Thought Leadership
Security engineering isn’t learned in classrooms alone. It’s shaped in the real world, where theory meets the practical demands of volatile environments.
While I was serving as an Army Engineer officer in Iraq, we quickly discovered that physical defenses alone—high walls, barbed wire, and checkpoints—were insufficient for creating real security. While these measures kept us secure inside the perimeter, they didn’t solve the problem of keeping us safe beyond the wire.
The breakthrough came when we expanded our thinking beyond isolation. Engaging with local communities, building trust, and fostering collaboration improved our security far more effectively than physical barriers ever could.
Today, the same principle applies on a larger scale. Security is no longer confined to what happens inside a base. The interconnected nature of critical infrastructure—cyber networks, water systems, and energy grids—demands a more holistic approach to resilience. Vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructure can affect military operations as quickly as an adversarial force.
By expanding our mindset beyond traditional notions of security and incorporating a collaborative, community-based approach, we can protect our military assets and ensure the resilience of the communities surrounding and supporting them.
The expanding scope of security
A lot of people who have driven on to a military facility will notice a difference once they cross the threshold. Sometimes, you go from a thriving community to an aging base, sometimes it’s the other way around. We need to recognize that the base is part of the community, and the community is part of the base.
Military installations increasingly depend on civilian infrastructure, and the two systems are intertwined. A failure in one can have profound consequences on the other.
The traditional idea of military security—hardened defenses, fortified borders, and secured assets—is evolving. While these physical protections remain essential, modern threats have expanded the boundaries of what we must consider secure to critical civilian infrastructures, from water systems and energy grids to transportation networks and cybersecurity protocols. Geopolitical tensions, climate-related disasters, and the increasingly digital nature of our world mean that vulnerabilities in one can ripple across the others.
Tyndall Air Force Base provides a glimpse into the benefits of an expanded understanding of security. After being devastated by Hurricane Michael, we didn’t just rebuild the base’s physical structures.
We reimagined its infrastructure, incorporating nature-based solutions like tidal marsh restoration and barrier island reinforcement to create resilience, enhance traditional systems, and further promote environmental growth and sustainment. These efforts protect the base from future storms and enhance the surrounding environment, benefiting military operations and the local civilian community in a way that is both functional and pleasing to the eye.
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In October 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base suffered total asset loss from a Category 5 hurricane.
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We’re helping them rebuild a resilient, sustainable, and smart "Installation of the Future," using innovative, interconnected solutions to ensure mission assurance, cost efficiency, and sustainability.
Shared challenges
Military installations' challenges are not unique, as civilian infrastructure faces many of the same issues: aging systems, budgetary constraints, and the need to modernize in the face of emerging threats. Nor are the difficulties in promoting the joined-up thinking needed to create mutually beneficial solutions; we've all seen a freshly laid sidewalk torn up weeks later to lay a pipe or wire.
Changing our mindset is only the first step. There are many friction points, such as differing technical or quality requirements, reporting standards, etc., but none are insurmountable.
One more significant obstacle to closer collaboration between military infrastructure leaders and their civilian counterparts is the differing priorities and operational structures that govern these systems.
These seemingly differing priorities can create barriers to communication and alignment, but they don't have to. Collaboration can happen, and the results are mutually beneficial when it does. Still, it requires a shared vision and ongoing dialogue to meet both sides’ needs.
We need to learn from projects demonstrating this balance. For instance, at Fort Moore, formerly known as Fort Benning, the Army partnered with Columbus Water Works to build a water resource facility that balances the need for security, redundancy, and reliability while also providing safe drinking water for the local community.
The goal wasn’t just to create resilience for military bases and develop a system that benefited the entire region. The military and civilian populations became more secure by creating redundancies and shared resources. This kind of cross-sector collaboration is essential in preparing for future threats, whether they come in the form of natural disasters, cyberattacks, or geopolitical conflicts.
Taking the lead
As is often the case with infrastructure, the crux comes down to money. Financial regulations and budgetary constraints usually limit the military’s ability to work more closely with civilian infrastructure projects.
The Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) has made strides in facilitating discussions and awarding grants, such as the $100 million in Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) funds distributed in 2020.
But too often, funding is fragmented. This is where policymakers and political leaders in Congress can step in and consider reforms that would allow for more flexible and integrated funding mechanisms.
For example, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been successful in sectors like energy, transportation and water.
Consider what was achieved by our partnership with the Army at Fort Irwin, driven by the need to provide a sustainable water supply in an extremely arid region in the Mojave Desert. The Army engaged Jacobs to design, then own and operate a new water treatment plant that brought the best of the private sector’s capacity for innovative and resilient infrastructure solutions, while supporting military operations and local resilience. The result is one of the Army's most efficient water treatment facilities that will provide safe, pure drinking water at low energy cost and extend the Fort Irwin water supply for up to sixty years.
Similar models could be applied to infrastructure resilience projects that benefit both military installations and civilian communities.
Additionally, the procurement processes governing military spending on infrastructure projects must be streamlined. Due to the complexity of the defense acquisition process, military leaders often face significant challenges when attempting to purchase resiliency products or services from private industry.
More streamlined procurement processes could enable the military to adopt cutting-edge resiliency technologies more quickly, benefiting military operations and the surrounding communities.
The military is uniquely positioned to lead the way in demonstrating how cooperation with civilian communities can be mutually beneficial. Military installations are often some of the largest employers in their regions, and their infrastructure needs frequently overlap with those of the surrounding civilian population.
Whether water systems, energy grids, or transportation networks, military and civilian systems are increasingly interconnected. By taking a leadership role in fostering these partnerships, the military can set an example of how cross-sector collaboration can enhance resilience for both sides.
The Army Corps of Engineers civil works program is one example of how the military can engage with civilian partners to develop shared infrastructure solutions. Taking these basic tenets of partnership and extending them further into shared infrastructure solutions would go a long way in promoting the goal of mutual resilience.
The Army Corps Environmental Infrastructure Program, also known as Section 219 of the 1992 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), as amended, authorizes the Corps to assist non-Federal interests in carrying out water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects. Such assistance may be in the form of technical, planning, and design assistance for water supply and storage, treatment and distribution systems, and wastewater treatment systems, including treatment plants.
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Image courtesy of Jon Green
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To save precious water in a drought-ridden region of the Mojave Desert, the U.S. Army engaged Jacobs to design, then own and operate, a new water treatment plant, the Irwin Water Works.
Thinking beyond the wire
As the line between military and civilian infrastructure continues to blur, the threats we face are too complex for old security models. Security requires collaboration, lateral thinking, and innovation.
By integrating nature-based solutions, AI-driven infrastructure design, modular energy systems, and cross-sector partnerships, we can create resilient systems that are flexible, adaptable, and capable of responding to future challenges.
The future of military engineering will depend on our ability to think beyond the wire. By embracing a holistic approach to security that includes physical protection and environmental, digital, and community resilience, we can ensure that military installations—and the communities around them—are prepared for whatever the future holds.
Security is not just about building walls; it’s about building bridges—between sectors, systems, and communities. By leading the way in this collaborative effort, the military can show how cooperation with communities can enhance resilience for all.
This article originally appeared in the Army Engineer Magazine and is republished here with permission: Page 26