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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is inviting governors to compete for the chance to host a massive new military base that would house 15,000 to 25,000 troops.
Getting into it: Hegseth announced the “Next Great American Base” during his “State of the Force” speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Wednesday, describing a self-sustaining installation spread across “hundreds of thousands of acres” with its own power generation, modern air defenses and new barracks, housing, schools, child care and health care for military families. He said the base will follow President Trump’s executive order calling for “timeless classical architecture” on federal buildings and will run completely off the commercial power grid.
Governors and state National Guard leaders will pitch their plans at the Pentagon to Hegseth, Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and “maybe” Trump, with the state that “cuts the most red tape and offers the best package of land and support” winning. The Pentagon says the pitches will be recorded and made public.
“If your state wants the honor of hosting 15,000 to 25,000 of America’s great troops, show us why and how you’re going to do it, cutting through the red tape, offering up the land, and rolling out the red carpet for our military families,” Hegseth said. “No backroom Washington deals, no political favoritism, just a straight-up merit-based contest.”
The Pentagon hasn’t said how much the base would cost or where the money would come from, and Hegseth gave officials two weeks to lay out how the bids will be judged and on what timeline. Congress pays for most military construction, and projects usually take at least five to seven years. These fights can get ugly too. Colorado and Alabama spent years battling over which state would land US Space Command’s headquarters.
This all comes as Hegseth rolled out several other initiatives in the same speech, including Project Meridian, a study on the future of warfare led by Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich, and a new four-star command for autonomous warfare that Congress would need to approve.
