PRESIDENT'S CORNER ADOPT A SERVICE MEMBER

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1 "Taking Care of the Troops" A NEWSLETTER FOR THE CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER, MOAA An Affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America Vol. 60, No. 6, June 2013 President - Peter Wilkinson, Col, USAF (Ret) Editor George Williams, CAPT, USN (Ret) Secretary- Nancy Rey, LCDR, USN (Ret) Get updates and more - visit your chapter on the web at NOTE: To change postal or address call LCDR Nancy Rey at or to moaacentralohio@gmail.com MONTHLY LUNCHEON MEETING June 14, 2013, Berwick Party House FEATURED SPEAKER BG Colleen McGuire USA ret. Executive Director, Delta Gamma Fraternity PRESIDENT'S CORNER We continue to focus on increasing our membership because this allows us to have more influence on military related legislation and Washington and Columbus. We are In the final stages of the 2013 chapter membership renewal process and encourage everyone to stay with us as we Take Care of the Troops. There are some changes in membership policies and processes. Please read the article by LTC Joe Machado, VP Officer Membership, for details. We all need to be recruiters for the Chapter and MOAA, and all need to be singing the same song. SAVE THE DATE!! The Ohio Council of Chapters State Convention is coming up Friday, September 20 through Sunday September 22 on Akron OH. The featured speaker will be Dr. Ronald Sega, MG (USAF Retired), Vice President and Enterprise Executive for Energy and the Environment, Ohio State University. Pencil the convention in on your calendar more details to follow. Pete Pete Wilkinson Colonel USAF (Retired) President, MOAA Central Ohio Chapter petewilkinson@columbus.rr.com ADOPT A SERVICE MEMBER Coleen was the first woman to attain the position of Provost Marshal General of the Army and the first woman to command the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. BG McGuire also did a tour in Iraq as the Commander of NATO's Multi-National police forces. She is a member of MOAA. Colleen has been Exec Dir since last August and has implemented a program (blessed by DoD) to assist veterans who have been blinded or suffered visual disabilities. Social at 11:30 AM, Meeting at NOON. Send check & reservation slip to: COL Tom Farrell, USA (Ret.) 1575 Northcrest Ave Columbus, OH by Monday, June 10, SGT Robert Kula, who is deployed to Afghanistan, was the recipient of our latest box. I received his name from Angela Dyer who is the Family Assistance Coordinator for the Ohio National Guard at Beightler Armory. There are women attached to this particular group, so another box will go out this week specifically for female service members. I will really enjoy getting this box together. Your assistance is requested in obtaining names of deployed men and women. The service personnel do not necessarily have to be from Ohio. We are our brother s keeper, and hometown does not matter. I cannot describe the look of joy in the eyes of a parent or relative when they hand me a paper with a loved- one s address on it. A stranger is reaching out to their deployed service person, and they are so grateful. Let s all work together to remember our finest! Dorothy Williams, or zemzem1@aol.com

2 SISTER ARMY NURSE LTs CLEBRATE 60th ANNIVERSARY OF KOREAN ARMISTICE Joyce & June at Westerville Field of Heroes HELP NEEDED FOR VETS STAND DOWN Clothing Chair, Sara Dodeci, has asked me to send out her request for help with clothing for our upcoming Stand Down. Sara is create a Clothing Committee. Here s what we need: - Several people to help her on this committee; - Working with Sara, committee members would acquire, sort, prepare, and store clothing; - Look for opportunities to get clothing (Clothes left at Dry Cleaners and Garage sales are a great place to get free winter clothing); and - if available, help set up and operate the Free Clothing Store at Veterans Memorial at Stand Down October 21 & 22. For more information or to sign up, please contact: Sara Dodeci, Sara.Dodeci@voago.org office: x1407 Volunteers of America Monday, October 21 - Setup and Tuesday October 22-Stand Down. 8:30am 1:30pm Veterans Memorial 300 West Broad Street Columbus, OH VIET NAM TRAVELING WALL COMING TO CENTRAL OHIO The Johnstown Sportsman's Club is hosting the Viet Nam Traveling Wall, July 11-14, The Wall event will be open to the public and is free both for attendance and parking. The club anticipates expenses in the area of approximately $19 to $20K to host the Wall. The JSC is getting donations to defray the expenses from a number of companies and regional organizations, and donors are of course recognized. Any donations collected above expenses will be divided among three veterans organizations: Military Order of the Purple Heart, Disabled American Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans of America. Bill Tate LEGISLATIVE UPDATE According to the MOAA website, there are almost 30 pieces of legislation that MOAA is supporting. These items include legislation concerning active/reserve issues, survivor benefits, retirement issues, health care benefits, veterans issues, and spouse/family items. I encourage everyone to visit the MOAA.org website and review these items and make your voice heard by sending the drafted s to your Congressman. The website to review these items is From here, you can put your cursor over the title of any bill that you'd like to contact your Congressman about and click on it. This will take you to the draft correspondence. Enter your zip code and follow the directions to send the correspondence. The entire process takes about 2 minutes for each item. If you have any questions, please contact Jen Travers at ericjen2001@msn.com. CHAPTER POLICY ON MEMBERSHIP As most of you know, national membership recruiting has changed! There are now three levels of membership: LIFE, PREMIUM AND BASIC. Most of you are either Life or Premium members. If you are a Premium member, consider upgrading your membership to Life. The cost is dependent on your age. For details on national membership, please go to: For consistency with MOAA s revised membership categories, the Central Ohio Chapter board has approved the following changes in Chapter membership: o The first year of Chapter membership is now free for everyone o After the first year, renewal will be at the annual rates currently $15 for eligible military members and $7 for auxiliary and spouses o ROTC cadets, midshipmen, and newly commissioned officers will continue to be enrolled free-of-charge in the local Chapter as well as in National MOAA. Our membership categories are consistent with the MOAA Premium and Basic membership categories. Central Ohio Chapter does not have a Life Membership category. For additional information, please go to: or send an or text message to me at jamachado@wildblue.net, or call Joseph A. Machado, LTC, USA (Ret)

