WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is ordering all military bases to generate their own power, a move designed to make the United States “impenetrable” to attackers.
Hegseth made the announcement Wednesday during his “State of the Force” remarks at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where he decried past administrations for making the United States military — “the most powerful military in the world” — dependent on other countries for rare earths, microchips, and weapons.
Hegseth, who also confirmed the news in a Wednesday memo to senior Pentagon leadership obtained by The Daily Wire, specifically pointed to the danger of military bases relying on a civilian power grid to “keep the lights on at the bases.”
“That ends today,” he told the assembled troops at Quantico. “Today, at my direction, we are launching FORTRESS America — a national insurance policy for the American homeland. FORTRESS stands for: Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability.”
U.S. military bases rely on the commercial power grid for 99% of their electricity needs, according to a 2021 Department of Commerce report published in the Federal Register. Even bases like Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base, which houses the B-2 stealth bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, have to rely on local commercial power grids for their primary power.
The new policy calls for all major military installations in the United States to generate their own power, independent of the civilian grid.
“If an adversary takes down the grid — by cyberattack, by sabotage, by any means — our bases stay lit,” Hegseth said. “Our aircraft keep flying. Our command centers never go dark.”
Pete Hegseth gives a State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30, 2026 in Quantico, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“We are bringing our critical supply chains home,” he added. “The rare earths, the specialty metals, the semiconductors, the propellants — mined in America, refined in America, built in America, by American workers.”
He also promised that the United States is building strategic reserves that are deep enough to “fight through disruption,” including munitions, fuel, medicine, and blood, that will allow America to continue fighting if the world’s supply lines break.
“And in a real war,” he noted, “they will break.”
“We are hardening every installation on American soil,” the secretary of war continued. “Against cyber intrusion, sabotage, drones. And we are securing the high ground and the airwaves. Our satellites. Our spectrum. Our ability to see, to navigate, and to talk to one another.”
The War Department views this new policy as a way to reverse the dependence of past administrations, making the Pentagon the “Insurance Policy” for the whole country.
“Previous administrations may have traded away our resilience — one job, one factory, and one town at a time,” Hegseth said. “FORTRESS America is how we get it back. No matter the circumstance, this department will have the power, equipment, and supplies you need to take the fight to the enemy. The Department of War will be the insurance policy for the entire nation.”
“Insurance is not pessimism,” he added. “It is what serious people do when the stakes are too high to gamble. We are not looking for war — but we will be prepared if one comes. We will make certain that America cannot be starved out, shut down, or cut off.”
This is Hegseth’s second “State of the Force” address. In 2025, Hegseth summoned all his top military generals and officials from around the world to Quantico, where he laid out his plans for a cultural overhaul of the military and made sure that all officials understood the Trump administration’s focus.
In his 2025 speech, Hegseth promised officials that the War Department would no longer tolerate ideological standards or quotas or punish leaders for supposed “toxic” attitudes. He also said there would be no more “identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses,” and that the War Department would no longer tolerate leadership that is not aligned with the War Department’s mission.
He reminded the leaders that he could and would fire those who did not comply, and he insisted that the lowered standards and woke ideology of President Joe Biden’s administration are over.
“We’re done with that sh*t,” he promised.
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