MOAA fights every day for the entire military community, and to preserve a strong national defense. Check out what we've had to say on the latest issues affecting active duty and retired servicemembers, and their families.
Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Military and Veterans Education Benefits
February 21, 2012 - Comprint Military Publications
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a veteran and Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today joined Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.)and a group of Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to improve the current laws regarding educational benefits for our nation's military service members and veterans.
Military branches can offer 15-year retirement
February 19, 2012 - Killeen Daily Herald
With the Army slated to cut
80,000 soldiers through attrition and other means during the next six years, a
lapsed force management tool has become available again.
Military pay raise plans could pinch troops' wallets
February 17, 2012 - Stars and Stripes
Troops could see their lowest pay raises in four decades — far below what their civilian peers will get — if proposed changes are made in the way military raises are calculated.
Military retirees ready to battle against health care cost hikes
February 15, 2012 - WVEC.com ABC 13
Veterans organizations and retirees are ready to do battle again. This time, the enemy is proposed increases in health care fees.
Legion, MOAA unhappy with 2013 budget
February 14, 2012 - MilitaryTimes
The nation’s largest veterans group and the biggest association for military officers wasted no time launching complaints about the 2013 defense budget unveiled on Monday.
Pentagon's $525B Budget Lists Cuts To Jets, Benefits
February 14, 2012- USA Today
An array of military programs, from fighter jets to retiree benefits, would be nicked to squeeze savings in the Pentagon's $525 billion budget for 2013, according to officials and documents released Monday
MOAA Offers Interest-Free Loans and Grants for Undergraduate Study
February 13, 2012 - PR News Now
More than 1,700 students, sons and daughters of military members who are currently or formerly serving, received up to ,500 each in interest-free loans or grants from the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) Scholarship Fund for the 2011-12 school year.
Pentagon Wants to Raise Some Retirees’ Health Fees
February 13, 2012 - The New York Times
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has warned that runaway personnel costs at the Pentagon are “unsustainable,” and on Monday he tried to put a big brake on the spending: Over the next five years the Defense Department plans to nearly quadruple the health insurance fees paid by many working-age military retirees.
State of Wisconsin and Milicruit Team up to Help Veterans Find Jobs
February 13, 2012 - WREX Channel 13
Governor Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Departments of Veterans Affairs, Workforce Development, and Military Affairs join forces with Milicruit to host a virtual career fair for service members, guard/reservist, veterans, and military spouses of Wisconsin to be held on March 22nd online at www.veteranscareerfair.com.
Budget puts military pension plan in cross hairs
January 23, 2012 - Pensions & Investments
Federal budget woes are forcing once-untouchable military pensions onto the cutting board as the Pentagon faces $450 billion in budget cuts over the next decade and an unfunded pension liability expected to hit $2.7 trillion by 2034.
Where is the Military Family Readiness Council?
January 20, 2012 - Stars and Stripes
The following is part of an occasional series of guest columns highlighting the concerns of veterans and military support groups. Karen Golden is a Marine spouse and deputy director for military family issues and government relations with the Military Officers Association of America.
Supplemental insurance may make a comeback
January 23, 2012 - Military Times 2012 Insurance Guide
Price increases for TRICOR Prime could drive demand.
Look at total picture when considering spouse policy.
January 23, 2012 - Military Times 2012 Insurance Guide
Active-duty members may not focus on insuring their civilian spouses, because the service member may be the one earning the most money – and the one with the most dangerous job.
Managing your banking relationships
January 19, 2012 - Association TRENDS
It may be a good time to review your current banking relationships. Do you know what your association is really worth to your bankers? Annual treasury fees, loan-related interest expense and loan fees can add up to tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Military Coalition’s goal: Hold ground on benefits
January 16, 2012 - Military Times
Group hopes to protect as much as possible from looming budget cuts.
Early Retirement Could Be Bad Deal for Troops
January 16, 2012 - Military.com
Servicemembers who accept a 15-year retirement incentive approved by Congress this month stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of their retirement payments, according to early estimates.
Suicide Rate Drops but Veterans Still Struggle to Get Mental Health Care
January 10, 2012 - US Medicine
Washington — Reports about suicide prevention constantly focus on the difficulty veterans have in receiving mental healthcare, even though the suicide rate is dropping.
2012 Should Be the Year of the Veteran and Military Spouse
January 10, 2012 - Huffington Post
With 2011 marking the year that we finally brought our troops home from Iraq, I think it is critical that we take the time to not only thank the men and women who served the nation during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but to also do everything we can to help those who are leaving active duty and looking to re-enter the civilian world.
