(This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members who can log in to access our digital version and archive. Basic members can save on a membership upgrade and access the magazine.)

Our association turns 97 this month — just three years shy of our centennial.

Thank you for helping to keep our association strong and for sustaining a mission launched Feb. 23, 1929, with a small cadre of retired officers in Los Angeles. Created as The Retired Officers Association, we moved in 1944, bringing our mission closer to Washington, D.C., where we could more easily meet face-to-face with our nation’s lawmakers and service leaders. Then in 2002, we recognized the need to expand our membership and became the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) to reflect our mission of covering the full scope of the uniformed service and veteran communities across all ranks and branches.

Our unified voice through the years has led to such victories as:

• Supporting bills that led to the creation of Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services, now TRICARE (1966).
• Supporting termination of the unpopular Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan and the creation of what would become the Survivor Benefit Plan (1972).
• Preventing proposals for TRICARE For Life enrollment fees (2013-17).
• Supporting removal of the “widows tax” that unfairly forced survivors to forfeit portions of their benefit annuity (2019).
• Passage of the PACT Act, ushering in comprehensive toxic exposure reform (2022).

[RELATED: MOAA’s Major Legislative Accomplishments]

Looking forward, we will continue to adapt to better serve not just officers but all ranks, across every uniformed service. In 2025 alone, MOAA spent over 1,200 hours in face-to-face meetings with members of Congress, and our advocates sent more than 100,000 messages to the Hill.

[RELATED: MOAA Again Recognized as a ‘Top Lobbyist’ by The Hill]

Growing Our Membership

While we are thankful for every one of our 350,000-plus members and proud of what we provide, we know there are opportunities to improve the member experience and reach potential members earlier in their careers.

To increase the value of Premium and Life memberships, we have expanded benefit discounts to include Veterans Healthcare, a Medicare Advantage plan catering to veterans, and Aura to protect against identity theft.

[RELATED: Veterans Healthcare | Aura]

We recently added a gift option for MOAA membership so you can buy a membership for a relative, neighbor, or friend.

This year, we are continuing to expand outreach to grow membership among younger officers. We’re working with service academies and ROTC programs — areas where we have experienced significant growth. In 2025, graduates and seniors at the U.S. Military Academy accounted for 1,000 new Basic member joins. In addition, our partnership with the Department of the Air Force Company Grade Officers’ Council will allow us to showcase the value MOAA membership offers.

Future of TotalForce+

We will build upon the success of our inaugural TotalForce+ conference. The event drew 2,500 registered attendees and reached audiences unfamiliar with our mission. We gained hundreds of new members and expect bigger attendance and membership gains when the show returns Feb. 1-3, 2027.

TotalForce+ activities will continue this year, with focused roundtables and smaller engagements on issues such as AI and talent management, health care, and the transition experience.

MOAA turning 97 is a reminder that our greatest responsibility lies ahead. Please know we can’t do it without your support. Together, we will lead MOAA into its next century of service.