Building Great Communities for Our Military

Grand Forks, North Dakota “ When airmen get orders that say they are going to Grand Forks, they don’t want to come here,” Tom Ford, the county government relations officer, admitted with a smile in his voice, “but then they fall in love with the ...

In Ju ly 2016, when Brig. Gen. Brook Leonard became commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base outside Glendale in Maricopa County, Ariz., he assumed responsibility for more than 5,300 military personnel and the base’s new mission of ...

By Andrea Downing Peck and Willona M. Sloan   All in a Day   Unemployed, on the verge of homelessness and estranged from the military for more than 25 years, Carla McCullough arrived at the fourth annual Glendale (Ariz.) Stand Up for Ve...

By Willona M. Sloan   Like many, those who serve want to make sure they and their families can be successful— and college is a big part of that. Whether it is making sure kids are ready for college, paying for it or getting the right degree to ...

By Andrea Downing Peck   Frequent moves can leave military families feeling disconnected, isolated and stressed. Innovative programs in three of this year’s Great American Defense Communities serve as examples of how communities can provide res...

Meet some of the people involved in the Adopt an Airman program Hampton, Virginia, operates with nearby Langley Air Force Base. This initiative is one of reasons the Hampton Roads Region was selected as a Class of 2017 Great American Defense Communi...

Stories from the 2018 Class of Great American Defense Communities ...

Clovis, New Mexico and Middle Georgia have great ideas for how defense communities can support military families. Both communities were named 2019 Great American Defense Communities by the Association of Defense Communities. ...

The Association of Defense Communities (ADC) covered the effort by Tyndall Air Force Base and the Bay County region to rebuild after Hurricane Michael. The storm hit the community in October of 2018. ...

Columbia, South Carolina and The North Country, New York work to bridge the military-civilian divide through innovative programs and initiatives. Both communities were named 2019 Great American Defense Communities by the Association of Defense Commu...