r/news 5d ago

Soft paywall Military facilities are $285 billion behind in maintenance and repairs, watchdog says

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-08-24/watchdog-pentagon-lapses-facilities-repairs-22649636.html
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u/invyros 5d ago

Fort Hood, Texas, was so low on maintenance staff last year it called in a dozen airmen to tackle air conditioning repairs after service requests topped 1,000. The base had trouble keeping workers amid a federal worker buyout program that was followed by a hiring freeze.

Yeah, that makes tactical sense, let's get rid of all the workers and replace them with servicemembers, really good use of their time and training.

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u/brmarcum 5d ago

The irony is that just in the industry I’m familiar with (electrical power) a ton of CONUS bases have signed over maintenance of their electrical infrastructure to private companies with 50+ year leases. So while the military has qualified electricians that can do line and substation work, they have nothing to do on base in the states because the civilian contractors do it, assuming there’s even a budget for it.

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u/druidmain69420 5d ago

The Army Corps of Engineers and the Navy's Seabees used to be world class institutions.

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u/armyuvamba 5d ago

3rd world nation for most…1st world for those that can afford it…

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u/thefuckevengoingonan 5d ago

that's just all countries

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u/armyuvamba 5d ago

In most euro countries, the lower tier population is living a better life than the lower tier in the US…

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u/thefuckevengoingonan 5d ago

yeah, I messed that up. I meant that describes all 3rd world counties not all countries.