MOAA chapter members back up their bumper stickers with programs that support our troops and their families.

By Kris Ann Hegle

Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Herrick, USNR-Ret., answered the call to serve his country when his unit was activated and sent to Iraq. Two months later, a mortar attack near Baghdad cost him his left leg and left him paralyzed from the neck down. /// The former Navy Seabee eventually wound up at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, Fla., where he spent 11 months recovering in the spinal cord injury unit. During this difficult period, his wife, Diana, stayed by his side. Although the petty officer’s medical bills were covered by the military, his spouse’s living expenses were not.
 
The Herricks were facing a massive burden both financially and emotionally. Fortunately, a program called Operation Helping Hand was there. Founded in May 2004 by members of the Tampa Chapter, Operation Helping Hand provides monetary assistance, in-kind donations, and emotional support to military families who spend weeks - sometimes months - in the Tampa area while their loved ones recover from their war wounds at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center.

“We hold dinners and give these families flowers, gift cards, and cash,” says Capt. Bob Silah, USN-Ret., chapter president and chair of Operation Helping Hand. “It feels good to see we’re helping someone who needs it.”

A core group of chapter members, including Silah, Lt. Col. Robert Sawallesh, USA-Ret., and Lt. David Lefavor, USN-Ret., who is a chaplain at the medical center, spends 20 hours each per week volunteering for Operation Helping Hand. The program also receives community support, with area civic and business leaders serving on the board of directors.

Articles praising the good work being done by Operation Helping Hand have appeared in several area newspapers, and Silah has been a guest on local TV and radio shows. In June 2005, the chapter received another accolade when Operation Helping Hand took top honors and a $10,000 grant at the annual Newman’s Own Awards, which are sponsored by Newman’s Own Inc., the Fisher House Foundation, and the Military Times Media Group. Soon after, both the chapter and Silah received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for their work through Operation Helping Hand.

Despite the accolades and attention, members of the Tampa Chapter remain focused on their goal - helping the families of wounded and injured military members. To date, Operation Helping Hand has assisted more than 200 military families.

Support those who serve

A growing number of MOAA chapters have started programs to support actively serving troops and their families. In Virginia, members of the Richmond Chapter launched their own Military Community Assistance Program, which helps deployed servicemembers and their families as well as area veterans.

In June 2005, several chapter members met with the executive officer and staff of the Army Reserve’s 80th Division in Richmond. Chapter members learned which legislative issues are important to members of the Army Reserve so they can lobby for them at the state and federal levels. Members also found out how they could help the division’s Family Readiness Group (FRG), which helps families meet the challenges of military life.

Since that meeting, the 640-member chapter has donated more than $1,155 to the FRG. The funds were used to send 150 care packages to servicemembers in the 80th Division’s 7th Brigade who deployed to Iraq. According to Cmdr. John Baumgarten, USN-Ret., immediate past president, the chapter is donating another $600 so the FRG can fund additional projects.
“Providing funding allows the FRG to establish its own priorities,” he says. “So far, they haven’t asked for anything we wouldn’t want to support.”

Chapter members also work with the Defense Supply Center Women’s Club to help meet the needs of hospitalized veterans at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond. In November 2005, members began bringing comfort care items veterans had requested to chapter meetings. These items then were collected and distributed by members of the Women’s Club at the medical center.

Smaller chapters, such as the Highland Lakes (Texas) Chapter, which has approximately 100 members, also are showing their support for deployed troops. For more than a year, members have been shipping packages to two active duty officers in Afghanistan who both have ties to the chapter.

“We’re happy to do it, and it doesn’t cost us much,” says Col. John Anderson, USAF-Ret., immediate past president of the chapter.

Members started the project after the chapter’s former vice president, an active duty National Guard officer who’s attached to a civil affairs unit, deployed to Afghanistan. The deployed officer’s wife still attends chapter meetings and relays requests from the unit to the chapter.

Interestingly, most members of the civil affairs unit don’t request items for themselves. Instead, they’ve asked chapter members to send them school supplies and children’s clothes, which are distributed to area villagers to promote goodwill. E-mail updates describing the work being done by the civil affairs unit appear in the chapter’s newsletter as well.

