GAO: Defense Department Can’t Keep Up With Base Repair Needs
The Department of Defense manages more than 700,000 buildings at military bases and other facilities globally, with an estimated replacement value of $ 2.6 trillion. Federal auditors have kept defense real property management on their high-risk list since 2003, and, some 23 years later at press time, the Department of Defense faces a $285 billion maintenance backlog across its worldwide property portfolio.
Why?
At least in part because military branches consistently underfund their maintenance needs, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.
GAO: Defense Department Can’t Keep Up With Base Repair Needs
GAO data says the military branches funded roughly 80 percent of their calculated maintenance needs in fiscal year 2025, falling short of the internal 90 percent benchmark set by Pentagon leadership. The shortfall has left military base runways, maintenance depots, barracks, and utility systems in poor repair across hundreds of installations.
According to the GAO official site, “We found that DOD doesn’t have enough maintenance staff to address this backlog. It also doesn’t consistently track work orders, which could help prioritize maintenance needs. We recommended DOD address these and other issues.”
Basic Usability and Livability Issues in Military Bases Worldwide
There have been several issues with basic usability in military base infrastructure. Leaking roofs, failing heating and cooling units, broken plumbing, and widespread mold are all serious problems at military facilities.
The department requested nearly $20 billion for facility modernization in fiscal year 2025. Despite that funding request, budget officials cut maintenance requests during internal reviews, redirecting the money to weapons purchases and active operations instead.
Auditors found that defense leaders make these budget reductions without calculating the actual risks to military operations or troop health. While the Pentagon permits services to fund below 100 percent of estimated needs, it lacks a formal method to evaluate the cumulative damage caused by year-after-year funding cuts.
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Why U.S. Bases are Falling Apart
Workforce shortages compound the physical breakdown of military bases. Installation commanders report difficulties in hiring electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians. Federal hiring rules, pay caps, and extended background-check timelines can delay hiring decisions for months. Complicating these labor shortages, the DoD has not measured the size of its maintenance workforce deficits.
According to the GAO, none of the military services have built comprehensive plans to recruit or keep the staff required to maintain their facilities.
The watchdog also faulted the military for unreliable maintenance data. Base engineers may track repair requests through automated work order databases, but the military services each use different operating rules, priority categories, and performance standards.
Bad Recordkeeping at Military Bases
Auditors reviewed eight military installations and found local maintenance systems with inaccurate records, missing completion dates, and poor tracking of backlog costs. Repair tickets were frequently closed out in the system before technicians finished the work.
To correct issues like these, the GAO report issued 13 recommendations to improve oversight of military facilities. It also recommended that the Secretary of Defense order the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment to assess the impact of deferred repairs on operations and safety.
What’s Next?
The GAO says there should be standard maintenance definitions across all military branches, work-order tracking, and a plan to address maintenance staffing shortages.
The Department of Defense agreed with seven of the recommendations, partially agreed with five, and rejected one. Defense officials claim existing policies already address several findings and want us to believe there are ongoing reviews of military housing and base infrastructure.
The Government Accountability Office says the Pentagon must implement all 13 recommendations. The agency emphasized that without standard data, full risk assessments, and targeted workforce fixes, base conditions will continue to worsen.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
