The Pentagon plans to prepare most US military bases to keep operating for at least 90 days even if they are cut off from outside supply systems.
The aim is to keep bases running in the event of war, an energy crisis, a cyberattack or sabotage of critical infrastructure. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth set out the plan in a recent memo.
On September 30, Hegseth announced the Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply and Survivability initiative, or FORTRESS. Its goal is to make sure the United States can keep obtaining military equipment and materials and keep conducting military operations even if normal supply chains collapse.
Hegseth described the initiative as America’s “national insurance policy”. In his words, FORTRESS will ensure the United States cannot be “starved, stalled or severed”.
Five pillars
According to Hegseth’s memo, the initiative rests on five pillars. Energy self-reliance: uninterrupted fuel and power at military bases. Supply chains and the defence industrial base: reducing risks in producing and supplying military equipment. Strategic defence stockpiles: storing the materials and equipment needed for emergencies.
Installation protection and cyber resilience: keeping key facilities running through attacks, sabotage and cyberattacks.
Resilience of space and spectrum capabilities: keeping space-based military systems and the radio spectrum used for communications working.
Lessons from conflicts around the world
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, has shown again how much military operations depend on power stations and electricity supply. If such infrastructure is damaged in a full-scale war, military operations can be disrupted as well as civilian life.
Meanwhile, so-called hybrid warfare, attacks that fall outside conventional war, has reportedly increased in European NATO countries, and Russia is often blamed. Sabotage of key IT infrastructure, data cables and energy pipelines is part of the concern.
Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries have also raised worries about global energy supplies. Energy prices were already high because of the US-led war on Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Against this background, keeping military bases running for long periods without relying on outside supplies has become more important for Washington.
Power, fuel and communications for 90 days
Fox News Digital reported on Sunday that under the FORTRESS plan, US military bases will be made able to operate for at least 90 days without outside help.
That would include uninterrupted electricity, enough fuel and water in reserve, and the communications needed for military operations. The aim is for bases to keep working even if civilian infrastructure is destroyed.
According to the report, the 90-day standard will apply to all major military installations in the continental United States.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X on Sunday: “FORTRESS is an example of effective strategic deterrence. It will make our defence more secure, more prepared in advance and more capable.”
He said the United States can no longer rely on its two oceans alone for security. That idea is outdated and does not reflect today’s threats, he said, adding that President Donald Trump and Secretary Hegseth understand this.
Through the Golden Dome missile defence system and a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, including Greenland and Panama, they have paved the way for a shift in US defence policy, he said. Warfare has changed, threats have changed, and defence must keep pace with those changes.
Small nuclear reactors and huge batteries
Fox News Digital reported that under FORTRESS, the military is considering portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and small power grids able to run cut off from the civilian grid at its bases. With such systems, installations could meet their own power needs even if outside supplies were cut.
Parnell said: “The next conflict will probably be fought in several theatres at once. You only have to look at the geopolitics of any major war to see this. If that happens, global supply chains will break down.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report