The picture on the left shows poor conditions at an unaccompanied housing boiler room at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, such as standing water and rusty pump housing. The picture on the right shows an electrical panel that controls pumps with improper lockout and tagout. The blue circle shows the on/off switch in the off position; without a lock, the switch could be energized and turn on the pump. Additionally, the tag indicates that the electrical panel has been out of service since November 2021. (Defense Department Inspector General)

The Pentagon’s watchdog found evidence of mold, broken heating and air conditioning units and housing that didn’t meet minimum standards while touring barracks at military bases to evaluate whether a dozen health and safety requirements from Congress had been implemented.

These problems exist in government-run housing for single service members because of a lack of prioritization and funding levels too low to get the housing up to standard, according to an 82-page report from the Defense Department Inspector General.

Inspectors toured housing at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in Washington and observed “various apparent health and safety hazards.” In one Quantico building, holes in the wall exposed a space “overwhelmed with mold,” according to the 82-page report released Nov. 20.

“As a result, residents of [government-run] unaccompanied housing at the installations we visited were exposed to health, safety, and environmental hazard risks, such as mold. DoD officials told us that the current living conditions in [government-run] unaccompanied housing jeopardize the recruitment of new military members and the retention of those currently serving,” according to the Inspector General.

After speaking with defense officials, the inspector general determined government-run housing for single service members is not prioritized like privately managed housing as well as government-run housing for families. Inspectors also determined this type of housing may not be funded well enough to allow leaders to meet the Pentagon’s own standards.

The military services maintain more than 798,000 beds for single service members and contract with private landlords for another nearly 8,500, according to the report. Inspectors toured one other base in person and three more virtually.

These photos from housing in one building at Marine Corps Base Quantico show a hole in a wall overwhelmed with mold inside (top left and right). The middle left and right pictures show a hole in the ceiling leaking water onto the floor and the resulting puddle in the middle of the hallway. The bottom left picture shows a room with mold on the ceiling. The bottom right picture shows mold in a shower. (Defense Department Inspector General)

The findings were included in a report meant to focus on whether defense officials had implemented 12 requirements outlined in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that outlines defense priorities.

The fiscal year 2020 NDAA came on the heels of media reports about the dangerous conditions that some military families faced in base housing run by private landlords, such as lead paint, mold, pest infestations and chronic water leaks that were exacerbated by slow or ineffective maintenance and poor military oversight of the private companies managing the homes.

The law included significant reforms to military family housing such as a tenant bill of rights, stronger oversight requirements and the establishment of a chief housing officer. Some of those reforms were later amended to include housing for single service members as well.

The report titled “Evaluation of the DoD’s Health, Safety, and Environmental Hazard Identification and Remediation in Military Housing,” found that defense officials had begun work on, but not finished, any of the mandates.

It recommended better planning and work toward completing these mandates, which the military agreed to do.

The 12 mandates included requirements for the Pentagon to develop a uniform code of basic housing standards; plan, contract and conduct inspections in family housing; report to Congress on these inspections; and develop a hazard assessment tool.

William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, concurred with all five recommendations from the report, which included two to address the conditions of single service member housing.