MOAA Central Ohio Chapter A Non-Partisan Affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America P.O. Box 361632, Columbus, OH 43236-1632 Supporting Service Members and Veterans Join Us Your membership empowers your chapter achieve its mission. Visit the chapter website for additional Information and/or to keep you membership current: www.moaa-centralohio.org RECALL April 2016 G F Williams, Acting Editor: gfwilliams42@gmail.com 614-537-1881 President s Corner Bill Tate View from the Bridge Wing We are making contact with the three most significant defense concentrations in the Central Ohio area: DLA Land & Maritime, Ohio National Guard HQ, and the 121 st Air Refueling Wing (Air National Guard). The intent is to spread awareness of the chapter, involve their officers at some of our activities and us in theirs, and recruit new members. This gives us some special opportunities for the type of after-hours events that we have discussed. One in particular might be the July 23 rd Ohio Council meeting when Col Brian Anderson, MOAA s Deputy Director, Council and Chapter Affairs Department will participate. MOAA Level of Excellence Award At the end of February, we submitted the chapter s 15-page Level of Excellence award submission write-up. Immediate Past President Joe Machado did a terrific job gathering and synthesizing all the goals and activities the chapter accomplished in 2015. Thanks to all who provided the information. The Central Ohio Chapter has received a Five Star Award for six of the last seven years, for which we can be justifiably proud. We hope 2015 will be a repeat. Chapter By-Laws Change At the March luncheon business meeting, members voted to incorporate the revised Chapter by-laws that members reviewed and commented on. It is on our website. Women in the Military On March 16, chapter member Lt Col Claudia Foss gave a moving account of her time in service, particularly her deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as one of eight panelists for Women Veterans Tell their Stories of Service in Today s Military at the Ohio History Connection. Well delivered, Claudia! Armed Forces Day Luncheon The MilVets-hosted Armed Forces Day luncheon will be on May 20 at the Villa Milano in Westerville. Participation at this event by chapter members takes the place of our May luncheon at Berwick Manor. Those who plan to attend please let us know.
Field of Heroes Each Memorial Day weekend, the Westerville Sunrise Rotary hosts the Field of Heroes. This event is an opportunity to honor your personal heroes - whoever they are...a family member, a friend or a veteran member of the armed forces. The Field of Heroes offers a unique and moving way to honor your personal heroes by flying a flag with a custom tribute in a spectacular display of 3,000 American flags. The programs run throughout the weekend, including opening and closing ceremonies and a free Saturday evening concert. The year, the Field of Heroes will host a very special tribute to Women in the Military. We would like the MOAA to support gathering stories from women members, friends and family for both "women in the military stories as well as those from Rosie the Riveters. MOAA COC Chapter member Ron Pusateri at Ron.pusateri@gmail.com is the point of contact. This is an opportunity to showcase our women members during this Memorial Day weekend event. Chapter Coverage Area Have you ever wondered just where our Chapter s geographic boundary is? We have that graphic now, and it might surprise you. As shown in the attached marked-up state map, the zip codes allocated to the Central Ohio Chapter cover what looks to be about 40% of the state. Since this is a zip code map instead of a roadmap, the following description may be helpful: Starting at the bottom of the map about 90 miles south of Columbus, the boundary line starts at the Ohio River west of Portsmouth then heads up to cross I-70 just west of Springfield. It continues to its northernmost point where a finger juts out between Findlay and Fostoria, around 85 miles from Columbus. Then the boundary line heads southeast through the Amish country north of Mt. Vernon and Coshocton but south of Mansfield. The boundary line crosses I-70 about 15 miles from Wheeling and heads south to end at the Ohio River about 35 miles northeast of Marietta and 115 miles from Columbus. The remaining 60% of the state is divided among the other six chapters in the Ohio Council. What s on Your Mind - Please let me know what s on your mind. If you have any concerns about our Chapter or suggestions to improve what we do, get in touch and I ll make certain we consider your suggestions and try to correct any problem. Call me at cell phone 614-783-2315 or email me at tatew44@hotmail.com.
