Former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino has urged Americans to prepare for a potential crisis by keeping food, water, power and other essential supplies at home.
Bongino said households should follow guidance issued in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, where governments have encouraged people to make arrangements for disruptions to essential services.
“Have yourself an emergency radio, have yourself some batteries, get yourself some emergency food, get yourself a rain collection and water filtration, some filtration tablets,” he said on his podcast.
“Get your stuff today. Please. Do it for your family,” he added.
Emergency preparedness warning for American households
Governments in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and France have advised households to keep supplies including food, water and medicines available in case of an emergency.
Updated guidance in Britain recommends that families keep enough essentials for three days, helping them cope if severe weather, cyber attacks or other disruptions interrupt everyday services. The UK Government launched its “Be Ready” campaign on October 22.
Bongino said preparing in advance could reduce anxiety and prevent families from being left without basic supplies when a crisis occurs.
“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. It’s not panicking or anything like that,” he said, adding that “panic kills” and urging people to plan for the worst-case scenario.
His comments came after details emerged of FORTRESS, a US plan intended to keep military forces operating and bases supplied for at least 90 days even if civilian infrastructure fails.
The proposals include portable nuclear reactors, large battery systems and independent local power grids to maintain essential operations during blackouts. Military bases would also be expected to retain independent access to electricity, water, fuel and communications.
Civilian factories could be prepared to switch to defence production, while supplies including ammunition, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical equipment would be stockpiled.
Critical military requirements would have at least two qualified supply or production options, to reduce the risk of a single supplier disrupting operations.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said: “We don’t want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense.”
Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and police officer, said the public should make similar preparations at home. “The Pentagon’s doing its job to keep our national security safe and make ‘Fortress America’. You have to make ‘Fortress my house’, ‘Fortress my apartment’,” he said.
He added: “Your neighbors are not going to have any extra food.”
The warning came as protests and riots were reported in Paris, Rome, Milan, Barcelona and Tirana, amid heightened tensions across Europe. Bongino said people with military experience would understand the importance of remaining calm during a crisis.
