Politics

Pentagon Pushes for 90‑Day Self‑Sufficiency at Major Bases Under FORTRESS Plan

By Ravi Hari

The Pentagon is preparing major U.S. military installations to operate independently for at least 90 days without outside support as it steps up preparations for a potential major war that could cripple power grids, disrupt global supply chains and threaten critical infrastructure on American soil, a report said. The requirement is part of FORTRESS, a broader military initiative designed to ensure American forces can continue operating even if the civilian infrastructure they depend on is disrupted, according to documents reviewed by Fox News Digital. "We don't want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense. We just simply can't. It's an intolerable risk," the news outlet quoted Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell as saying. The initiative also seeks to prepare civilian factories to switch to defence production during a crisis, establish alternative supply chains and build strategic reserves of essential materials, including weapons, fuel and critical components. Under FORTRESS, every major military installation in the continental United States would be expected to sustain essential operations independently for at least 90 days. This would include maintaining access to electricity, water, fuel and communications even if civilian infrastructure becomes unavailable. The initiative reflects a shift in the Pentagon's approach to homeland defence, with greater emphasis on the possibility that a major conflict could disrupt infrastructure within the United States rather than remain confined to overseas battlefields. "I realized that a lot of the way we think about homeland defense was built around the antiquated assumption that two oceans would protect us," Parnell told Fox News Digital. "President Trump understands that world is gone, and he's already paved the way for new thinking: Golden Dome, a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, Greenland, Panama," Parnell added. A key focus of FORTRESS is reducing the military's dependence on civilian electricity grids, which support communications, logistics, weapons manufacturing and other essential defence operations. "Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures," Parnell was quoted as saying. According to the news outlet, FORTRESS envisions the use of portable nuclear reactors, large‑scale battery storage and microgrids that can disconnect military installations from civilian electricity networks during prolonged power disruptions. Parnell described FORTRESS as an insurance policy for the American homeland, intended to ensure U.S. forces can continue operating even if a major war disrupts the infrastructure and supply chains on which they depend. "You don't want to be making these decisions in the middle of a global multi‑front conflict. We have to have a plan," Parnell said. FORTRESS also addresses the possibility that a major conflict could disrupt international supply routes used to obtain weapons, equipment and critical materials. "The next conflict will likely be fought on multiple fronts. Look at the geopolitics behind any major war. When that happens, global supply chains will break," Parnell told the media outlet. To mitigate these risks, the initiative calls for strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical supplies. These stockpiles would help sustain military operations if international supply routes were disrupted or domestic manufacturers struggled to meet wartime demand. The initiative also establishes a requirement for at least two qualified supply or production pathways for the military's most critical defence dependencies. The measure is intended to reduce the risk that the loss of a single factory, supplier or industrial capability could interrupt military operations. Another major component of FORTRESS involves preparing America's commercial manufacturing sector to support the military during a crisis. Through the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network, an existing initiative incorporated into FORTRESS, the Pentagon plans to identify civilian factories that could shift to defence production during an emergency.