Troops at Cannon Air Force Base lost at least 5,000 duty days in 2025 because they had to travel long distances for medical care, with some service members traveling as far as 350 miles each way, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
The lack of medical services also came with a financial cost. Cannon officials said the Defense Health Agency spent $28 million on medical care outside the installation in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. In 2025 alone, Cannon had approximately 12,400 referrals to healthcare facilities outside the military health system and approximately $587,000 in reimbursable patient travel expenses because those services could not be provided at the installation or in the immediate vicinity.
The findings are part of a broader GAO review of a non-generalizable sample of nine remote and isolated installations, which found challenges providing critical support services including healthcare, childcare, housing, education and recreation.
Every installation GAO visited identified challenges with the availability and administration of comprehensive healthcare, including difficulty recruiting qualified civilian candidates, shortages of medical services in local communities and a lack of medical specialties on base. At Cannon, officials said the pay for healthcare positions was too low to attract qualified staff.
The staffing problems extend beyond healthcare.
Officials at each installation with a dependent population cited adequately staffing childcare positions as a key challenge, while staffing shortages affected morale, welfare and recreation programs at the installations GAO visited, leading to reduced program offerings, shorter operating hours or facility closures.
Cannon officials also cited retention rates as lower-than-service-average and attributed them in part to challenges with the availability of critical support services, GAO said. The government watchdog did not establish that medical travel itself caused lower retention, but found that the inability to provide healthcare services at an installation can affect readiness through lost duty hours, potentially affecting the operational mission.
Officials at each installation GAO visited told investigators that service members and civilians routinely had to take time off work, in many cases at least a full day or more, to travel elsewhere for medical care.
The report also found that the Defense Department does not have a consistent definition of what constitutes a remote and isolated installation. As of May 2026, the Army and Navy had completed their designation processes, while the Department of the Air Force and Space Force had opted not to make a formal designation at that time.
Air Force officials told GAO that additional designations under the current criteria would have limited benefit because the guidance does not provide additional authorities, such as resources or exceptions to policy. The Air Force also said its analysis found critical support service shortfalls were systemic throughout the service, not just at remote and isolated installations.
GAO recommended that the Defense Department update its definition of remote and isolated installations to clarify how to measure the adequacy of critical support services when making designations. It also recommended that DOD specifically examine the impact of civilian workforce reductions at remote and isolated installations.
DOD concurred with both recommendations.
Natalie Oliverio is an independent journalist and Navy veteran who covers military and veterans’ issues. Drawing on her experience as a talent executive and mentor, she writes about the policies, people and programs shaping the military community.