chaptersinaction
Welcome Home
When servicemembers return stateside after being deployed overseas, MOAA chapter members are there to greet them upon their arrival and thank them for their service and sacrifices.
M
OAA’s chapter members
are well aware of the sacri- fices being made by today’s servicemembers facing multiple de- ployments to Iraq and Afghanistan — and they want to do something to show their support. In this depart- ment’s main story, “Thank You for Your Service,” read about some of the things MOAA chapter members are doing to welcome home ser- vicemembers returning for R & R or from yearlong deployments. MOAA chapter members also get involved in sending these servicemembers off at
as they returned home from war. They are determined to make sure this generation of veterans receives an honorable welcome home. All of this is part of America’s tremendous support for the military. Some of the welcome-home pro-
grams, such as the Hungry Heroes program, are set up to give mem- bers of the community an outlet for expressing their patriotism. Other groups from the community often join chapter members to greet returning servicemembers. This is an important mission for MOAA chapters. Many of the groups welcomed
home are units, but the Hampton Roads (Va.) Chapter also welcomes home individual augmentees (IAs). This welcome is a great lift for them because, while most units get a big send-off and welcome home, IAs usu- ally don’t receive the same treatment. MOAA chapters are present at
the beginning of a deployment or in the final preparation stages. Many chapter greeters are Viet-
nam veterans who remember re- ceiving not-so-friendly welcomes
some of the major arrival and depar- ture points that support the move- ment of military units. MOAA chapter members might well be the first peo- ple servicemembers see as they de- plane. Not everyone is going to have family members waiting to welcome them back to the U.S. Just having someone there to shake their hands and thank them for their service goes
ON THE ROAD: This month, Col. Barry Wright, USA-Ret., deputy di- rector of MOAA’s Council and Chapter Affairs, will visit members of the Southern Tier (N.Y.) Chapter. Go to MOAA Calendar, page 84, for dates.
4 2 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R MAY 2 0 1 0
a long way toward showing America’s support for its servicemembers. These are just some of the things
MOAA chapters do to support our military and give back to their com- munities. Locate your nearest MOAA chapter at
www.moaa.org/chapters/ locator. They can use your help.
— Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret. Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
Thank You for Your Service
W
hen Pikes Peak (Colo.) Chapter member Col.
Victor Fernandez, USA-
Ret., returned home after serving in the Vietnam War, nobody waited at the airport for his arrival to thank him for his service and the sacrifices he had made. Instead, Fernandez was greeted by Vietnam War protestors. That’s why he’s doing what he can to ensure this generation of veterans re- ceives a proper welcome home. For several years, Fernandez and
approximately 40 other members from MOAA’s Pikes Peak Chapter have participated in the Hungry He- roes program. When a flight of return- ing U.S. servicemembers arrives at the Colorado Springs Airport in Colorado, greeters from Hungry Heroes assem- ble in the airport’s reception area to
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
*
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92