In the previous two world wars, the United States had the luxury of two great oceans separating our homeland from the fighting. In the Great War, the American heartland was out of reach of our primary foe, Germany. In World War II, the Empire of Japan managed to seize islands in Alaska's Aleutian chain, but were driven off. In any future conflict, though, we won't have that luxury. In 1917 and 1941, our military bases in the United States were sheltered from attack, but in any possible major future conflict, they simply won't be.
So now, to deal with this likelihood, the Department of War is instituting a plan to make our military bases self-sufficient for at least 90 days — capable of operating with no outside support. This is, candidly, something that should have been done years ago.
The Pentagon is preparing U.S. military bases to keep operating for at least 90 days without outside support as it prepares for the possibility of a major war that could cripple power grids, disrupt supply chains and threaten critical infrastructure on American soil.
The new requirement is part of FORTRESS, a broader military initiative aimed at ensuring American forces can continue fighting even if the civilian systems they depend on are 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," Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital.
"Intolerable risk" may be putting it mildly. If a major military base could be badly hampered by the loss of a municipal power source, that could be catastrophic. But this plan, it seems, will incorporate some new technologies to keep the lights on and the computers running. This, in addition to some good old-fashioned stockpiles of fuel and supplies will help keep our bases running.
FORTRESS 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.
And:
To prepare, FORTRESS calls for strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical supplies that could sustain military operations if international supply routes are disrupted or domestic manufacturers cannot keep pace with wartime demand.
Every war, every time, is won or lost primarily by logistics. The side that can move beans, bullets and fuel to where they are needed, to get there, as the saying goes, the firstest with the mostest, wins. And having a solid logistical footing for our primary installations right here in the United States seems a staggeringly good idea. And note the use of some new technologies, like portable nuclear reactors, that will make our installations less dependent on the main grids in their areas.
Many people who haven't served think that peacetime is a normal condition for humanity, but people who have served generally, and correctly, see peacetime as the time to prepare for the next war. In our nation's history, we have been involved in some kind of armed conflict for 210 years of the last 251. Mankind's history is a history of war, and if we want our descendants to have a United States to live in 250 years (or even 25 years) from now, we had better be prepared — and that includes having our major military installations on a wartime footing now, prepared to operate without outside input for at least the 90 days planned; frankly a year would be better. Because in any future near peer conflict, unlike in 1917, unlike in 1941, we won't have the luxury of time — and those two oceans won't be the impediment to any enemy as they were before.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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