the military, he asked me would I ever be OK with my kids if they wanted to join the military,\u201d Evans said.&nbsp;\u201cI said, \u2018I wouldn\u2019t feel that comfortable based off the situation with the barracks and things that we see within the dining facilities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soon after the conversation, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fayobserver.com\/story\/news\/military\/2023\/10\/05\/report-details-poor-barracks-conditions-continue-at-military-installations\/70992910007\/\">Government Accountability Office released a 118-page report<\/a>&nbsp;in September detailing concerns about barrack conditions at 10 military installations across the U.S., including problems with mold, bedbugs, sewage and broken heating and air conditioning systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said that in further discussion with his friend, the idea for the Yelp-like app to review barracks and dining facilities was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2023\/09\/20\/poor-oversight-leaves-military-barracks-in-dire-condition-report-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"132\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-09-19-at-6.01.48-PM.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Poor oversight leaves military barracks in dire condition, report says<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The watchdog report documented widespread housing issues with the barracks already familiar to many lower-ranking service members across the armed forces.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leaving feedback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said that while the military has processes for reporting issues, the general public doesn\u2019t have access to the military\u2019s reviews, and the issues still seem to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, Evans said,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hotscots.app\/\">Hots&amp;Cots<\/a>&nbsp;is a place where positive feedback can be left, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople go to dining facilities, and they get really subpar food and to pay for it, they don\u2019t have a choice and we wanted to raise awareness on OK, these are some really great dining facilities and these are some not so great dining facilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2023\/10\/05\/stuck-in-shoddy-barracks-soldiers-made-an-app-to-review-them\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"285\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2023-10-05-at-5.19.37-PM.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Stuck in shoddy barracks? Soldiers made an app to review them<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Soon, generals won\u2019t be the only ones with star rankings.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said the app is for all military branches and has barracks and dining facilities from 240 military installations worldwide. It is free, and users can anonymously leave reviews, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t want soldiers to be hesitant of posting content or worried about repercussions because that\u2019s, that\u2019s what I\u2019m very sensitive to because I know a lot of soldiers are afraid to speak up because they\u2019re worried about repercussions,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the dining facility \u201chots\u201d tab in the app, users can post one photo, leave a review and provide additional information for questions on the facility\u2019s cleanliness, if the food was cooked properly, if the facility is near barracks or a shuttle stop, among other prompts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the barracks \u201ccots\u201d tab, users are asked about cleanliness, safety and if there are mold or pest issues among other questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Fort Liberty facilities rate on the app<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the app went live in October, the Special Warfare Center Dining Facility and School on Fort Liberty has received five out of five stars for a positive rating, while the Panther Inn dining facility has one star and a photo showing what appears to be a partially raw chicken tender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fayobserver.com\/story\/news\/military\/2022\/09\/06\/what-fort-bragg-soldiers-living-substandard-barracks-saying\/7972507001\/\">Smoke Bomb Hill barracks,<\/a>&nbsp;which will be mostly demolished after leaders deemed them substandard and moved out 1,100&nbsp;soldiers last August and September, has a two-star review from one user and three stars from another user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the 44th&nbsp;Medical Brigade barracks has one star, with a user reporting mold and pest issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said the app is not meant to replace processes, like reporting issues to facility managers, the Directorate of Public Works and the chain of command, but is intended to hold leaders accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSoldiers who join the military are wanting a better life for themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cMe, personally, I grew up in a pretty poor house \u2014 mold, bugs and didn\u2019t have running water at times. So when I enlisted in the military, I wanted a better life, and it wouldn\u2019t feel right for somebody to try to get out of that situation to go to an equally bad position where they\u2019re living with rodents or mold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said he has spoken to military leaders including representatives from Fort Liberty\u2019s Mission and Installation Contracting Command about how they can use data from Hots&amp;Cots to improve barracks and dining facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m hoping that the military will put me out of business so they have something like this for soldiers and for the public to see,\u201d he said. \u201cI want the better barracks and dining facilities for soldiers and also to have some sort of accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new app for mobile devices developed by an Army Reserve veteran this year ranks military barracks and dining facilities on a star system similar to Yelp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":87280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"https:\/\/www.fayobserver.com\/story\/news\/military\/2023\/11\/16\/is-hotscots-app-the-military-version-of-google-reviews\/71516328007\/","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","veterans","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[100,12,25,19,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3815],"class_list":["post-50816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RHUPLFVAIBFN3NY437S5Y2CRMI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2023\/11\/16\/why-an-army-veteran-created-an-app-to-rate-barracks-dining-facilities\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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