The U.S. War Department is moving forward with a prototype military installation designed to operate independently from civilian infrastructure, announced Dale Marks, the assistant secretary of war for energy, installations and environment, this week at the Association of Defense Communities convention in Tampa, Florida.
The initiative, called the Next Great American Base, is part of a larger strategic effort known as Fortress America. The prototype will generate its own power through microgrids and a small nuclear reactor, operate air-gapped computer networks, and manage closed-loop water supplies. It is designed to rely entirely on its own infrastructure for 30 days, completely detached from external utilities in case surrounding civilian grids collapse.
Fortress America is built on five core pillars: sovereign energy independence, domestic supply chain resilience, installation hardening and cyber resilience, strategic defense reserves, and space and spectrum resilience.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Fortress America and the Next Great American Base as two of six major strategic emphases for the War Department in recent months. Once the prototype base proves successful, its systems and lessons will be applied to existing installations, according to Marks.
The department also plans to upgrade living conditions for service members, including addressing substandard base housing and constructing new facilities with schools, healthcare centers and walkable community spaces.