US government report reveals dire situation of domestic military bases

A new government report says that U.S. military officials do not fully understand the miserable conditions faced by thousands of soldiers – life in the barracks may mean enduring sewage, dangerous gas leaks and rat infestations. According to reports, after visiting 10 bases in the United States, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report on the 19th that U.S. soldiers may also face a higher risk of sexual assault and other crimes because of long-term damage to windows and door locks. The Government Accountability Office cited a problem it found during the visit as an example, saying: “At one military base, we noticed a foul odor in the barracks. Base officials told us that the smell was methane gas leaking from old sewage pipes that often cracked and needed to be replaced.” Because some troops face poor living conditions, all branches of the Department of Defense have been strictly inspected. In the past few years, many military bases have exposed scandals with great influence. For example, in 2022, mold infestation forced 1,200 soldiers to leave the barracks at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. After they withdrew, the building was demolished. The GAO said that while problems with base housing were widely known, military officials may have underestimated the extent of the crisis because the rating system gave passing grades to facilities that were clearly substandard. “The Department of Defense has no reliable information about the conditions of barracks or how those conditions affect troop morale,” the GAO said. “While the Department of Defense spends billions of dollars each year on its facilities, it cannot confirm exactly how much of that money is spent on barracks.” However, the GAO said the military still appears to have no clear strategy to correct the problems, which could lead people to desert the military.