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director, opened the seminar with a working breakfast during which he highlighted the importance of state councils. At the first session, mem- bers of MOAA’s staff and board of directors outlined current issues and the association’s goals. Capt. William Knehans, USN-Ret.,
a Council and Chapter Affairs Com- mittee member, introduced Adm. Steve Abbot, USN-Ret., chair of MOAA’s board of directors, who spoke about the importance of the council and chapter system before handing over the microphone to MOAA Presi- dent Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN- Ret. Ryan thanked leaders for their support and pledged MOAA’s help in meeting future challenges.
What’s going on at MOAA Col. Mike Jordan, USAF-Ret., Con- tract Services and Marketing director, highlighted MOAA’s marketing and membership initiatives. Capt. Bud Schneeweis, USCG-Ret., Benefits Information and Financial Education director, outlined the importance of making sure chapter members know what benefits and services the as- sociation provides, including benefits counseling, financial education, ac- tive duty transition seminars, and Post-9/11 GI Bill presentations. Col. Dick Crampton, USA-Ret., director of MOAA’s TOPS career-transition pro- gram, updated seminar participants about using TOPS as a recruiting tool and the importance of having a TOPS networking liaison in each chapter.
Getting involved Auxiliary Member Advisory Commit- tee member Joyce Harte stressed the importance of having an auxiliary liai- son in each chapter and updated lead- ers on the committee’s Cell Phones
for Soldiers initiative. The program collects unused cell phones, each of which translates into 60 minutes of free talk time for a deployed service- member. Harte also pointed out the impact auxiliary members can have on MOAA and its chapter system. “The auxiliary members … have a
tremendous voice,” Harte said. “They helped you in your career for many years and have added a lot of value to the way you’ve been able to do things. They can also add their voices to MOAA and help in recruiting and [re- taining members]. There’s no better way than to engage them actively.” Ryan then presented Communica-
tions Awards to council and chapter members who proved to be great com- municators. (View winning entries at
www.moaa.org/communications award, or see page 45 to read about some of the winners.) Before wrapping up for lunch, Col.
Dale Yonker, USAF-Ret., president of the Illinois Council of Chapters, pre- sented a check for $5,000 on behalf of the council to Ryan for the Illinois council’s fifth designated scholarship with the MOAA Scholarship Fund.
Leaders who lunch At a seminar luncheon, Lt. Gen. Tom Bostick, USA, deputy chief of staff, G-1 (Personnel) for the Army, spoke about fighting for the benefits servicemembers earned through repeated deployments or careers of service to their country. “People are not in the Army,” said
Bostick. “They are the Army.” Bostick addressed why the Army needed a 22,000 end-strength in- crease. “If [the U.S. Army] didn’t have those 22,000 additional soldiers … we wouldn’t be accomplishing our mis- sion,” Bostick said.
But he now must plan to draw
down those 22,000 soldiers, beginning in March 2012 and ending in Sep- tember 2013. In 2014, the Army will stabilize its end-strength at 547,000, the total after the 22,000-troop draw- down. The Army faces more cuts in 2015 and 2016. “In 2015 and 2016,” Bostick said,
“we’ll have to take 27,000 soldiers out of the force, and about 5,000 of them will be officers.” The Army is at a crossroads, ac-
cording to Bostick, because recruit- ing new soldiers can be a struggle. According to Bostick, less than three out of 10 young Americans — 17 to 24 years old — can even join the military because of medical, physical, and behavioral factors. But, he says, the Army is working to try to help those other seven out of 10 who don’t qualify for the military, “whether it’s ROTC or other programs to help with discipline, but we feel we owe that to the country.”
Membership challenge In the afternoon’s two general ses- sions, seminar attendees were briefed on what they can do to help meet the chapter membership challenge. “We need new, younger mem-
bers,” said Lt. Col. Buddy Guidry, USAR-Ret., Louisiana Council of Chapters president. “That’s what we need to keep bringing into our chapters to keep them going.” Participants received the oppor- tunity to ask questions of MOAA staff and other council leaders about how to effectively run a coun- cil. Leaders discussed chapter-man- agement and recruiting techniques and gained ideas to help keep their councils and chapters going in a successful direction.
*online: Visit
www.moaa.org/councilseminar to view presentations from the Council Presidents’ Seminar. 44 MILITARY OFFICER JULY 2011
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