MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA TRIANGLE CHAPTER P.O. Box Raleigh, NC VOLUME IV NUMBER 2 APRIL 2017

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1 TriangleGram MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA TRIANGLE CHAPTER P.O. Box Raleigh, NC VOLUME IV NUMBER 2 APRIL May 2017 Durham Bulls Baseball Game This meeting replaces the Milburnie Fish Camp Outing Meeting time is 6:30 PM at the Durham Bulls Home Run Patio located behind the right field wall Please arrive at the ballpark 30 to 45 minutes early to allow yourself time to park, and receive your tickets out front. Chris Froeschner will be handing out the tickets.. The Triangle Chapter and National MOAA are nonpartisan organizations

2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE CDR Dean Block As this is written, Audrey and I are enjoying a few days in the Outer Banks. The weather has been kind to us and you can feel spring everywhere. Spring also means baseball! I hope you signed up for the chapter outing on May 10 to see the Durham Bull s game. I am excited about seeing the game and enjoying the two-hour buffet. Not to mention you get a hat! It should be lots of fun. As you know, the March dinner meeting was devoted to the Vietnam War 50 th Commemoration. MG Arnold Fields spoke and awarded pins to Vietnam-era veterans and surviving spouses in a great ceremony. I d like to thank COL Tom Finnerty for making the meeting possible. We will be planning for other ways the chapter can be a part of the commemoration going forward. One suggestion that came out of the meeting was for a table to be reserved for surviving spouses at the dinner meetings. We will be following up on that suggestion and reserving such a table beginning at our July dinner meeting. I, Matt and Meg Segal attended the North Carolina Council of Chapters (NCCOC) quarterly meeting in Greensboro on March. The host chapter did a great job and the meeting was a learning experience for me. It was reported that in the National Defense Act, signed in December, almost all of MOAA s 2016 legislative goals were achieved. On 5 April, 2017 the annual storming the hill took place as MOAA continues to work for us. We live in a time of change and great uncertainty. Nothing should be taken for granted and we all need to support MOAA s efforts and respond to their requests. The next NCCOC meeting is May in Bermuda Run, NC. Reservation forms and more information are available on the NCCOC website. All are welcome. Recently, the scholarship committee completed the review and selection of award recipients for Three young people have been chosen for awards of $1,000 each. We will present the awards at our July meeting. These awards are made possible by your continuing support of the scholarship fund. I urge all members to come out on 12 July and celebrate these fine kids. They will make you proud. Let me close by asking you again to reach out to those you know who could and should be members of MOAA and the Triangle chapter. Bring them to a meeting. Thank you.

3 Triangle Chapter Selects Three for Scholarships LtCol Bob Penny The Chapter Scholarship Board members selected three local high school seniors for the 2017 MOAA Triangle Chapter JROTC Scholarships. The selectees are Cadet Noah Hammond and Cadet Bailey Gregory from Sanderson High School s Air Force JROTC program and Cadet Jeffrey Tran from Cary High School s Navy JROTC. Each will receive a $ scholarship. All three cadets serve as leaders of their respective high school JROTC units. Each has an accumulative grade point average of over 4.0 weighted (includes Honors and Advanced Placement (college-level) courses). Additionally; Hammond, Gregory, and Tran have volunteered thousands of hours serving their school and local community. Each has been accepted to college next year and plans on becoming a military officer though college ROTC programs. Bailey Gregory will attend the University of Alabama Huntsville and will become a cadet in their Army ROTC program. Bailey has also been selected for the Univ. of Alabama s Charter Scholar Scholarship which covers 50% of her tuition all four years. Noah Hammond will attend The Citadel and has been selected to receive an Air Force ROTC Scholarship. Jeffery Tran has earned an appointment to the US Naval Academy. You might remember Jeffrey s brother, Jonathon, earned our Chapter s scholarship two years ago. Jonathon is now a rising junior at VMI on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Our three scholarship winners have been invited to the MOAA dinner on 12 July to receive their scholarship checks and to meet our local members. Please plan on attending this meeting so you can meet these impressive future military officers. Also, thank you for your continuing contributions to the Chapters Scholarship Fund! MOAA Annual Awards Provided to ROTC/JROTC Units LtCol Bob Penny Each year, the Triangle Chapter supports ROTC and JROTC units the MOAA medals and certificates. This year we provided medals to the three ROTC units at NC State Univ., the one unit at St. Augustine s Univ., and the twenty high school JROTC units in our area. MOAA JROTC/ROTC medals are used to recognize an outstanding cadet or midshipman in his or her next-to-last year in the program who has demonstrated exceptional potential for military leadership (exceptional academic achievement in the case of the Marine Corps JROTC program.) The medal cannot be used for any other purpose.

