Auxiliary Allies fromthepresident
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MOAA’s August referendum on vot- ing privileges for auxiliary members has me thinking about how far we have come as an organization in acknowledg- ing the contributions of our spouses and, especially, MOAA’s auxiliary members. It’s an old joke that if the military wanted you to have a spouse, they would have issued one. It’s not so funny now. Members will be voting on an amend- ment to the association’s bylaws conferring the right to vote upon auxiliaries. There are several compelling reasons to do this: First, like all military spouses, auxilia- ries understand the stress and burdens of two wars on two diffi cult fronts. What our servicemembers have been through is an indescribable experience only 1 percent of U.S. citizens can understand. Slightly more than half of active duty servicemembers are married (55.8 percent), and just less than half of Selected Reserve servicemem- bers are married (48.5 percent), making spouses part of an elite group.
Second, since becoming members of the association in 1975, MOAA’s auxiliary mem- bers have made great contributions to our mission and to the military community. Our current auxiliary membership totals 60,145, or 17 percent of MOAA’s total membership. Third, auxiliary members actively par- ticipate as thought leaders and make great contributions as advocates and servant leaders to MOAA’s mission. They serve as directors on the boards of 116 of our 410 chapters and on the boards of 15 of our 35
For more than 35 years, MOAA’s auxiliary members — surviving spouses of military offi cers — have contributed to your association. It’s time to show our support and allow them to vote.
state councils. The Auxiliary Member Ad- visory Committee has championed great initiatives such as Cell Phones for Soldiers. Because MOAA’s auxiliary members are a vital part of the organization, it is to our benefi t to encourage their formal input by allowing them to vote on directors, bylaw changes, resolutions, etcetera. Prior to putting this proposal before
MOAA’s membership, your board of direc- tors carefully considered all aspects of the issue and conferred with chapter and coun- cil leaders. Their reaction — “a no-brainer,” one said — confi rmed what I have observed among our members. Extending voting rights to auxiliary members has no eff ect on the IRS require- ment that MOAA’s membership be no less than 75 percent veterans. Auxiliary mem- bers already count as members, and extend- ing voting rights to them does not alter their representation in MOAA’s membership. More important, there was a univer- sal consensus that extending the vote to MOAA’s auxiliary members is the right thing to do. We know their value, and we applaud and appreciate their energy, per- spectives, work ethic, passion, and ability to advocate on what matters most to the nation. We can formalize our support by al- lowing auxiliary members the right to vote.
— Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN-Ret.
*read more: Turn to Chapters in Action, page 42, to learn more about auxiliary member contributions. 14 MILITARY OFFICER JULY 2012
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
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