As part of the country’s national security posture and as an “insurance policy” to protect U.S. military base operations from potential disruptions, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently ordered major installations to prepare to operate separately from the local communities they currently depend on. The defense secretary released the information in a Pentagon memo dated September 30.
“Eff ective immediately, I establish FORTRESS America as a program of the Department of War,” Sec. Hegseth wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership, commanders within the combatant commands, and agency and field activity directors.
“The program aligns basing and infrastructure projects to ensure they are collectively advancing toward greater independence. It puts America first, and it does what should have been done long ago,” he said.
FORTRESS (Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply and Survivability) is a Pentagon program to harden major military bases through an initiative to operate independently for at least 90 days with its own power, food, water, fuel, communications and supplies in the event of cyberattacks, wartime disruption, sabotage or other emergency situations.
“All Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and Field Activities shall support its execution without reservation,” Sec. Hegseth said. “We will put America first, we will defend the American homeland, and we will build a permanent structure equal to the moment. We begin today,” the memorandum said in part.
In his subsequent State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, also September 30, he told the offi cers and non-commissioned offi cers present that FORTRESS America would require every military base to generate its own power independent of the civilian grid.
That rare earths and other strategic minerals would be mined and processed in the U.S. and that other supplies, from food, water, medicines and munitions, would be stored and maintained on those bases. This would let them continue operating uninterrupted by crises or shortages outside their gates.
“We are hardening every installation on American soil against cyber intrusion, sabotage, and drones,” Sec. Hegseth said during his address. “And we are securing the high ground and the airwaves. Our satellites. Our spectrum. Our ability to see, to navigate, and to talk to one another,” he said. He also said their plans include the building of new military bases inside the United States.
As cuts to federal spending, rising prices, and infl ation continue to ill-effect the poor, the elderly, and place additional stressors upon the middle class, the National Defense budget estimate for Fiscal Year 2027 is projected to top $1.03 trillion or more, according to a recent report from the Offi ce of the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller.
In the face of this, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) announced that the burden of providing aid during times of national, regional, or local crises will be shifted from the federal government to the individual states.
According to an October 20 online article by Politico: “FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own,” the agency’s administrator, Cameron Hamilton, “told state offi cials Tuesday they must increase their financial reserves and emergency capabilities to handle most disasters on their own.
Without federal help,” during a conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he described the Trump Administration’s “long-planned shift of disaster responsibilities to states.”
“Every state must have the appropriate financial reserves” and other abilities “to ensure that recovery efforts can start immediately and not necessarily be held up simply because of the federal [disaster] declaration process,” the article quoted the FEMA head as saying.
“The agency will face substantial challenges—both logistically and politically— preparing states to take a lead role in disaster prevention and recovery,” POLITICO continued, adding that many state disaster agencies are often underfunded and understaff ed while heavily dependent on federal dollars and resources.
