WHY A DEFENSE ALLIANCE?
Advocate: 24 Commands and 15
Installations
Support: 56,000 active, reserve, guard
servicemembers, civilians and their families
Assist: Over 230,000 veterans in our 4 counties
Grow: Economic impact of $12.3B and 130K jobs
Enhance: Increased military missions and latest
advanced technology and equipment
Protect: Encroachment, realignment or BRAC
Promote: Value of our strategic location, training sites and installations
Need: Strong consistent, single voice to tell our story and change perceptions
Essential: United effort – local, state and federal
Largest MSA in Florida
30% of state population
32% of Florida’s GSP
34 of 120 State House Districts
12 of 40 State Senate Districts
9 of 27 Federal Districts
24+ Military Commands
15+ Installations
25,000 service-members
2 Major Seaports
2 Major Airports
Strategic Defense Location
Gateway to Americas
HISTORY
The South Florida Progress Foundation, the charitable arm of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) was recently awarded a Florida Defense Support Task Force grant to form the South Florida Defense Alliance, a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization, whose mission is to unite, grow, champion and represent our local defense community. The South Florida Defense Alliance will leverage the strong relationships and the successes that the GMCC’s Military Affairs Committee and the Miami-Dade County’s Military Affairs Board have achieved as being long-standing advocates for military presence, readiness, capability and growth in South Florida. Most importantly, it will work in concert with the many organizations throughout the county already supporting our precious military installations, commands, service-members and their families.
South Florida has a storied military history, hosting some of the nation's most important DoD assets and military commands. USSOUTHCOM, NAS Key West, Coast Guard District 7, MARFORSOUTH, Homestead Air Reserve Base and SOCSOUTH are just a handful of the many military institutions in our region that houses over 25,000 service-members. Creating a consistent voice for the various commands will bring much needed cohesion to an area whose enormous military presence goes almost entirely unnoticed. This alliance has been formed to unite, champion and grow the South Florida defense community, and since its formation in 2017, it has made strides in all 3 areas and will only continue to build on its successes.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Major, US Army
Director, Public Works,
Miami Lakes
CARLOS ACOSTA
MIKE GIALLOMBARDO
CEO, Total Intelligence Group
GREG JENNINGS
Commander, US Navy Reserve
STEVE WILLIAMSON
President
Colonel, US Army (Ret)
PAMELA BERKOWSKY
DENNIS DALEY