[user104658]

Being fair the current story doesn't exclude the possibility that government officials are still alive as they'd probably be living in a bunker somewhere, or perhaps a very remote base in the middle of a desert or something, for several years after the initial outbreak.

Its more the small groups of soldiers etc. I'm wondering about - we've hardly seen any alive! There was the tank driver from The Governors town I suppose, and Abraham but I'm sure he was an ex-soldier or at least on leave when it all started.

Surely there would be groups of soldiers who were together in barracks when it all started... And you get those military villages where soldiers live with their families etc... Wouldn't communities like that be some of the most likely to survive for a while? Rather than "normal" little settlements like Hilltop or Kingdom. I mean they did explain Alexandria which survived until Rick's arrival on a combination of self sufficiency and isolationism, the strong walls, and some good luck. But not so much the others.

That said, they've still not explained the helicopter that Rick saw overhead in the first half of this season. I don't think it was The Saviours, been no indication that they have one, so maybe there IS a well equipped base around somewhere.