2009/04/21 00:00:00
Shinseki Addresses MOAA Council Presidents
Photo by Steve Barrett
MOAA Council Presidents’ Seminar participants and spouses were treated to a special keynote speaker at today’s luncheon. Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, USA-Ret., addressed a packed room in Alexandria, Va.
Shinseki, who’d been retired for several years before being appointed by President Obama, said his new post was “a noble opportunity to give back.” He noted the similarities in Army and VA missions — ensuring servicemembers were properly taken care of.
Shinseki outlined the many hurdles the VA currently faces, particularly the backlog in cases. He referenced the fact that health problems such as Agent Orange, whose origins were more than 30 and 40 years ago, are just now being addressed and attributed to many servicemembers’ health problems. It is important, he said, to make sure these sorts of decades-long backlogs don’t occur with today’s current crop of returning servicemembers, particularly with injuries unique to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We need to be more responsive to the pressing needs of today. My question: if we [the VA] had been more receptive then … we might not be in this backlog today,” he said. “The [current] process that we have … doesn’t serve our clients.”
Shinseki also discussed a program to develop an electronic patient file-sharing system between DoD and the VA. Although Shinseki was unable to give a timeline of when that system would be operating, he stressed the importance of different agencies working with one another. “We must and will cultivate these relationships.”
“There is more the VA can and will be doing,” he said.
After a brief question-and-answer period, Chairman of the Board Gen. Richard I. Neal, USMC-Ret., thanked Shinseki and reminded him that in future VA endeavors, “You’ve got one powerful voice behind you and that’s this membership.”
Rep. Joe Wilson Joins MOAA at Council Presidents’ Dinner
Photo by Steve Barrett
MOAA chapter council presidents and their spouses joined MOAA national staff and friends Wednesday evening for the MOAA Council Presidents’ Dinner with keynote speaker Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).
After dinner, Chairman of the Board Gen. Richard I. Neal, USMC-Ret., introduced Wilson. Wilson, who has served with the U.S. Army Reserve and the South Carolina National Guard, has several significant military ties in his district, including Fort Jackson. Wilson is a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and has been an active supporter of various issues important to MOAA’s mission, including maintaining a strong national defense.
Wilson recently returned from his 10th trip to Iraq and eighth to Afghanistan. “The greatest honor I have, truly, is visiting our young people overseas,” he said. While abroad, Wilson was able to view firsthand “the equipment that we have for our military is the best ever.” He expressed his admiration for the troops deployed in those countries and the dedication with which they serve.
He also shared his views on the progress that’s been made in Iraq thus far and especially what improved security will mean for the country. “With security, a civil society can be developed. … somehow, a federal government is being created in that [Iraq] country.”
Wilson expressed his hopes that the current troop surge in Afghanistan will help bring the country to stabilization levels similar to Iraq. “There’s extensive hope that security can be provided. … We’re chipping away at making progress.”
MOAA Leaders Storm the Hill
More than 140 MOAA leaders “stormed” Capitol Hill – literally in the rain – on April 22 to visit nearly every congressional office and urge their legislators to support MOAA’s goals on health care, concurrent receipt, survivor benefits, military force levels and pay raises. The Hill-stormers included state council leaders, national board members and headquarters staff, and members of MOAA’s active duty, Guard, and Reserve; spouse; and auxiliary advisory committees. (Want one of those MOAA umbrellas?) Photo by Steve Barrett and Sean Shanahan.
Despite morning rain showers, MOAA’s national staff and state council leaders gathered at Capitol Hill today to lobby congressional leaders on the issues especially important to MOAA in 2009.
Chapter representatives from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, along with their national MOAA partners, visited each congressional office on the Hill to meet with legislators and staffers. Teams were hoping to gain legislators’ support on several key bills, including HR 775 and HR 816 in the House and S. 535 and S. 546 in the Senate. Legislators also were urged to sustain full force increases and authorize a 3.4 percent military raise.
MOAA Gives Recognition
Photo by Steve Barrett.
MOAA staff, chapter members, and friends gathered at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., tonight to honor seven individuals and one organization that consistently have been strong supporters of the U.S. servicemembers.
Presented by Chairman of the Board of Directors Gen. Richard I. Neal, USMC-Ret., three awards were given. The Col. Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award was to Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.), and Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA).
Upon accepting his award, Webb praised the work of MOAA in the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the bipartisan efforts in Congress to have it passed. “It was a great day when that piece of legislation was signed,” he said.
McHugh, who just returned from his 10th trip to Iraq and his fourth to Afghanistan, shared how impressed he was with the deployed servicemembers and the dedication with which they serve. “That has really been the prime motivator [for me],” he said.
MOAA’s Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals or organizations that have supported MOAA’s mission of a strong national defense and have been allies for servicemembers. This year, one company and two individuals received the award. Mike Rock accepted the award on behalf of Union Pacific, a railroad company that actively recruits and hires servicemembers.
Tom Day, founder of Bugles Across America, also was honored. Day began the organization in 2000 with the mission of providing each veteran with a live bugler at his or her funeral. Since then, he has played at more than 4,000 funerals and has more than 6,000 buglists playing around the country.
Country singer Toby Keith received the Distinguished Service Award as well. Accepting the award just hours before embarking on his second tour of Afghanistan and Iraq to entertain servicemembers, Keith admitted that he hopes to “set an example” for other celebrities by supporting the armed forces. He called the tours his “labor of love” and recognized the relationships he’s been able to establish through his work — not only with servicemembers, but with their families as well. Listen to Keith discuss his overseas visit in a WMZQ radio interview and check out the blog of his current USO tour.
The Col. Paul W. Arcari Meritorious Service Award honors congressional staff members who have made significant contributions to the military community through their behind-the-scenes work on the hill. This year, Jeannette James and David Kildee, both staff members of the House Armed Services Committee, received the awards.
Check out more photos of this event here.
MOAA Gets Ready to Storm the Hill
MOAA’s “storming the hill” state teams, comprised of national MOAA staff and state chapter members, met this afternoon for an overview of the issues teams will lobby congressional leaders about tomorrow as MOAA takes over Capitol Hill for the day.
Led by MOAA Director of Government Relations Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., teams were briefed on three major points MOAA is fighting for this year: barring disproportional TRICARE fee hikes for military retiree health coverage, eliminating financial penalties for military-caused disabilities and deaths for military widows and disabled retirees, and sustaining the defense budget for both people and weapons needs.
