Interesting. For some reason I couldn't remember how that worked. Then again right when I got out was when the USMC was in its big push in privatized housing so some of the rules changed. Previous to that single officers could either reside in the BOQ or off base. Base housing was not an option except for the BOQ. To be honest the BOQ sucked. It was tiny, old and horrible at almost all bases. Most of them had no kitchens except a small fridge and microwave. The other part that would be an issue for a single person living in a house is deployment. Base housing actually has pretty strict guidelines to how long a house can be empty. I think 30 days was the limit. We ran into this a great deal with families who would pack up and leave for the entire summer while Dad was deployed. We were constantly getting notices from base housing about this issue. Not a problem if there is a room mate, but it is if they are deployed too. Just what a military member wants to do before deployment, pack up all their stuff and get resettled again after, oh and then PCS in another 6 months. Our young enlisted guys had to do this who lived in the barracks. I always felt horrible for them. We would get back from deployment and they would get jerked around waiting for a barracks assignment which inevitably changed 9822 times and then they have to wait a week to get any of their stuff. Most them just wanted to sleep in a bad with sheets and a pillow and play video games. If base housing would of been offered to me, I would have never took it even if it would have been convenient. I enjoyed the extra money I pocketed off of BAH and I liked the privacy and not having my Company Commander as my next door neighbor. I also enjoyed coming home from deployment to my own house. Yes I would have to arrange for someone to check in on it, but not a big deal, I do that now as a working professional when I go on long work trips.