The Pentagon is seeking to construct the “subsequent nice American base,” and governors can bid to host it of their states, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced on Sept. 30.

Hegseth mentioned the U.S. army will assemble a brand new, state-of-the-art facility that may home 15,000 to 25,000 troops to “function a foundational hub for built-in protection operations, distributed command-and-control, and resilient cyber and technological capabilities.”

“President Trump is a builder, and this undertaking is about doing one thing daring, lovely, and world-class for the nice People who put on our nation’s uniform,” Hegseth mentioned within the speech to service members on the Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The governors might be invited to Washington, DC, to pitch him, different high army officers, and doubtlessly even Trump on their proposals, in response to Hegseth.

Although Hegseth largely used the “State of the Power” tackle to repeat his long-standing complaints with the U.S. army’s tradition, he additionally introduced a sequence of initiatives aimed toward modernizing the armed companies.

‘Clowns are out.’ Hegseth lashes out at trans troops, ‘beardos’ in speech

The Pentagon chief additionally introduced an effort, titled “Undertaking Meridian,” to check which technological capabilities might be wanted for the way forward for warfare.

The hassle might be codirected by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, former Home Speaker Newt Gingrich, and ​​Anduril Industries CEO Palmer Luckey. Their roles may elevate conflict-of-interest considerations as Musk and Luckey personal stakes in firms that do enterprise with the Protection Division.

Musk’s appointment to assist lead the hassle brings him again into the U.S. authorities, as he beforehand led the Trump administration’s DOGE effort for a number of months earlier than he had a serious falling out with the president.

“Undertaking Meridian will research the battlefields of the longer term, establish which weapons and applied sciences warfighters might want to harness to dominate in these environments, and suggest actionable options to begin growing, testing and fielding these capabilities,” Hegseth wrote in a memo.

The U.S. army may also launch a brand new combatant command for autonomous warfare, the Pentagon introduced. The brand new command, which should be approved by Congress, has a goal institution date of October 2027.

“This command will possess directed manpower, finances, acquisition authorities and create devoted army profession pathways for Officers and Enlisted personnel,” in response to a memo from the Pentagon.

The initiative comes because the Ukrainian army’s use of drones to defend in opposition to Russia’s invasion has revealed that low-cost know-how can remodel trendy warfare.

“Ukraine’s lesson is just not that one kind of drone wins wars however relatively the necessity for a purpose-built system that maximizes the flexibility to adapt,” Hegseth mentioned.

The Pentagon named Owen West, director of the Protection Innovation Unit, and Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser to guide the method till a four-star army officer can take command.

This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth launches seek for Pentagon’s ‘subsequent nice American base’