MOAA: Chapter Activities (Field Reports)

Work Time

Congress hit military retirees with a double whammy last year: no relief from the inequities of the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) law — we still have to keep paying premiums way beyond the supposed 30-year cutoff period — and widows’ SBP payments still are offset by what they get in Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments.

What’s more, DoD is strongly considering instituting an enrollment fee and doubling the deductibles for TRICARE Standard and almost tripling the enrollment fees for TRICARE Prime. (Now, that’s what I call supporting the troops!)

What are we going to do about it? This is an election year, and this month our council presidents are coming to town for MOAA’s annual Storming the Hill campaign. We’ll remind our “stormers” that it’s time to get to work.

We’re going to present our senators and representatives with the facts, as we always do, about how military widows are having their SBP annuity reduced by what they receive from the VA in DIC payments — just the opposite of how it should be.

Stormers will explain that unless Congress does something to roll back the paid-up SBP premium date to 2006, there might not be any need to do so in the future, because most of those retirees who have been paying premiums in SBP for more than 30 years will be gone!

Finally, we have health care concerns to discuss, mentioned above. Some hard-fought victories are in jeopardy. Yes, Congress will hear from us that it is time to get to work, but please don’t forget that they also need to hear it from you.

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

Field Reports

Emerald Empire (Ore.) Ceremony Unites Vets and New Recruits

Members of the Emerald Empire Chapter in Eugene, Ore., joined with members of the Defense Education Committee to host a unique program for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. More than 100 people attended the Dec. 7 event, which brought together Pearl Harbor survivors and other World War II veterans, former POWs, and 30 new military enlistees.

Chapter President Brig. Gen. Norm Hoffman, ARNG-Ret., swore in the enlistees, who will be serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Chapter member Capt. Brian Peterson with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command coordinated the swearing-in ceremony with area recruiters; Lt. Col. Leonard Chase, AUS-Ret., served as chief planner; and Lt. Col. John Zollinger, USA-Ret., served as the master of ceremonies. Former Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey and local radio personality Richard Sturms spoke at the event, which received both newspaper and television coverage.

“I think it went very well,” said Col. Harry Hance, USAF-Ret., a chapter member and chair of the Defense Education Committee, which was founded in 1984 to encourage adequate spending on national defense. “We made the enlistees feel welcome by taking time to speak with them. At the end of the evening, the enlistees formed a reception line, and we shook their hands and offered our thanks and congratulations.”

Emerald Empire Chapter’s 184 members are involved in a variety of activities that pay tribute to military members and veterans. They support and plan Memorial Day ceremonies in Eugene and Springfield, Ore.; participate in a “Salute to Veterans” program at a local school; honor outstanding local ROTC students at an annual dinner ceremony; and collect and transport donated clothing to a local VA hospital.

In 2005, chapter members helped draft a mayoral proclamation to recognize a National Guard battalion that served with distinction in Iraq and assisted the National Committee for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). One member currently serves as an ESGR ombudsman and another chairs a state ESGR committee. According to Hoffman, members of the Emerald Empire Chapter are responsible for getting more than 40 area employers to sign an ESGR Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve last year.

Sandhills Hosts Navy Chief, Spurs Holiday Fund

More than 100 members of the Sandhills (N.C.) Chapter turned out to hear Navy Chief of Legislative Affairs Rear Adm. Mark Ferguson III speak during a Nov. 15 meeting. Ferguson described his duties, outlined the challenges facing active duty personnel, and discussed some of the new features that can be found on recently commissioned naval vessels.

“His talk was very good,” says chapter public affairs officer Lt. Col. Floyd Johnson, USA-Ret. “He gave us an update on pending legislation and told us how he serves as a liaison between servicemembers and their congressional representatives.”

Members of the Sandhills Chapter have hosted several high-profile speakers in the past few months, including Col. David E. Quantock, USA, acting chief of staff for the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., and MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., who inducted new officers during the chapter’s January 2006 meeting.

In addition, the chapter participated in MOAA’s “Give Me 10!” recruiting campaign. According to membership chair Maj. Bob Fazio Jr., USA-Ret., the chapter recruited 12 new national members during the campaign, including an active duty Army officer from Fort Bragg.

During the holiday season, the 452-member chapter ran the Empty Stocking Fund, a local charity that aids needy families in Moore County, N.C. The chapter took over the fund in 1999, when the fund was on the verge of folding. Each year members spend hundreds of hours interviewing and screening needy families who apply for aid through the Empty Stocking Fund and match them up with area donors and sponsors.

