GAO: DOD maintenance backlog hits $285 bln, barracks chronically neglected

Published Aug 21, 07:05 PM UTC

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on August 21, 2026, reveals that the Department of Defense (DOD) is not requesting sufficient funding for installation maintenance and major improvements, resulting in an estimated $285 billion maintenance backlog in fiscal year 2025. The DOD aimed to fund 90% of maintenance needs but services requested only about 80% from 2017 to 2020, with the Marine Corps dropping to 40%. This shortfall has led to 'chronically neglected' barracks, with thousands of service members living in substandard conditions posing health and safety risks. The GAO found that the DOD has not fully assessed risks to mission and quality of life, and that maintenance workforce shortages and unreliable data systems exacerbate the problem. The GAO issued 13 recommendations, including strengthening oversight and improving data reliability; the DOD concurred with 12.