From readiness to resilience: Two decades of extreme weather impacts on U.S. military infrastructure

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Public Affairs team conducts drone operations ahead of Winter Storm Fern to provide the Flood Risk Management Division with updated aerial footage. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District photo by Jeremy Todd)

By Dr. Emily Pesicka and Ella Nightengale-Luhan • Feb 20, 2026

Over the past two decades, extreme weather events have occurred with increasing frequency, severity, and geographic reach. Globally, the period from roughly 2005 to 2025 has been marked by a notable escalation in high-impact hazards—ranging from catastrophic hurricanes and inland flooding to large-scale wildfires, prolonged drought, and compounding heat extremes. These events have been amplified by broader climatological shifts that are reshaping baseline environmental conditions, increasing the likelihood that once-rare disruptions now pose chronic and systemic risks. As these hazards accelerate, their consequences extend well beyond civilian communities and economic infrastructure, directly affecting institutions central to national security.

US military installations—whether large coastal hubs, inland training ranges, logistics nodes, or forward-operating bases—function as essential national infrastructure. They host critical assets, serve as staging areas for operations, enable global force projection, and support the daily readiness of service members. Because these installations often sit in regions of strategic value that are also highly exposed to environmental hazards—coastal zones, river basins, arid regions, and fire-prone landscapes—they face an increasingly complex risk environment. Damage to installation infrastructure, disruptions to training and operations, and stress on energy and water systems can quickly cascade into broader challenges for mission assurance and force readiness.

The strategic relevance of these extreme weather event disruptions is profound. Extreme weather events have repeatedly curtailed or delayed operational activities, reduced training availability, and forced the relocation of high-value assets. They have strained already-pressured maintenance and modernization budgets, compromised installation energy resilience, and placed additional burdens on the military and surrounding communities during recovery. More fundamentally, these disruptions threaten the Department of Defense’s (DoD) capability to maintain a stable, ready, and forward-leaning posture amid evolving geopolitical competition.