The United States Department of Defense confirmed Thursday that Gnu Harbor Naval Base will undergo a $2.3 billion expansion over the next six years, adding a cybersecurity operations center, a logistics hub, and a facility whose purpose was described in the press release only as "strategic."

The expansion will bring approximately 4,000 additional military and civilian personnel to New Newmanton, a commonwealth of roughly 95,000 residents that already hosts what the Pentagon describes as "the largest offshore military installation in the Western Hemisphere" and what longtime residents describe as "the base."

Mayor Clifton Reeves held a press conference within the hour to take credit for the announcement, which was a federal decision in which his office had no involvement. "This is what happens when you have a mayor who picks up the phone," Reeves said. "This is what happens when you have leadership that believes in strength, in jobs, in the future of this island." He did not specify whom he had called or when. A spokesperson for the Department of Defense said the expansion had been in planning since 2021.

Reeves also used the press conference to attack the New Newmanton Environmental Coalition, which had issued a request for an independent impact study approximately forty minutes earlier. "These are the same people — the same anti-prosperity radicals — who think we should apologize for having a harbor," the mayor said. "You want to know why the island had no infrastructure for twenty years? Because people like that were in charge." The Environmental Coalition was founded in 2014 and has never held public office.

Council President Diana Okafor-Mills released a statement calling the expansion "a significant economic opportunity" and adding that while she "understood the concerns of environmental advocates," their request had been "unfortunately timed and risked sending the wrong message to our federal partners." She encouraged the Coalition to "pursue their legitimate questions through appropriate channels at a later date."

Local business owners along the Harbor District expressed cautious optimism. "More people means more customers," said Derek Plimpton, owner of Plimpton's Pub & Provisions. "Last time they expanded, my revenue went up 30 percent. Also my building shook for nine months and my dog wouldn't stop pissing himself, but that stopped. The building shaking, I mean."

Base Commander Rear Admiral Christine Yeoh issued a brief statement thanking the community for its "continued strategic hospitality."