On the Horizon
Your association's board of directors looks to the future.
By Adm. Jerry Johnson, USN-Ret.

For the last four years, I've had the privilege of serving you on TROA's (now MOAA's) board of directors. I'm especially honored to serve as the new chairman as my 35 board colleagues and I continue our partnership with the dedicated MOAA staff to further your interests.

My professional experience as a sailor and aviator taught me to scan the horizon constantly, to maintain situational awareness, and to discern what targets of interest are in our area. So, what do we see on MOAA's horizon these days?

Our name change - to Military Officers Association of America, or MOAA (pronounced "M-O-A-A") - is a big step forward, and 90 percent of members who voted thought so and supported this important change. We will work hard to ensure that the name MOAA has the same recognition and pride of association that we enjoyed as TROA members. We're fully prepared to market our new name and use it in recruiting more and younger members. While we've eliminated the word "retired" from our name, our support for retirees and their families won't change in the slightest. We'll still be there for you, as we always have been. But removing that one word will lift a perceived barrier for those active duty, Guard, and Reserve officers who thought they weren't eligible for membership. We expect chapters will find it easier to recruit new members for the same reason.

We still have some tough legislative challenges ahead of us, but we have made some initial progress on the concurrent receipt front. At the 11th hour, Congress delivered a concurrent receipt provision that will provide relief for retirees disabled by combat and those severely disabled by other combat-related or operations-related incidents. While this falls well short of what we believe is fair, it does begin to address the inequity in a substantive way. We will continue the concurrent receipt campaign and closely track implementation of this new law.

But we'll also be putting major emphasis on improving the Survivor Benefit Plan, particularly for eligible widows age 62 and older; upgrading beneficiaries' access to military health coverage; and improving conditions for everyone who wears a military uniform today.

New products and services are also on our minds. The board recently approved two new services we think you'll appreciate. We'll soon offer an mbna America no-annual-fee credit card that will give you points to use toward airline travel and other products. And MOAA Wireless will help you choose a cell-phone service provider that offers coverage, prices, and features tailored to your needs.

In these uncertain financial times, the board of directors has renewed its pledge to discharge its fiduciary responsibilities with prudence. We have sufficient resources to operate and will continue to use those resources to your best advantage. The Finance and Investment committees meet regularly to ensure that the board's conservative fiscal and investment policies are followed consistently.

As I begin my two-year term as your chairman, I find the great team at MOAA to be well- staffed, on course, focused, and diligent. I look forward to meeting many of you at chapter meetings and other MOAA events, and I thank each of you for your active membership and continuing support.