Nearly a third of Defense Department structures have exceeded their lifespan
By James R. Webb
Feb 1, 04:28 PM
At a home in the Bouton Heights community at Fort Benning, Georgia, maintenance workers taped over this vent; they've cleaned it but mold keeps coming back. A new GAO report states that living quarters and child care facilities on base are "most often delayed" due to being deemed a "lower priority." (Photo courtesy of Nikki Whittington)
Nearly 30% of the Defense Department’s roughly 550,000 structures have exceeded their lifespan, says a new report from the Government Accountability Office. At the same time, DOD has a $137 billion “deferred maintenance backlog.”
The report comes amid a legal challenge to an emergency order suspending the Navy’s use of the Red Hill, Hawaii, fuel facility, which the state of Hawaii says is in disrepair and a “ticking time bomb.” About 14,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked into a Navy well in November 2021, contaminating drinking water on base while driving roughly 3,500 military families from their homes.
Released Jan. 31, GAO compiled the report at the request of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, which requested examination of DOD maintenance cost estimates, if it is receiving enough funding to conduct adequate maintenance, and if it has an established process for managing backlogged
maintenance.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2022/02/01/nearly-a-third-of-defense-department-structures-have-exceeded-their-lifespan/
