Defense Community Awards

Executive Officer, Fort Ord Reuse Authority   Ford Ord, Calif., was one of the largest U.S. military bases to ever be shut down. It spanned 28,000 acres across three counties when it was closed Sept. 30, 1994. Since then, Michael  Houlemard ,...

Commander, 375th Communications Group, Scott Air Force Base    Air Force Col. Marc  Packler , commander of the 375th Communications Group at Scott Air Force Base, has catapulted the St. Clair County, Ill., region toward becoming a cybersecuri...

Governor, State of Alabama   Known as a champion for Alabama’s military installations and a steadfast supporter for men and women in uniform, Gov. Kay Ivey (R ) ,  has championed a variety of legislation to improve the lives of military membe...

A Legacy in the Sky By Barbara Bryant December 2017 was eventful for Randal  Efferson . He was promoted from colonel with the Alabama Air National Guard to brigadier general and named chief of staff of the Alabama ANG, and his duty station, Mon...

Planting Seeds to Cultivate Flourishing Partnerships   By Barbara Bryant Friends describe Jerry Stevenson as quiet, unassuming and self-deprecating, evidenced by his tendency to call himself “an onion farmer”—a reference to the type of...

Setting a High Bar in the Lowcountry By Barbara Bryant “Meet and don’t be afraid to ask those who head civic organizations and other civilian leaders for help and advice on the challenges you face. It’s a way to get some great ideas for solutions...

The Great Communicator AETC commander ensures that airmen and defense communities understand and are equipped to support the Air Force’s defense mission.   Lt. Gen. Darryl L. Roberson has flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, was a pi...

A Century of Mutual Benefit “YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?”    This monotonous question must have been music to the ears of soldiers at Fort Huachuca in 1975 when they visited the first McDonald’s franchise in the nation to feature a drive-through...

Pursuing Progress At Fort Polk In a previous life, Michael Reese might have been a cat herder. It would help explain his uncanny ability to work so closely with a huge number of people, not only locally, but throughout the state and region and wit...

A Spirit of Collaboration That's Easy to See NAS Whiting Field also enjoys its fair share of the more typical events many communities hold for the installations in their midst, says Capt. Todd  Bahlau , NAS Whiting Field’s commanding officer. Fo...

Putting Partnership at The Heart of Change As commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Col. John Devillier oversees 27,000 military and civilian personnel on the 4,000-acre installation near Dayton, Ohio. And somehow ...

Partnering for Common Benefit Military installations and their host communities can benefit from working together to solve shared problems and improve quality of life both on and off base. But using such partnerships not only to address routine iss...