Upcoming Events All are Welcome Next Board Meeting At DSCC, Building 11, Section 9 on April 6, 2016 (Military or Government ID or Sponsorship Required for Access to DSCC) Monthly Luncheon and Business Meeting on Friday, April 8, 2016 at Berwick Manor, Columbus Ohio, at Noon. See the reservations page. Our luncheon speaker is Steve Kelly... Mr. Kelly is Senior Vice President of Battelle s Contract Research Division, which includes more than 2,700 employees located around the world. He oversees Battelle s development and delivery of solutions in the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE), national defense, health, and critical infrastructure markets. Battelle s Contract Research Division is involved in the entire science and technology value chain from applied research all the way through deployment and sustainment of capabilities. These capabilities range from advanced technology and engineering to product testing and evaluation services for both commercial and government clients. Mr. Kelly joined Battelle in 1992 as a chemical engineer and has held a variety of technical and management positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure. Prior to joining Battelle, he was an active duty Army chemical officer serving in operational, training and technical positions in Germany, Alabama and Utah. A native of New Hampshire, Mr. Kelly holds a S.B. from MIT and an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Mr. Kelly lives with his wife, Angie, in Dublin, Ohio. They have two adult children. Federal News The featured legislative alert on the MOAA website at http://capwiz.com/moaa/home/ is titled Act Now to Block Harmful DoD Budget Proposals. I would encourage everyone to go to the following site and take action by contacting Congress using the drafted message. Here's some more information on this alert: DoD's FY17 defense budget proposes a number of
significant changes to military pay and benefits. If enacted as a whole, these proposals will curtail the military pay raise and raise retired families health costs. Please use the message below to urge your legislators to avoid imposing disproportional financial sacrifices on those who serve and have served. Here's the link to the website to send your thoughts to Congress: http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/alert/?alertid=70211626&process=take+action. From here, you have to enter your zip code and then will take you to the draft correspondence. Enter your name, address, and POC information and follow the simple directions to send the correspondence. The entire process takes about 2 minutes. There are over 29 other alerts listed on the MOAA website. Here s the website for the list: http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/?style=d. Once at the website, you can click on the item that you re interested in or would like to correspond with your Congressman about. There are also 31 pieces of legislation that MOAA is supporting listed at http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills/ This is a great list if you're interested in learning more about the bills. You can click on the names of the bills and learn more about each of them. If you have any questions, please contact Jen Travers at ericjen2001@msn.com. Adopt a Service Person One of our packages for April was sent to CPT Brian Hotchkiss. He is with the 3 RD infantry division troops in the Horn of Africa. A request was put out to send Mother s Day cards in boxes to the troops. My plan is to purchase some cards to send in our second box for April. In my email was a new list of names from an outreach source in Georgia. So I now have six deployed military personnel who will be receiving packages over the next few months. Would appreciate names of locally deployed personnel. If you know of anyone, please email name(s) to: zemzem1@aol.com. Dorothy Williams From Rick Isbell We re within the 90-day mark for the 2 nd annual Veteran Advocates Forum! This year includes a focus on military spouses and Veterans (6 May is Military spouse day). Veteran Advocate Forum (Human Resource Association of Central Ohio 'HRACO' and Cardinal Health). Companies wanting to learn more about connecting with and hiring Veterans (morning session) and attend the Hiring Event (afternoon session), visit: http://tinyurl.com/hcjlaak. Veterans wanting to attend the free hiring event in the afternoon (Several major Central Ohio companies will have hiring booths at the event), visit http://tinyurl.com/hdpwoff.
Spotted by a retired high school civics teacher... About Face: U.S. Military Seeks Historic Overhaul of Justice System Pentagon aims to fundamentally reform the way America s men and women experience justice while in uniform. From an article by T. Christian Miller ProPublica, March 15, 2016. For the first time, the Pentagon would issue sentencing guidelines for military crimes. All convicted service members would have a right to appeal. Military judges would determine sentences, replacing a power long held by juries made up of soldiers with little or no legal experience. We re looking for people who have experienced the military justice system as victims, as suspects, as attorneys or judges. If the Pentagon manages to obtain approval for the bill, it will be harder to make a case for further changes, such as removing military commanders from making decisions on criminal cases. Military leaders hallow their justice system. First adopted during the Revolutionary War, some parts have existed unchanged for more than 200 years. Even today, sailors can be put on a diet of bread and water for minor infractions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The code is a means to convey both justice and military discipline. For instance, soldiers can be tried for going AWOL (punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a dishonorable discharge) or for disrespecting an officer (up to one year in prison and a bad conduct discharge). They can also face trial for crimes ranging from kiting checks to rape and murder. Military courts can try soldiers for crimes that have no direct connection to military service a soldier assaulting a local resident during an off-base bar fight, for example. Commanders argue that they need such power to ensure order and discipline in military ranks. The current proposal comes after years of controversy over the military s handling of sexual assault. NEW Members - Everyone please welcome the following new/returning Chapter Members: 1. CAPT Ron Bezouska, USN/RET 740-215-2243 2. LtCol Christopher Salvucci, USAF/RET 740 326-6785
Luncheon Reservations/Donations/Membership Renewal Please Enter Code for Branch of Service (BOS) : Army (A) Navy (N) Air Force (AF) Marine Corps (M) Coast Guard (CG) National Guard (G) Auxiliary (X) Rank BOS Names (NOTE SPECIAL DIET NEEDS)* * Advance notification of SPECIAL NEEDS is necessary to avoid delay in service. RESERVATION REQUIRED: (Cost is $12.00 a person) Luncheon Reservation Amount: $ Donations: Please consider a donation of a $1 to help buy "box stuffer" items for our adopted service members. Amount Donated: $ Please consider a donation for our scholarship program to benefit a local JROTC student. Amount Donated: $ 2016 Membership Renewal: Member Renewal $15 Member and Spouse Renewal $22 Surviving Spouse (AUX) Renewal $7 Check all Appropriate Categories and enter total below. TOTAL Enclosed $ Do we have your permission to print your info for Chapter use only? Y or N Send this form along with your check payable to MOAA/COC to: CDR Walter Rey, USN Ret., 500 Tyler Station Drive, Johnstown OH 43031