Join the Fight fromtheeditor
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To help reduce the country’s defi cit, the administration has proposed cuts to career servicemembers’ retirement benefi ts. MOAA is leading the fi ght — but we need your help.
As an association of military people, MOAA serves veterans and celebrates their contributions every day of every year. That’s our mission! But some occa- sions are extra special. One such event is Veterans Day. Veterans Day is Nov. 11. The nation once celebrated that date as Armistice Day to remember the end of World War I. But the holiday now honors all who serve, past and present. This Veterans Day, MOAA is mobilizing to counter a serious threat to the career military community. As we were about to go to press, the administration released its plan to reduce the defi cit. The plan pro- poses $27 billion in cuts in the military re- tirement and health care package. What’s upsetting about the proposal is its stated intent to address “the measurable dispar- ity between the fees most retired private- sector workers pay … and what retired military personnel pay.” MOAA thinks these words show a shocking insensitivity to the extraordi- nary demands imposed on career service- members and their families — the small percentage of citizens who guard peace and prosperity for all. If you subscribe to MOAA’s email newsletters, you’ve al- ready received our call to action. As our messages and website urge, “It’s time to man battle stations!” Check out From the President, page 12, and Washington Scene, page 31, in this issue to learn how you can join the fi ght.
10 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2011
Speaking of manning battle stations, this is a special month for one of our na- tion’s celebrated fi ghting forces — the U.S. Marine Corps. On Nov. 10, the Ma- rine Corps marks its 236th birthday. As it celebrates its heritage, the Marine Corps also will be dealing with serious budget and force structure challenges that will shape its future. In “Under Pressure,” page 50, MOAA asks Marine Corps Com- mandant Gen. James F. Amos to share his thoughts on how the Corps will ap- proach today’s challenges. “One thing I can do, that all the ser- vices can do,” says Amos, “is to make sure the civilian leadership is making deci- sions based on knowledge, not just math. Math decisions are easier than thoughtful decisions based on strategy and what’s best for the nation. I will make sure civil- ian leaders understand what the Marine Corps does for the nation — not in 10 years, but what we do today and have done in the last year.” Likewise, each of us can tell our lead- ers what military people have done for the nation. If you use email, please follow MOAA’s Legislative Update. (To sign up, visit
www.moaa.org/email). That’s the best way to get breaking news and take immediate action to join the fi ght. The battle is just beginning!
— Col. Warren S. Lacy, USA-Ret.
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
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