Col. Richard Curl, USA-Ret., cochaired this year’s Empty Stocking Fund drive with his wife, Pauli. Six other chapter members served on the fund’s committee, performing tasks ranging from soliciting donors to interviewing family members. Other members volunteered their time as needed.

Chapter members’ hard work, which started in September and went right through the holiday season, paid off. In 2005, the Empty Stocking Fund raised more than $29,000 and helped almost 4,000 needy people.

The chapter also has its own scholarship program, which provides four $2,000 scholarships to outstanding ROTC students each year.

Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Inducts Chapter Members

Eight MOAA members from five chapters in Arizona were among the 17 veterans inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame in Phoenix. More than 600 people attended the October 2005 induction ceremony, including dozens of chapter members from across the state.

Among those inducted with the class of 2005 were Coronado Chapter members Col. Duane Brofer, USA-Ret., and Maj. Gen. Gerd Grombacher, USA-Ret.; Superstition Mountain member Lt. Col. Lowell Fox, USAF-Ret.; Luke member 1st Lt. James Lay, USA-Ret.; Northern Arizona member Maj. John Tapia, AUS-Ret.; and Arizona members Maj. Michael Gannon, USAF-Ret., Col. Albert Rodriguez, AUS-Ret., and Col. Richard Minor, USA-Ret.

“I was really surprised they picked me,” says Minor, a Vietnam veteran who once worked for the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and now serves as the director of the Arizona Youth Leadership Conference. “I didn’t expect I could compete with some of the other people who were nominated.”

Being inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame is indeed an honor. The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame’s inaugural induction ceremony included 26 Medal of Honor recipients and 24 other distinguished Arizona veterans. With the induction of the class of 2005, membership now totals only 125 members. Arizona is one of only three states with a hall of fame recognizing veterans’ contributions to society that go above and beyond their military service. Typically, those inducted have volunteered countless hours in their local communities and to youth programs.

“From the very beginning, Arizona chapters embraced the opportunity to sustain the Arizona Hall of Fame, and each year we’ve nominated several MOAA members for consideration,” says national MOAA board of directors member Col. Chuck Schluter, ARNG-Ret., who also is a member of the Arizona Council of Chapters. “In 2002, the Arizona Council of Chapters donated the ceremonial service flags representative of each branch of the military. Recently, the leadership of the Unified Arizona Veterans, a coalition of veterans’ associations, again acknowledged its appreciation for continued Arizona MOAA participation.”

Suncoast (Fla.) Chapter Supports Students

Members of the Suncoast (Fla.) Chapter are helping support students attending Pasco-Hernando Community College in nearby New Port Richey, Fla. Recently, chapter members donated $3,000 to the college’s scholarship foundation. Thanks to the chapter’s contribution, the college received an additional $2,000 in matching funds from the state through the Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund (FAITF). Under this program, community college foundations receive $4 in state funds for every $6 they receive in private contributions.

“We chose a local college because there are a lot of service people in the area, and we wanted to help their families,” says chapter President Lt. Col. Don Church, USA-Ret. “It is our hope the college will provide annual scholarships to deserving military-connected students.”

The late Col. George P. Kinney, USAF, inspired his fellow chapter members to help deserving area college students when he donated a total of $32,000 to start an ROTC scholarship fund in the 1980s. The fund provided scholarships to outstanding ROTC students for several years. Because the fund was not self-sustaining, however, the balance dwindled. By 2000, only $3,000 remained in the fund.

Later that same year, the chapter took the remaining funds, combined them with $3,000 contributed by individual chapter members, and started a self-sustaining scholarship at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Under the FAITF, the state contributed another $4,000.

The 117-member chapter has donated $9,000 to the college’s scholarship foundation in the past five years, with matching contributions totaling an additional $6,000. Interest on the total $15,000 is used to pay students’ tuition.

In addition to providing scholarships to deserving students, Suncoast members support all seven Junior ROTC units in Pasco County, Fla. Each year, members present an MOAA medal and a check for $50 to the outstanding cadet in each unit.

Members also support Operation Helping Hand, a community service project started by the Tampa (Fla.) Chapter to help military family members who have a loved one recuperating at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa. Recently, members of the Suncoast Chapter donated 10 prepaid cell phones to patients at the medical center, along with several gift baskets.

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