Cpl. Danielle Aldrich, a landing support specialist with the 2nd Combat Logistics Battalion, directs a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook during an exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, on April 5, 2014.
Cpl. Danielle Aldrich, a landing support specialist with the 2nd Combat Logistics Battalion, directs a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook during an exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, on April 5, 2014. Lance Cpl. Sarah Blendowski

As Congress and the U.S. Department of Defense battle over possible base closures, many communities are preemptively defending their benefits to service members and their families — namely through high-quality public education. One poll of local leaders in areas primarily populated by military families found that 64.5 percent of respondents were actively working to improve school performance as a benefit to the standard quality of life. (Stars and Stripes)

Alex Samuels was a reporter for The Texas Tribune from 2017 to 2021. She helped with national campaign coverage, wrote stories about the intersection of race and politics in Texas, and covered the hottest...