Management Advisory: Evaluation of the DoD’s Actions to Address Mold Hazards in Naval Air Station Key West Privatized Military Housing (Report No. DODIG-2026-048)

What We Did:

The purpose of this final management advisory is to inform DoD and Department of the Navy leadership of concerns identified at Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West during the evaluation of the DoD’s actions to address mold hazards in privatized military housing.

We identified concerns that we believe require management’s immediate attention. Specifically, we found that, in response to FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) section 3051, an independent contractor conducted a 100‑percent inspection of NAS Key West homes between November 2021 and June 2022 that identified significant mold and moisture that Navy Southeast Region privatized housing company officials did not properly address. Later, Navy officials conducted another inspection of NAS Key West homes between August 2024 and May 2025 that Navy officials told us identified mold and moisture. Additionally, Navy medical treatment facility officials did not perform medical assessments to determine whether an association existed between environmental factors and resident medical conditions. These medical assessments are required by DHA Administrative Instruction (DHA‑AI) 6050.01, “Medical Assessments for Determination of Association Between Medical Condition and Environmental, Safety, and Health Issues in Housing Unit.” Furthermore, despite indicators that we identified of a pattern of failing to remedy, or failing to remedy in a timely manner health or environmental hazards, Navy officials told us that, as of April 3, 2025, the Navy did not discuss or consider denying the entirety of the performance incentive fee. This means that Navy officials might approve the payment of performance incentive fees despite indicators that we identified of a pattern of significant mold and moisture at NAS Key West.