Troops' families are forced to live without heating
Families of troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are living in cold houses with no hot water.
The number of military homes left without heating has doubled, according to official figures.
Women and children have spent up to seven months waiting for broken central heating systems to be mended.
MPs criticised the Government for rewarding troops' bravery with "incompetence".
Boiler breakdowns in ageing Armed Forces accommodation - many dating back to the Second World War - soared from 327 in 2005 to 754 in 2006.
Families waited an average of two weeks until repairs were carried out, but for many it was longer.
Ministers also admitted that the number of official complaints about military housing more than doubled over the same period - from 369 in 2005 to 740 last year.
But the Ministry of Defence insisted the increase in boiler breakdowns was the result of "improved reporting procedures" after a private firm won the right to repair service families' homes in England and Wales.
The figures were released by Armed Forces Minister Derek Twigg and will heap fresh embarrassment on the MoD.
Ministers are already reeling from accusations that injured troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering neglect
on NHS wards, including some going without pain relief for up to 14 hours.
Dr Liam Fox, the Conservative defence spokesman, said: "When service personnel lay life and limb on the line protecting our country, the Government has a duty to make sure they and their families are provided with a decent standard of living.
"It is another in a long list of examples where this Government is letting down our armed forces. The MoD's neglect for our armed forces and their families will not be forgotten."
Conservative MP Desmond Swayne, who served with the Territorial Army in Iraq, said: "Imagine the damage to morale when a soldier who has been on a tour of duty or out on exercise and they get a call from their wife and children to say there is no hot water and the house is freezing."
Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: "The last thing servicemen and women need when they return from the field is to wait several months for a new boiler.
"Once again, the Government has rewarded bravery with incompetence."
Rosie Brown, of the Army Families Federation, said: "Women whose husbands are away at war have got enough to worry about without worrying about their house being cold or lacking hot water."
She urged the MoD to ensure there was not a repeat of last year when ageing boilers at camps on Salisbury Plain packed up during a cold snap, yet contractors did not turn up to carry out repairs. Many families spent 'eight or 12 weeks' without central heating and hot water.
Mr Twigg said: "The figure includes all reported faults to boilers and heating systems, both major and minor, and reflects the introduction of improved reporting procedures."
He added: "There should have been no occasion where occupants have been left without heating to their home."
Homes left without central heating were given portable heaters to provide warmth, said the MoD.
In 2002, then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced a £1billion improvement programme of the homes for married servicemen and women.
But soldiers claim the upgrade has been slow. The MoD estimates it will cost at least £5billion over the next decade.
Under proposals considered by the Tories, barracks and married quarters will be upgraded and younger servicemen will move into smaller dormitories to help them adapt to life in the forces.
