An investigation by Verity News has uncovered troubling images and videos exposing the deteriorating living conditions at Camp Schieffelin Military Barracks, including leaking roofs in apartments housing active-duty soldiers.
“We are suffering here,” a soldier told this paper, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We live in conditions unfit for the very people defending this country.”
Multiple video footage and pictures leaked to Verity News show rainwater dripping through ceilings, damaged walls, and worn-out facilities, clear signs of long-term neglect and poor living conditions.
Soldiers at Camp Schieffelin say their appeals for improvement have gone unanswered for years now, fueling widespread frustration within the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
“We’re losing morale,” another serviceman explained. “There’s no motivation. We’re disrespected and disregarded.”
A Verity investigation also uncovered a leaked AFL payroll document showing that an AFL Private earns a base salary of US$184.30 plus L$14,694.70, totaling approximately US$263.28 per month.
A Private First Class earns US$199.17 plus L$15,881.04, while a Corporal earns US$202.15 plus L$16,118.26. A Sergeant earns slightly more: US$216.20 plus L$17,239.02.
Even at higher ranks, soldiers say the pay is insufficient to meet basic living costs, especially given the poor conditions of their housing.
“We have families to feed, but the money can’t carry us,” a soldier said. “And when we go home to leaking roofs and crumbling walls, it feels like we’ve been forgotten.”
Reports of troops going AWOL (Absent without Leave) have surfaced, with many citing frustration and lack of support.
“When President Boakai came to power, we had high hopes,” one serviceman remarked. “But nothing has changed. Things are even worse now.”
Military authorities have not publicly responded to the growing concerns.
But the images speak for themselves, conditions at Camp Schieffelin remain unfit and unsafe for men and women sworn to protect the nation.
Soldiers are calling on the government to prioritize the welfare of its troops, starting with decent housing and a livable wage.
“We’re not asking for luxury,” a Corporal said. “We’re asking for dignity, just enough to live and serve with pride.”
Yet while AFL soldiers endure leaking roofs and broken walls, millions of dollars are being funneled into political luxuries.
Between 2024 and 2025, the Liberian government allocated US$4.7 million for “constituency visits” by the country’s 103 lawmakers- averaging over US$46,000 per legislator across two years.
These visits, intended to connect legislators with their constituents, have instead become a symbol of government excess, especially in a country where most citizens, including active-duty soldiers, survive on less than US$2 a day.
Critics argue that this level of spending, combined with worsening living conditions in military facilities, highlights a severe misallocation of national priorities. The issue runs deeper.
According to the 2025 Approved National Budget and Outturn Report, an additional US$22 million was allocated to just five high-ranking political offices, the President, Vice President, Speaker, Pro-Tempore, and Deputy Speaker, over the same two-year period.
This, while AFL soldiers continue to suffer in dilapidated barracks, clearly underscores the growing gap between government elites and the men and women tasked with safeguarding national security.
On August 16, 2025, President Joseph Boakai departed Monrovia for Yokohama, Japan, to attend the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-9), and later, Liberia-focused engagements at Expo 2025 in Osaka.
The trip, touted by the Executive Mansion as an effort to attract foreign investment, sparked fresh public outrage due to the size of the President’s delegation.
Despite a travel reform directive issued earlier this year by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, endorsed by the President himself, which clearly states that government-funded foreign delegations should be limited to five officials, or seven for high-level summits, the announced entourage included 23 high-level officials.
That figure does not even account for additional protocol, security, and logistical staff accompanying the President.
At a time when Liberian soldiers are sleeping under leaking roofs and receiving salaries barely enough to survive, the contrast could not be starker.
As AFL personnel call for basic improvements to their living conditions, the excessive spending on political travel and legislative visits sends a troubling message: that those who serve and protect the nation are being left behind sidelined by a system that prioritizes appearances over accountability.
