U.S. military bases in the Pacific, key hubs for countering China, have deteriorated so severely that buildings have holes and ceilings have collapsed. Mold and asbestos were found at some facilities, raising concerns that the problems could affect the military's operational readiness.
Bloomberg reported on the 13th that the Pentagon inspector general's office inspected 11 U.S. military facilities in the Pacific and found various defects, including building corrosion and cracks, ceiling collapses, mold, and asbestos.
Early this month, the inspector general's office sent an urgent management advisory containing the findings to 12 senior officials at the Pentagon. A "management advisory" is issued during an audit to alert senior Pentagon officials to matters that require immediate action.
The inspector general's office noted that the aging of facilities is affecting not only the living environment of service members and their families, but also the core infrastructure that supports U.S. operational readiness.
In particular, conditions at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, were found to be serious. Kadena is a key hub of U.S. air power in the Pacific, storing $836 million (1.1862 trillion won) worth of munitions and serving as home to 20,000 Americans.
Photos attached to the report show one hangar on base with multiple holes in the walls, leaving items stored inside exposed to the outside. Another aircraft hangar showed rust and ongoing corrosion in several places.
According to Bloomberg, at Kadena, at least 243 households had to vacate their homes due to spalling, in which building surfaces crack and fall off. Separately, 139 dwellings suffered ceiling collapses.
Similar problems were found at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo and at U.S. Marine Corps Camp Courtney in Okinawa. The inspector general's office identified mold, fire damage, building cracks, and leaks in operations and communications facilities at the three bases in Japan. Lead and asbestos were also found in some building materials. Some maintenance and storage facilities failed to meet U.S. military facility standards.
Problems were also identified in supporting infrastructure for service members' daily life, such as water and sewage systems and housing. These facilities are not "mission essential" directly tied to combat capability, but the inspector general's office assessed them as indispensable to maintaining a stable U.S. force presence in the region.
Pentagon officials cited building lifespans as the cause of the Pacific bases' "severe aging." Many facilities were built in the 1970s, have been continually exposed to natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and have faced shortages of personnel and budgets, they said.
The Pentagon plans to have each service work with relevant agencies to fix the facility problems identified in the inspection. Mark Schinder, deputy assistant secretary of defense for infrastructure modernization, said in the report that "each service will take the lead in addressing the identified infrastructure issues," adding that he would set a specific timeline to correct all problems.
This is not the first time the Pentagon has been called out over deteriorating military facilities. Late last year, the inspector general's office also noted that sanitation and safety problems were found in Army barracks housing troops deployed to the U.S. southern border as the Trump administration tightened immigration enforcement.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a task force in 2025 to identify and improve substandard military housing.