Several U.S. military bases have cut back on certain training maneuvers due to wildfire and other severe weather risks, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last week.
While extreme weather shut down training, some bases had to spend more money to complete training elsewhere, the report said.
The report to Congress examines the Department of Defense’s ability to adapt to climate change at military bases around the country. It found that nine of 15 bases examined had heavy rain or severe drought that either damaged infrastructure or prevented training exercises.
At least one base in a drought-prone area limited live-fire training due to heightened wildfire risk. In 2012, wildfires near other bases shut down access to ammunition, while in other years bases had to limit ammunition use due to wildfire risk.
As a result, units have had to spend extra time and money to travel to other installations to complete their required training. (page 15 of the report)
The report examined several climate change aspects, including increased storm activity, mudslides, rising sea levels and changing ocean temperatures.
As part of its recommendations, the GAO suggested gathering more data on future impacts of climate change, as well as stream-lining climate adaptation projects frequently sidelined by other military projects.
