This year, we gather in Military Bay, USA™ — Tampa Bay, home to MacDill Air Force Base and a designated Great American Defense Community—where mission meets momentum and partnership is part of the culture.

Join the leaders building what’s next for America’s installations. Because national security starts at home—and it’s powered by the partnerships we build together.

This paper highlights the opportunity and outlines what becomes possible when spouses are recognized not as transient residents but as enduring contributors to community resilience and growth. Through the proposed solution-based framework of Connectedness, Integration, and Continuity (CIC), communities can move beyond symbolic support toward intentional, sustained engagement.

This article provides an in-depth, unclassified discussion of the emergent drone threat and the shared challenges it presents to defense communities mand their partner military installations. This discussion begins with an explanation of the nature of drone threats and the reason that they are considered emergent threats of high importance in defense-related contexts.