FORTRESS initiative. Our governments plan to save itself during a grid collapse.

Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability or FORTRESS is a new plan, announced via memo from Secretary Pete Hegseth on September 30th 2026. Immediately after Fox News broke the story on October 25th, it rapidly circulated social media with both fear and speculation.

In summery, the plan is to divorce the U.S. Civilian and Military supply chain infrastructure, including power to insulate our military during a wide spread grid-down scenario.

I find it hard to believe that when it comes to consumables like ammunition and food, this isn't already the case.

The real news here is the Governments concern with itself relying on the same power grid you and I do. In the emergency preparedness world it has been known for quite some time that our power grid is generally vulnerable. It always has been in for the same reason that any complex delivery and distribution system is.

But arguably it has become much more vulnerable over the decades thanks to outsourcing critical component manufacturing, internet integrated distribution systems, un-chained AI development and our foreign enemies advancements in cyber warfare and missile systems.

Oh, and a period of questionable vetting at the border, if any; raising concerns for potential terror attack on the power grid.

What got my noodle ticking about FORTRESS is the power generation, as I think this stands out to everyone as the core of the plan itself. So what is being discussed?

Microgrids — Local systems that can generate, store, and distribute power independently. These are a major near-term focus and build on existing Air Force/Space Force efforts.

Battery storage — Large-scale backup systems paired with other generation sources.

_Nuclear microreactors / portable nuclear reactors — Explicitly envisioned in the plan. Related efforts (such as the Army’s Janus program) are already moving toward placing commercially operated microreactors on multiple bases, with a target for the first Army-regulated reactor to operate by September 2028. Prior Air
Force work on a microreactor at Eielson AFB is also referenced.
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Renewables — Solar and geothermal are specifically named as options that can be part of base microgrids.

Fossil fuels — Natural gas is listed as one of the flexible options for quicker deployment, alongside traditional generators where appropriate.

It will be interesting to see which platform or combinations of platforms in the case of primary and backup win.