According to the latest report of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), the United States Department of Defense faces a maintenance backlog of approximately $28.5 billion on over 700,000 facilities worldwide. The problem was not one of a single project, but rather a cumulative result of chronic under-allocation, staff shortages and low-priority maintenance.

At the time of this report, United States defence spending remained high. The article quotes analysts ' views that the continued expansion of the budget has not been accompanied by improvements in the maintenance of facilities, but has revealed an imbalance in the distribution of funds. For the military, this affects not only the operation of the base, but also the living conditions of personnel and the implementation of mandates.

Report a chronic failure.

According to GAO, the real estate assets of the Ministry of Defence are global and some of its facilities are more than 50 years old, even dating back to the cold war. By fiscal year 2025, the backlog in related maintenance had reached $285.0 billion.

The report refers to the chronic lack of maintenance in some military camps, the presence of fungus, the damage to the fire system, etc., which affects the safety of the troops ' residence. Part of the parking area at Menot Air Base, North Dakota, has been in disrepair since 2018. The lack of space in some of the sites at the 29 Palm Marine Corps base in California also limits vehicle maintenance.

GAO considers that this situation poses a risk to mandate implementation and the quality of life of people.

Budget maintenance and staffing at the same time

GAO attributed the build-up of the backlog to the long-standing back-up of maintenance projects. The report indicates that only about 80 per cent of the recommended level of funding for the maintenance of facilities was requested by the army, navy and air force. The eight maintenance offices contacted by GAO indicated that none of the funds received since the fiscal year 2021 had met the 90 per cent target set by the Ministry of Defence.

Meanwhile, the military has continued to invest in new facilities in recent years. GAO previously reported that, over the past five years, the Pentagon has invested an average of $14.6 billion per year in the construction of new military facilities. Several military officials indicated that a number of construction and maintenance projects had been approved but had ultimately not been funded.

The shortage of personnel further magnifies the problem. GAO has 10 joint bases for which data are available, and between the 2013 and 2023 fiscal years, the percentage of vacancies in facilities management positions ranged from 68 to 97 per cent. Owing to difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled workers, the military tends to turn to external contractors, which often implies higher costs.

  • Maintenance backlog of approximately $28.5 billion
  • Annual average investment in new facilities $14.6 billion
  • Some base posts were vacant from 68 to 97 per cent

War and border deployment continue to push costs

It was mentioned that the pressure for maintenance could rise further in times of conflict. The United States media had previously disclosed that Iranian missile and drone attacks had created billions of dollars in maintenance needs for United States intelligence positions and surveillance equipment in the Middle East. According to the Washington Post survey of May, the war had caused damage to at least 228 installations or equipment in 15 military locations.

In addition, the increased military deployment of the United States-Murk border by the Trump Government was also seen as squeezing the budget that would otherwise have been available for construction and maintenance. According to a July GAO report, this deployment cost the military $2.64 billion, partly from construction projects, maintenance of facilities and residential movement support accounts.

The article quotes Linda Bilmes, a lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy College at Harvard University, who argues that the United States military is currently facing a long-term misallocation of funds in a context of budget expansion rather than resource depletion. In her view, the problem had lasted for many years and was difficult to reverse in the short term.