The Highland Lakes Chapter also has sent several boxes filled with comfort care items to an Army combat officer - the grandson of a former chapter president - who is stationed in Afghanistan.

Adopt soldiers and sailors

Members of the Tucson (Ariz.) Chapter have adopted three active duty units in the past year. In February 2005, the chapter adopted the 360th Transportation Company based in Fort Carson, Colo. Chapter members shipped 600 pounds of comfort care items to the company before it rotated stateside in November 2005.

The chapter then adopted and shipped comfort care items to members of the 447th Expeditionary Medical Service, based out of nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Chapter member Marilyn Savage’s son, Lt. Col. Donald Savage, USAF, serves in the 447th and rotated stateside in January 2006.

Currently, chapter members are sending comfort care items to a retired Air Force sergeant who works at Forward Air Base Bernstein near Kirkuk, Iraq. The retired sergeant, who now works for a U.S. civilian contractor doing business in Iraq, distributes the items to troops at the base.

“Every single item that goes into our care packages has a little label on it that says, ‘Thank you for serving - Tucson Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America,’ “ says Maj. Vern Pall, USAF-Ret., immediate past president of the chapter.

The Tucson Chapter also has become an outlet for others who want to support the troops, with the chapter collecting donations from a local casino, a sorority, and a Sertoma Club. According to President Lt. Gen. John Myers, USA-Ret., the chapter will continue to adopt deployed military units until the war ends.

In New Jersey, the 134 members of the Jersey Cape Chapter have adopted the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Monomoy. The chapter decided to adopt the Monomoy after its commanding officer, chapter member Lt. Adam Chamie, USCG, deployed to the Persian Gulf.

To date, members of the Jersey Cape Chapter have contributed $2,000 to the Monomoy fund. This money is used to buy movies, magazine subscriptions, candy, snacks, board games, holiday decorations, and supplies, which are shipped to the 22-member crew every month.

“It meant a lot to know that the chapter felt so connected to our crew and mission that they were willing to directly contribute to our morale and well-being throughout the tour,” says Chamie, who joined the chapter after receiving its Outstanding Junior Officer Award in 2004. “Most notable is the fact their contribution was not a one-time event. They send boxes to us nearly every month! To date, their support has been nothing short of extraordinary.”

Chamie writes monthly updates about the crew’s activities, which are published in the chapter’s newsletter. He also plans to address the chapter in May 2006 when he returns from his tour of duty. However, chapter members say they will continue to support the crew of the Monomoy even after Chamie returns to “help boast the coasties’ morale.”

Welcome the troops home

Giving troops a proper welcome home is important to veterans like Cmdr. John Sammons, USPHS-Ret., who is the vice president of the California Council of Chapters (CAL-MOAA) and a member of the Marin County (Calif.) Chapter. Sammons remembers the poor reception he received after serving his country in Vietnam.

“I was spat on in the San Francisco airport,” he says.When Sammons learned the 150 National Guard soldiers in the 250th Military Intelligence Battalion were headed home, he made sure they received a welcome they would always remember.

When the 250th was activated in October 2004, the Marin County Chapter decided to adopt the battalion. During its yearlong deployment, chapter members mailed the battalion comfort care items, Christmas cards, and educational supplies for an Iraqi school the 250th adopted. Chapter members also donated $1,000 to the battalion to cover shipping costs.

When the 250th rotated stateside in November 2005, chapter members changed the date of their regular monthly meeting so they could welcome them home. CAL-MOAA also got involved in what soon became a countywide effort to celebrate the battalion’s return.

Sammons threw himself into preparations, doing everything from negotiating reduced hotel rates for family members to building a stage for the event. Fellow chapter member Col. Jack Potter, USA-Ret., also worked hard to ensure the event’s success, collecting $1,000 from local veterans’ organizations. In addition, several state legislators agreed to speak at the welcome home ceremonies, including California’s Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II. Afterward, two local civic organizations joined with the Outback Steakhouse and catered a dinner.

“I was hell-bent and determined this group would get the welcome home they deserved, and they did,” says Sammons. “The expression on those soldiers’ faces was something everyone in attendance will always remember.”