Civilian data centers face massive pushback. Army says they won’t ‘repeat that mistake’
Source: Task & Purpose
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Army leaders said they’ve watched the public outcry around data centers and are planning to get ahead of it as the service signs agreements to host them on bases.
In March, the Army announced that it selected two global investment firms to partner with to build and manage commercial data centers on underused land at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Contracting documents also indicate plans for centers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Hood, Texas.
Across the U.S., there are more than 1,300 data centers in operation and almost 2,600 other projects planned. Proposed projects in civilian communities have faced major public backlash, protests and in some cases have led to entire data centers being cancelled. According to Data Center Watch, $64 billion-worth of data center projects were blocked or delayed due to local opposition between May 2024 and March 2025.
“We have definitely taken note of the struggles that developers have had outside the gate who have not adequately engaged with the communities,” W. Jordan Gillis, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, said Monday at a roundtable with reporters at the Association of the United States Army convention in Washington, D.C. “We intend to not repeat that mistake.”
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Gillis said any time the service has plans outside of “normal” military construction projects, they aim to engage with the military families on bases. When pressed for specifics on what that engagement would look like, Gillis said “don’t know yet,” but added that “you can imagine lots of community leadership roundtables, lots of community open houses.”
Gillis said the Army or the private companies they’re working with have not broken ground on any of the projects and they’re still in the “agreement phase.” He said they don’t have any other projects to announce, but they’ll “continue to look at” other awards.
The Army’s project would serve as civilian power generation and other Army needs. Former Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said the centers would be a “critical resource to support that strategic imperative.” Data centers supply infrastructure for a host of digital services like artificial intelligence, cloud storage and high-performance computing.
But beyond local community pushback, federal lawmakers have also raised concerns about their strain on local energy grids and resources, and the degradation to surrounding environments.
“It can do no harm, both to missions, families, to consultants, to installation, to our infrastructure,” Gillis said. “So we’re open to hosting them, and definitely support the national imperative to promulgate them and serve other users and the Army.”
The post Civilian data centers face massive pushback. Army says they won’t ‘repeat that mistake’ appeared first on Task & Purpose.
Classification
Region
North America
Analytical Domain
Strategic
Primary Category / Secondary Categories
Political-Military / Logistics
SALUTE Report
Size
Not specified
Activity
Army leaders are planning to host commercial data centers on military bases to avoid public backlash.
Location
Fort Bliss · Dugway Proving Ground · Fort Bragg · Fort Hood
Unit
U.S. Army
Time
March 2024
Equipment
data centers
Summary
Army leaders announced plans to host commercial data centers at Fort Bliss, Dugway Proving Ground, Fort Bragg, and Fort Hood to mitigate public backlash. They aim to engage with local communities and military families during the agreement phase of these projects, which are intended to support both civilian and military needs. The Army has noted significant public opposition to similar projects in civilian areas.
Key Facts
- The Army selected two global investment firms to build and manage data centers on military bases.
- Data centers are planned for Fort Bliss, Dugway Proving Ground, Fort Bragg, and Fort Hood.
- Public backlash has led to the cancellation of several data center projects in civilian communities.
- The Army aims to engage with military families and local communities regarding these projects.
- Data centers are seen as critical resources for digital services and military needs.