4 The presentation of an MOAA ROTC/JROTC medal and certificate is an excellent way for chapters to gain exposure in their community and, at the same time, foster a positive military recognition among the youth of the community. Accordingly, it has always been the desire of national MOAA that the medals are awarded by a local chapter and not the national organization. Award Description: The award consists of a red, white, and blue ribbon 1 3/8 inches wide with a bronze disc pendant 1 5/8 inches in diameter and a matching service ribbon (these items are in a presentation case) and also a certificate of presentation and folder. To be eligible for an award, a candidate must: Be in the next-to-last year of an ROTC or JROTC program; Be in good academic standing; Be of high moral character; Demonstrate a high degree of loyalty to the unit, school, and country; and Demonstrate exceptional potential for military leadership. Eligibility requirements for MCJROTC are a little different. A candidate must: Be in the upper 10 percent of his or her high school class; Have an A average in MCJROTC academic subjects; Be assigned to a cadet officer billet; and Be nominated in the junior year. DOD Extends Online Military Exchange Shopping Privileges to Veterans Col Matt Segal Effective this coming Veterans Day (11 November 2017), online military exchange privileges will be extended to all honorably discharged veterans of the military. For those chapter members who served but did not serve until retiring from the military this is a great benefit in recognition of your service. Purchases made at military exchanges benefit MWR funds that benefit our military currently serving. They also provide you with competitive pricing and free delivery if you spend over a threshold amount. If you apply for a Military Star Card, which is the charge card offered by the military, you get 10% off your first purchase (Meg and I bought $1,500 in furniture the first time we used the card) and future shipping is free irrespective of the dollar amount of the purchase, so this benefit can be a very good deal that benefits bout you and the currently serving troops! With the holidays shortly following the eligibility date in November, this is a great place to search for holiday gifts!

5 Pictures from the 15 March Dinner Meeting LTC Ken Tigges Pictures were taken by LtCol Chris Froeschner The pictures shown below are from our March meeting where those that served between 11/01/1955 and 5/15/1975 received the lapel pin for the Vietnam War 50th Commemoration. The widows of those deceased service members received a certificate for their husband s service. The lapel pin should be presented later. On the left LtCol Joe Long receiving the Lapel Pin from MG Fields. On the right COL Herb Segal is Presenting MG Fields with the MOAA Cup. Pictures of the retirees receiving the Lapel Pin

6 Pictures of the widows that received the certificate Business Support for the Triangle Chapter COL Matt Segal As you know, members continue reaching out to local businesses and ask them to support our scholarship fund making a contribution of $100 or more. In return, we will post their business cards in the TriangleGram for a calendar year. HOW YOU CAN HELP: Support the businesses that support our chapter s scholarship fund so they can continue to support us while you enjoy their products or services! Tell your friends and family to support those businesses. When you or someone you have told about the businesses visits them, thank them for their support of our chapter! If you know of a business that might want to support us in this way for an annual donation of $100, please encourage them to do so. Print off a color copy of the TriangleGram and show it to the potential sponsor or have them check our chapter website ( Google Triangle MOAA) to view recent TriangleGram issues. Once they have accepted, just let me know and we can take it from there!

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8 Triangle Chapter Officers and Committee Chairs All telephone numbers are the 919 area code except as shown Officers President CDR Edgar Dean Block, USNR st Vice President LTC Antonio Scenna, USMC nd Vice President Col Bob Penny, USAF Secretary LtCol Chris Froeschner, USAF Treasurer LTC JoAnn Harrington, USA Committee Chairs At Large Committee Chair CAPT Bob Caron, USCG Immediate Past President Col Matt Segal, USA Legislative/Liaison COL Michael Flynn, USA Public Relations Vacant Personal Affairs COL Tom Finnerty, USMC Newsletter LTC Ken Tigges, USA Membership COL Herb Segal, USA ROTC/JROTC Awards/Scholarship Col Bob Penny, USAF Chaplain LTC Tracy Maness, USA Sunshine MS. Kay Stockett Legal Advisor CAPT David D. Lennon, USN Historian Vacant Surviving Spouse Liaison CAPT Bob Caron, USCG Tops Officer COL Matt Segal, USA USO Support LTC Ken Tigges, USA ktigges001@att.net

9 TRIANGLE CHAPTER OF MOAA May Social Meeting Wednesday, 10 May 2017 Durham Bulls Baseball Game This meeting replaces the Milburnie Fish Camp Outing ****************************************************************** RESERVATION FORM The Reservation form had to be received by Friday April 14 th Each Ticket includes a seat for the game in the Durham Bulls Home Run Patio, a 2 hour all-you-can-eat buffet, a Durham Bulls baseball cap, and an entry into a group raffle. DUES Active Duty, Former, or Retired Officer $25.00; Widow $5.00; Dues Amount $ Contribution to the JROTC Scholarship Fund: $ TOTAL REMITTED $ Member s Name address ****************************************************************************** Make checks payable to MOAA/TRIANGLE CHAPTER Mail to LTC JoAnn Harrington, 4000 Winston Hill Drive, #108, Cary, NC QUESTIONS: Please call LTC JoAnn Harrington at