Military Officers Association of America CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER Taking Care of the Troops * Supporting Positive Federal & State Military Legislation * Supporting Central Ohio Troops at Home & Deployed A Non-Partisan, Multi Service Organization Join Us Your Membership Helps Us Achieve the Mission Visit Our Website to Join and for Additional Information www.moaacentralohio.org RECALL May, 2017 Pete Wilkinson, Colonel USAF, Editor: petewilkinson@columbus.rr.com 614-638-7784 President s Corner Bill Tate View from the Bridge Wing On April 18, 17 World War II B-25 Mitchell bombers flew over Dayton and the Memorial Park at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force to mark the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid. Several of our chapter members remember when that actual raid took place. What many of the rest of us may not realize is that for part of WWII, it wasn t clear that the US was going to win the war. For a while, things weren t going in our favor. The Doolittle Raid, launched on April 18, 1942 was conducted in part to give hope to our military and the public. And it was conducted in part to let our adversary know their country, Japan, was vulnerable to our attacks. That would cause them to shift their resources in a way that favored us. While every one of the 16 B-25s had to either crash or ditch at sea, the Doolittle Raid had succeeded. Then the Battle of Midway which followed in June 1942 is widely considered to be the turning point in the Pacific War. Historians note that the U.S. had some luck on our side in that battle. And we needed that, because we were up against superior forces. Today, fortunately, we are not caught up in a World War. However, some of our service members in the All-Volunteer Force we have had since 1974 are fighting in conflicts in Southwest Asia that have been nonstop for the last 15 years. Some of them deploy to these areas repeatedly. The fact that they are engaged in small-scale
conflicts does not make the dangers and hardships faced by them any less than those faced by their WWII forebears. Other soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are on the frontiers of freedom as our military has been for many decades. They ensure we can check our adversaries by being prepared to project power as needed in support of national policy. Our military is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with over 300,000 of its activeduty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories. As the MOAA Central Ohio Chapter fulfills our mission of Supporting the Troops, let us recognize how important our commitment is to helping members of the uniformed services and veterans get the benefits they have earned. That requires our constant vigilance. April Luncheon We enjoyed hearing Dan Willis, Vice Chair of the Central Ohio Veterans Stand Down. Supporting this Stand Down is one of our chapter s biggest programs, which we conduct through donations from chapter funds, personal donations, contribution-in-kind volunteer hours manning the various stations, and clothing donations. Past President Pete Wilkinson is a member of the Stand Down Committee, responsible for the operation s critical intake function. The Stand Down during its 2016 event served the needs of 519 veterans including 48 females. Dan gave us much supplementary information to help us appreciate what a smoothly running and effective operation the Stand Down is. A great resource for our area! Armed Forces Day Luncheon The Columbus MilVets Armed Forces Day Luncheon will be held on Friday, May 19, 2017 at the Villa Milano Banquet & Conference Center at 1630 Schrock Road in Columbus. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 11:30. This year s keynote speaker is Lt. General John M. Murray, a native son and graduate of OSU who will be addressing the state of today s Army. Our chapter has reserved two 10-seat tables for this event, whose prepaid tickets cost $25 per person. This event takes the place of our regular monthly luncheon. For information contact Treasurer Walter Rey. Speaker Lineup The speaker lineup currently scheduled for our monthly luncheons is: June 9: Central Ohio Chapter member Rear Admiral John Bossler (Ret), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) July 14: Ashley Lester, senior project manager for the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation & Capitol South (CDDC) team who has updated renderings and concepts on the National Veterans Memorial & Museum s exhibits, building and grounds
