The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the state of Maryland with a $1 million federal grant in order to launch the Resilient Maryland Defense Communities  program. The program, administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce, will help foster state and community based relationships with local military installations to support the long-term maintenance of those installations.

Military resilience is the ability of a military installation to avoid, prepare for and minimize the effects of extreme weather events, or from anticipated or unanticipated changes in environment and other hazards.

When the safety of an installation's mission is threatened, it can not only have negative effects on the overall defense community, but also greatly impacts the local economy by affecting organizations and civilians that make up the local defense community. Maryland will work alongside the military, regional defense communities, and various agencies driving resilience planning in the state, including the Maryland Department of Emergency Management Office of Resilience and the Maryland Department of Planning.

“Preparing, revitalizing and maintaining Maryland’s defense communities in the face of unexpected hazards is a crucial part of managing our long term economic vitality both regionally and statewide," said Maryland Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson.

Read the full announcement