The Pentagon is reportedly preparing a "doomsday plan" to keep US military bases operating without the help of other countries, as the US navigates two major conflicts.
According to a report by FOX News, the plan would see US military bases operational for at least 90 days without outside support in the event of a major war that could cripple power grids, disrupt supply chains and threaten critical infrastructure on US soil.
FORTRESS initiative
This forms part of FORTRESS, a broader military initiative focused on ensuring US forces can fight even if civilian systems they rely on are disrupted.
"We don't want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defence. We just simply can't. It's an intolerable risk," Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital.
The Pentagon is also laying the groundwork for civilian factories to move to defence production during a crisis.
Power as a combat necessity
"Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures," Mr Parnell said.
Every major military installation in the continental US would be expected to sustain essential operations without help for at least 90 days, including access to electricity, water, fuel and communications.
"I realized that a lot of the way we think about homeland defence was built around the antiquated assumption that two oceans would protect us," Mr Parnell said.
"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."
Reducing reliance on civilian grids
A primary concern is the military's reliance on civilian power grids, which are used to support communications, logistics and weapons manufacturing, among other things.
The FORTRESS initiative envisions portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and microgrids capable of disconnecting military installations from the civilian electrical grid, allowing them to continue operating during prolonged power disruptions.
The Pentagon has said it has plans to reduce major military installations' dependence on civilian power grids. The 90-day self-sufficiency goes beyond electricity to other essential services needed to sustain military operations.
Mr Parnell has described FORTRESS as an insurance policy for the homeland, designed to ensure US forces can operate even if a war disrupts the infrastructure and supply chains.
"You don't want to be making these decisions in the middle of a global multi-front conflict. We have to have a plan," he said.