3 CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER, MOAA I plan to attend the luncheon meeting scheduled for Friday, June 14, 2013 at the Berwick Party House, 3250 Refugee Rd, Columbus, Ohio. Social at 11:30 AM. Meeting & luncheon starts at NOON. Enclosed is my check, payable to COC/MOAA, in the amount of $ for meals at $12.00 each. NOTE: If you have special dietary needs, please specify those needs in "needs" space* Members and Guests who will attend are: Please Enter Code for Branch of Service (BOS) Army (A) Navy (N) Air Force (AF) Marines (M) Coast Guard (CG) Auxiliary (X) Rank BOS Note special diet needs Name(s) * * This reservation form should reach COL Thomas S. Farrell, 1575 Northcrest Ave Columbus, OH , no later than Monday, June 10, 2013.

4 MOAA CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER Invites you to a free year of membership and Your active participation, Join Us! This 399-member organization, affiliated with the National MOAA, is there for YOU! We have your interests at heart. We have successfully influenced our state government. We recognize outstanding young people, and help others in time of need. Membership offers: v Awareness of Military Legislation v Fellowship v Community Involvement v Networking v Career Transition Support v Scholarship Opportunities v Monthly Newsletter v Current Website First Year Free! Chapter Membership Application Full Name: Grade: Service: Retired Active Duty Former Officer Reserve Widow(er)* National Guard Mailing Address: Phone: Birth date: Spouse s Name: National MOAA Member: Yes No MOAA # (if known): Enclosed is a check for: Scholarship Contribution: Vet s Standdown Contribution: Adopt a Service Member: Signature: * Fill in your own name, address, etc. and show deceased spouse s rank and service. Mail To: LCDR Nancy Rey USN RET 500 Tyler Station Drive Johnstown, OH CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER VISIT MOAA NATIONAL ON THE WEB: VISIT THE CHAPTER ON THE WEB: MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

5 WHAT IS MOAA? v An independent, non-partisan organization operated to benefit members of the uniformed services, their families and survivors v A leader in fighting for benefits for the military community: Ø Active Duty Ø Reserve Ø National Guard Ø Retired Officers Ø Family Members Ø Surviving Spouses v All current or past Commissioned or Warrant Officers in the 7 uniformed services are eligible for membership. Auxiliary memberships also are available for surviving spouses of deceased officers. v 370,000 members constitute a powerful and effective voice for the military community. Visit: For further information WHAT HAS MOAA DONE FOR YOU! v TRICARE For Life v Combat related Special Compensation v Military Pay Raises v Guard/Reserve TRICARE v Elimination of SBP Widow Tax v Concurrent Receipt v REDUX Repeal v TRICARE Senior Pharmacy v Tax Deduction Guard/Reserve Drill Expenses WHAT IT IS DOING FOR YOU NOW! v Elimination of the SBP/DIC Offset v Improving Benefits for those serving v Defending against large TRICARE premium increases WHAT CAN YOU DO? Join National MOAA, if not already a member Affiliate with and become active in the Central Ohio Chapter Make your Voice heard on National and Local Issues affecting the Military Community Play your part! Don t expect someone else to do it! Membership questions about MOAA CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER should be directed to: LTC Joe Machado USA RET (740) Or jamachado@wildblue.net