Social media posts claiming the nation is about to face a 90-day blackout have been spreading. WBBJ reports the claim is not true. The posts appear to misread a Pentagon plan called FORTRESS America.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled the long-term strategy on Sept. 30. DefenseScoop reported in October on a Pentagon memo to set up a program office for it. The plan is about keeping the military running if civilian systems are cut off. Under it, every military department and defense agency is to be able to operate independently for at least 90 days, with its own water, electricity, fuel and communications.
The initiative has five pillars: energy independence, supply-chain and defense-industrial base resilience, a strategic defense reserve, hardening of installations and cyber resilience, and resilience in space and spectrum.
Union University political science chair Sean Evans said nations are carrying out more cyberattacks and sabotage is a worry, so the idea is that if something happens the military is prepared. "They'll have a 90-day supply of energy. They'll have backup ammunition," he said.
WBBJ stressed that this is not an announcement of a blackout, a power cut or an attack, and that residents should feel safer knowing the military could keep operating through a cyberattack or war. The 90 days is a planning target for military bases, not a countdown for households. Normal emergency-preparedness advice, such as keeping several days of supplies at home, has not changed.
Sources: WBBJ, DefenseScoop, Snopes, Newsweek