Charleston among eight Great American Defense Communities

For contributing to the well-being of service members and their families, the Defense Department's Joint Base Charleston recently was recognized as one of eight “Great American Defense Communities” by the Association of Defense Communities.

Charleston’s military community, like the others, was selected by a panel of experts and community advocates on criteria that included education, professional opportunity, housing, deployment support services and community appreciation, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, a member of the ADC. said. The base was nominated for the honor by the chamber with widespread local support from civic and other organizations, the chamber said on its website.

"We are proud that the Lowcountry community has been honored," Mary Graham, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s chief advancement officer, said in the article. "This designation validates the many organizations and individuals who contribute their unwavering support to our service members, veterans and military families who live and serve in the Lowcountry."

Additional recipients of the designation were Joint Base San Antonio and Fort Hood, both in Texas; Fort Campbell in Kentucky; Luke Air Fore Base and Fort Huachuca, both in Arizona; and military installations in Virginia and Connecticut, the article said.

Each of the designated areas will host a local event celebrating the designation, with a special summit scheduled in Washington, D.C., in June.

The honor was first established last year in partnership with the House and Senate Defense Communities Caucuses as a way to highlight the extraordinary efforts which communities at the city, county and regional levels make life comfortable for active duty service people, retired members of the military and their families, the chamber article said.

“All eight in the 2017 class of honorees truly embody the ideals this initiative was designed to celebrate — making host communities for our nation’s military installations ‘Great Places to Call Home,’” ADC President Mike Cooper said in an ADC release.