Field Reports
Contributors are Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret., Director; Col. Jim Pauls, USAF-Ret., Deputy Director, Council and Chapter Affairs, and Kris Ann Hegle.

Semper Paratus

Retired military servicemembers, their families, and their surviving spouses won a great legislative victory in 2004. After more than 10 years of struggle, the end of the fiscally devastating Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) offset is at hand. By April 2008 the offset of one-third of an annuitant’s share of retired pay will be history.

Although this is a cause for rejoicing, let me voice a word of caution. All MOAA members have a long history of fighting for our legislative goals. Achieving COLA equity, gaining the TRICARE For Life (TFL) and Senior Pharmacy (TSRx) health plans, putting an end to dual compensation prohibitions, partially correcting the inequities of concurrent receipt laws, and correcting the SBP are just some of the victories that come to mind. One would think that, after all these battles, after all these victories, we could sit back and relax. Wrong!

Our legislative battles probably will never be over. Military retirees and their dependents and survivors always have been easy targets for cost cutting. Perhaps it is because we follow orders. Cut or freeze a COLA, increase a health care copayment, make a disabled military retiree pay for his or her own disability, or reduce a surviving spouse’s share of the deceased servicemember’s retired pay. Just save that money. But through MOAA’s persistent legislative efforts and victories, we have proven we are a force to be reckoned with.

In the words of the U.S. Coast Guard, we must be always ready. Our legislative team at MOAA always is on the alert for another threat to our earned entitlements and benefits, and as in the past, they will be counting on you — our chapter members — to help them win whatever battle threatens us. When all is said and done, that’s what MOAA is all about.

— Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret. Director, Council and Chapter Affairs

Field Reports

Joint Chapter–Council Meetings Boost Membership

Members of the Illinois Council of Chapters are trying a new tactic to foster camaraderie among MOAA members in their state by holding joint chapter–council meetings. The members of the council, who meet three times a year, rotate the meetings among the state’s nine chapters.

“Holding council meetings at different locations stimulates interest in MOAA and boosts membership,” says Illinois Council of Chapters President Lt. Col. Duane J. Golvach, USA-Ret. “Usually, the chapter hosting the council meeting will have a larger-than-average turnout, and they’ll pick up some new members.”

In June 2004, a record number of members from the Little Egypt Chapter in Carbondale, Ill., turned out when the chapter hosted the Illinois Council of Chapters’ meeting.

In March 2004, the West Suburban Chicago Chapter and the North Shore and Chicago Chapter cohosted the council’s meeting. More than 140 chapter and council members attended the joint meeting, where they listened to Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, speak about legislation pending in the House that affects military members and their families. Members also used the opportunity to lobby Hastert to end the unfair “widows tax,” which reduces Survivor Benefit Plan annuities by one-third when the recipients reach age 62.

“We asked him to support legislation to end the widows tax, and when the time came, he did,” says Col. Richard Ringer, AUS-Ret., secretary of the West Suburban Chicago Chapter.

According to Golvach, holding meetings at different chapters has helped the council increase its political clout at both the federal and state levels. Council members are working with other military and veterans’ organizations in Illinois to lobby for medical tort reform and increase the number of Junior ROTC units in the state. The council also has its own scholarship program, which is funded by chapter members’ contributions.

“We’re really fortunate to have so many dynamic people in our council who are interested and really care about their chapters and who are working to increase their membership,” says Golvach. 

Kansas Council Celebrates MOAA’s 75th Anniversary

More than 175 members from the Kansas Council of Chapters gathered to celebrate MOAA’s 75th anniversary Aug. 15. The Kaw Valley Chapter hosted the event at the Holiday Inn Holidome in Topeka, Kan.

“It was a great ceremony,” says Kansas Council of Chapters President Maj. Gen. Jack Strukel, USA-Ret. “We had participation from all seven MOAA chapters in the state.”

During the celebration, chapter members met and spoke with Maj. Gen. Tod M. Bunting, adjutant general for the Kansas National Guard. Also in attendance was then-chairman of MOAA’s board of directors Adm. Jerry Johnson, USN-Ret., who was accompanied by his wife, Joy.

Johnson commended council and chapter members for working to strengthen the association and presented Levels of Excellence Awards to the leaders of several outstanding chapters. Kansas’ chapters made a strong showing in the recent awards competition, with three of the state’s seven chapters receiving a four- or five-star award. Several chapters also received new charters designating them as MOAA chapters rather than TROA chapters.

