Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the Pentagon will build a massive, self-sustaining military base and will pick the location through a competition among state governors, not a closed-door Washington process.
The project, called the “Next Great American Base,” was unveiled during Hegseth’s address at Marine Corps Base Quantico as one of six strategies he laid out to modernize the military.
Hegseth said the plan breaks from what he called the old Washington habit of pouring money into advanced weapons systems while troops live in aging, run-down housing.
“For too long, our military has been bogged down by the same old tired Washington playbook: spending trillions on exquisite weapons systems, while our troops live in aging bases, outdated barracks, and with inadequate infrastructure. That era is over,” Hegseth said.
He said troops returning home from overseas deployments won’t simply be shuffled into existing posts.
“To back up our warfighters, when we bring the troops home, we won’t just reshuffle troops onto legacy posts. We are going to build them beautiful new bases from the ground up,” he added.
The planned installation would span hundreds of thousands of acres and house as many as 25,000 service members.
“We are talking hundreds of thousands of acres with organic power generation, modern air defenses, and cutting edge technology — a fortress,” Hegseth said.
The base is expected to include first-class living quarters, high-end training grounds, health care, child care, and its own independent power supply, operating entirely off the commercial grid. Hegseth said the project will also reflect President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Beautiful Civic Architecture,” which calls for federal buildings and military installations to follow classical, timeless design.
“We owe our warriors nothing less than the gold standard,” Hegseth said.
How States Will Compete
The Department of War says it is opening a transparent, merit-based competition in which governors can pitch their states directly to top military leadership at the Pentagon. The winning state will be judged on how quickly it can cut regulatory red tape and construction bureaucracy, along with the quality of the land, housing, schools, and community support it offers.
A Pentagon press release states: “The state that cuts the most red tape and offers the best package of land and support will win the historic honor of hosting the most lethal, modern, and beautiful military installation on the planet.”
Pitch deliberations will reportedly be recorded and released publicly, which the Pentagon says is meant to prevent political favoritism in choosing the winning site.
“No backroom Washington deals. No political favoritism – just a straight-up, merit-based contest to see which state will partner with us to build the most modern, beautiful, and lethal military installation on the planet,” Hegseth said.
The base competition is the fourth of six major strategic initiatives Hegseth has rolled out. The Department of War says the remaining initiatives cover restoring male physical standards and combat roles, reviewing military standards, overhauling complaint processes, reforming senior leadership, and refocusing core training and maintenance.