Don't Punish Beneficiaries For Leaders' Failures
January 7, 2012 - The Boston Globe
Your JAN. 2 editorial “Pentagon should do more cutting, less complaining about budget’’ recommends raising health premiums in order to manage cost increases. Besides the fact that military TRICARE premiums and pharmacy copayments increased Oct. 1 for certain enrollees, too many observers overlook that military people pay huge up-front premiums for their health care through decades of arduous service and sacrifice.
Why Panetta's Pentagon Cuts Are Easier Than You Think
January 4, 2012 - Foreign Affairs
This week, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is expected to announce a strategy for cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from the defense budget. Civilian and military leaders have reacted with apocalyptic warnings, decrying the disastrous impact such cuts will have. They claim that without proper resources the United States will not be able to protect its interests around the globe.
Troops' advocate: War-spawned medical issues a growing problem
December 6, 2011 – The Hill
The Military Officers Association of America told lawmakers Tuesday that a decade of war has created medical issues that will stretch U.S. health systems “for generations to come.”
What is the V.A. doing to prevent veteran suicides?
December 2, 2011 - WTOP
Cdr. René Campos, USN-Ret., Deputy Director of Government Relations, was interviewed by Dave McConnell, WTOP's Capitol Hill Correspondent, after her testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Health subcommittee on Friday, Dec 2nd.
MOAA in The Washington Times
November 23, 2011 - The Washington Times
I just returned from a trip to Afghanistan. As I saw on previous trips to Iraq, America’s troops are performing an extremely tough mission with an extraordinary level of commitment and sacrifice.
McCain proposal would raise Tricare fees
November 30, 2011 - The Washington Post
After years of lobbying by the Pentagon, health insurance fees for working-age military retirees jumped Oct. 1.
Tips to stand out during a job interview
November 8, 2011 - Stars and Stripes
That first civilian job interview can make even the most seasoned combat veterans break out in a cold sweat. “I’ve got junior officers and guys with 30 years confessing to me that they’re nervous about going in there,” said retired Col. Dick Crampton, director of the Military Officers Association of America’s jobs placement services. “It’s unfamiliar. They’re used to military life. So, they worry.”
A great resume can be the first step to do a great job
November 8, 2011 - Stars and Stripes
If you’ve been to a military job fair, you’ve seen them: battalions of freshly scrubbed candidates with folders of paper in all the conservative colors of the resume rainbow — white, off-white, light beige.
One of the Hot-Button Issus in the DoD Spending Debate
October 25, 2011 - Politico
One of the hot-button issues in the DoD spending debate is what to do about military retirement
Groups urge TRICARE to provide credit monitoring for victims of records theft
October 3, 2011 - Government Executive
The two largest associations for military officers urged TRICARE to provide credit and identity theft monitoring services to the 4.9 million beneficiaries whose personnel information was recorded on backup computer tapes stolen in September.
Invisible injuries of war to be felt for decades
September 29, 2011 - Stars & Stripes
Sixty-six percent of the most seriously wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have “invisible” injuries of brain trauma or post-traumatic stress, which their families and society will be dealing with at great cost for decades, said Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff.
The Pentagon Budget, Under Scrutiny
The New York Times - September 29, 2011
Four letters respond to an editorial on the Pentagon's budget and the U.S. deficit
Job Fair Helps Military Transition to Civilian Life
September 27, 2011 - Fox 5 WTTG
Hundreds of newly and soon-to-be retired military men and women converged on the Washington Convention Center Tuesday. They're taking part in a career fair designed to help them transition more easily into the civilian job market.
Veteran's career fair attracts a thousand former service members
September 27, 2011 - WJLA, ABC 7 News
Almost a thousand former military service members looking for a job came to a career fair for veterans and their spouses Tuesday. The veterans met with 100 potential employers at the fair hosted by the Military Officers Association of America.
Will Military Pensions, Health Care Face Cuts?
September 19, 2011 - Fox Business Channel
MOAA's Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret. appeared on Lou Dobb's Tonight on the Fox Business Channel Monday night to discuss the President's proposal on military retirement.
Benefits for the Military Could Face Cuts
September 18, 2011 - The New York Times
As Washington looks to squeeze savings from once-sacrosanct entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, another big social welfare system is growing as rapidly, but with far less scrutiny: the health and pension benefits of military retirees.
Military Has New Threat: Health Care Costs
June 7, 2011 - NPR
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that pension and health care costs are eating the U.S. military alive. And the Pentagon predicts that the cost of taking care of its troops and retirees will keep growing.