Anniversary certificates were presented to the Wichita Chapter, which was marking its 45th anniversary, and the Kansas Council of Chapters, which was marking its 30th anniversary. Members of the Wichita Chapter also presented council leaders with a proclamation from their city’s mayor congratulating MOAA on its 75th anniversary.

Northeast Texas Chapter Gains Momentum

Members of the Northeast Texas Chapter are trying to revitalize their chapter — and it’s working. The chapter, which was chartered in 1987, picked up 20-plus new members during the past year and has grown by more than 60 percent.

The chapter currently draws members from a seven-county area. Recently, the chapter began making plans to expand its jurisdiction into Rains County — an area not being served by any MOAA chapter. Chapter President Capt. John Biggerstaff, USAF-Ret., also is working to start a satellite chapter in Paris, Texas.

“About 30 to 35 officers live in that area,” says Biggerstaff. “We would certainly like to see a Paris satellite chapter form.”

The recruiting efforts of the Northeast Texas Chapter haven’t gone unnoticed. In June 2004, members hosted MOAA board of directors member Brig. Gen. J. Timothy Boddie Jr., USAF-Ret., and his wife, Mattye, at the chapter’s quarterly meeting. Boddie, his wife, and one of his sons returned in September to attend the chapter’s barbecue.

In November 2004, the chapter was picked to host the fourth-quarter meeting of the Texas Council of Chapters. Capt. John J. Wrann, USA, was the guest speaker at the event. Wrann currently is assigned to the Lubbock Recruiting Battalion and recently returned from Iraq, where he served for four months as the commander of Company C, 588th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division.

The chapter’s membership committee currently is making plans to send out letters of invitation to MOAA members in the area who have not yet joined a chapter. The committee also plans to target other retired, Reserve, active duty, National Guard, and former officers and auxiliary members who are eligible to join.

According to former Civil Air Patrol 2nd Lt. Billie Biggerstaff, editor of the chapter’s newsletter, The Network, the chapter’s 50 members often travel together, and there’s no shortage of camaraderie at chapter-sponsored events, which include a Fourth of July party, fish fries, and barbecues.

Pine Tree (Maine) Chapter Adopts an Iraqi Village

Members of the Pine Tree (Maine) Chapter are improving the lives of refugees in Iraq by participating in the “Adopt an Iraqi Village” project. Chapter members began contributing to the project last spring after reading a letter to the editor in Maine’s Portland Press Herald that was written by a member of the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineering Battalion. The letter asked residents to send clothing, toys, and other goods to the battalion, whose members would distribute them to impoverished families in northern Iraq.

According to Vice President Lt. Col. Urban A. Feero Jr., USAF-Ret., the chapter’s 320 members have sent three shipments to the battalion, filling dozens of boxes with children’s shoes, toys, and school supplies. Other chapter members have shown their support by making cash donations.

Members of the Pine Tree Chapter are working hard to forge closer bonds with area Guard units. Maj. Gen. John Libby, adjutant general of the Maine National Guard, spoke at the chapter’s November 2004 meeting. Maj. Andrew Gibson, a National Guard chaplain, also spoke and suggested several projects members could undertake to support the families of deployed guardmembers.

Less than a week later, chapter members participated in the Veterans Day Parade in Bangor, Maine. Pine Tree Chapter member Col. William Deering, USAR-Ret., helped organize the event, where residents and chapter members welcomed home returning Army guardmembers from the 112th Medical Company and the 1136th Transportation Company.

“We’re hoping our outreach efforts work and more guardmembers join our chapter,” says chapter president Lt. Col. George Pullen, USMC-Ret.

Pullen thinks the chapter has a lot to offer Guard and Reserve members, particularly when it comes to passing state legislation that benefits servicemembers and their families. Four years ago, members of the Pine Tree Chapter and the Southern Maine Chapter worked with the Maine Military Coalition to get legislation passed that exempted $6,000 in military retired pay from state income tax. Both MOAA chapters continue to work to get military retired pay fully exempted from state income tax — a move they think will bring more military retirees to Maine.

The Pine Tree Chapter also supports four local Junior ROTC units and two ROTC units. Members present MOAA medals to outstanding cadets each year, and two deserving ROTC students each receive a $1,000 college scholarship.