US troops are living with mold, going without hot water for as long as a year, and even sleeping in their cars because their barracks lack air conditioning, according to Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer. Meyer shared the account with Fox News Digital after War Secretary Pete Hegseth tasked him with fixing what he calls decades of neglect. He was named senior adviser to the Pentagon's Barracks Task Force in October and is touring installations to inspect barracks, meet service members, and find what is blocking repairs. After seeing the conditions himself, Meyer says only a couple of the barracks he has visited are in good shape.

The problem is not new. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report documented mold, sewage backups, broken heating and cooling systems, and other failures in barracks, and it noted that these conditions had lingered for decades despite earlier reform efforts. Hegseth created the task force in October 2025 and has said the Pentagon is putting $1.2 billion toward improving conditions. Meyer has publicly said he will take the blame if the job isn't done, and he is scheduled to visit 21 bases by the end of December. The big question now is whether this push can finally deliver clean, safe, and comfortable housing for the troops who live in these buildings.