August TBD September (tentatively) CDR Dustin Martin, USN (Ret), Senior Naval Science Instructor at Grove City High School who will talk about JROTC programs. New Board Members LTC Jeff Collins, USA (Ret) and LTC Tom Roberson, USA (Ret) have recently become At-Large Members of the Chapter s Board of Directors. Storming the Hill The annual convergence of MOAA Council reps and national staff in Washington, DC took place on April 5. Ohio Council President Dick Calta and 1 st VP Rod Hosler represented the state s seven chapters in focused meetings with Ohio s U.S. Representatives and Senators. We will hear details on what they learned at the Ohio Council meeting on April 22. Council of Chapters Conference The biennial Ohio Council of Chapters Convention will be held September 22 24, 2017 at the Youngstown Air Reserve Center, a small military base about 10 miles north of downtown Youngstown. Speakers are in the process of being invited and confirmed. All chapters are encouraged to have our members attend this convention. It s a bit of a drive and involves overnight accommodations, so we should consider carpooling when the time nears. 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 Board of Directors meeting at noon on Wednesday, May 3 at DSCC (Building 11, Section 9, Room TBD). Monthly Luncheon and Business Meeting at noon on Friday, June 9 at the Berwick Manor Restaurant, 3250 Refugee Rd, Columbus, Ohio. Federal News The featured legislative alert on the MOAA website at http://capwiz.com/moaa/home/ is entitled Act now to help military survivors. I would encourage everyone to go to the following site and take action by contacting Congress using the drafted message. Here is more information on this alert: MOAA and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are trying to help military widows who are penalized up to
$15,000 a year under current law. But Congressional budget rules make it virtually impossible for the committees to fix the problem without relief from the Budget Committees. So Armed Services leaders are asking the Budget Committee for help. We need a barrage of constituent inputs urging legislators to push the Budget Committees to approve much-needed funding relief for military widows. Please help this cause by sending your legislators the MOAA-suggested message below. Here's the link to the website to send your thoughts to Congress: http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/alert/?alertid=76197626&process=take+action. From here, you have to enter your zip code and then it 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. A couple of the other legislative alerts and updates on the website are Raise SSIA for Military Widows, Repeal Sequestration, Fix Call Up Orders for Guard and Reserve, and Top 10 solutions for wounded, ill, and injured veterans. These alerts can be found here: http://capwiz.com/moaa/home/ There are also seven 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. Central Ohio News ADOPT A SERVICE PERSON On March 20, George and I returned from our volunteer experience at San Xavier Mission School on the Tohono O odham Indian reservation south of Tucson. What a wonderful surprise I found when I was going through our accumulated mail. There were two notes from deployed service personnel to whom we had sent packages. April from Iraq wrote: On behalf of the 373 rd Military Battalion from WA, we want to thank you for the kindness and generosity for the care package you blessed our team with. I work with an air crew utilizing pilots and operators. Air Force, Marines, and everyone were so grateful for the items you sent Your thoughtfulness definitely raised morale and lifted our spirits.
CPT Thornal from Afghanistan wrote: On behalf of myself and the soldiers of Charlie Troop in support of Operation Freedom Sentinel, we want to thank you for your support of our Soldiers and Aviators serving in harm s way. Your care package was greatly appreciated and we want to express our deepest gratitude for the wonderfully kind gesture. The Troop is finishing up their very successful deployment and will soon be heading home. It is not often I get a note in the mail. I expect no comment from them because they have a dangerous duty to perform. These remarks made me beam with pride at what our packages accomplish. With all of us working together, great things can be accomplished. Thank you. Dorothy Williams, zemzem1@aol.com (614-423-7016) Armed Forces Day Luncheon May 19, 2017 Doors Open at 10:30; Program at 11:30 Villa Milano Restaurant 1630 Schrock Road Columbus, Oh 43229 Speaker Lt General John M Murray, USA Native Ohioan and OSU Graduate
Central Ohio Chapter Mission: Taking Care of the Troops Send this form along with your check payable to MOAA/COC to: CDR Walter Rey, USN ret., 500 Tyler Station Drive, Johnstown OH 43031 Luncheon Reservations/Donations/Membership Renewal RANK BOS NAMES ANY SPECIAL DIET NEEDS LUNCHEON RESERVATION REQUIRED: (Cost is $25.00 a person) Luncheon Reservation Total Amount: $ Donations: Programs We Support PROGRAMS DONATION MOAA Scholarship Veterans Stand Down Franklin County Veterans Stand Down Fairfield County Honor flight Adopt-a-service member Veteran s Court Mentor Progam Amount Donated: $ 2017 Membership Renewal: CATEGORY DUES Member $15 Member and Spouse $22 Surviving/Supporting $7 TOTAL Enclosed $ Do we have your permission to print your info for Chapter use only? Y or N