SEEKING APPLICANTS for MOAA’s Board M 14 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2016 Invitation of the Chair

MOAA is an association of individual members. When members vote on matters of importance, we don’t have a delegate system or vote by region, service, or component. We vote as individuals who hold or have held warrants or commissions in the seven uni- formed services. It is one of MOAA’s great strengths: one officer, one vote. This year, we will elect a new class of the board of directors — 12 new directors who will succeed the 12 who will complete their service in October. Board eligibility includes all regular members — officers on active duty1, officers in active status in the reserve components (includ- ing gray-area reservists), former officers, retired officers, and all surviving spouse members. The board is charged with governing and overseeing the operations of the nation’s fourth-largest military association. This year’s operating budget is some $23 million, and the board currently shoulders fiduciary responsibility for some $120 million in assets. These responsibilities demand the board be composed of directors who think strategically and understand their responsibility to govern MOAA in the best interests of its members. MOAA directors serve one six-year term and must be MOAA members. Each director

serves on at least one of the standing committees, which oversee strategic planning, finance and audit, government relations, health care, publications, council and chapter affairs, educational assistance, membership, member services, governance, and investments. Most committee meetings are held in conjunction with the three scheduled board meetings each year. The chair appoints special committees to address specific issues as needed. Interested members should submit their applications and letters of recommendation

by March 31. A nominating committee (one MOAA member from each service who is not a MOAA director) will consider all applications received. Details of the process appear on the facing page and will appear in the February and March issues of Military Officer. Board seats are allocated by service and geographic region. There are no quotas for uniformed officer grades. (Current directors serve or served in grades W-5 through O-10.) The nominating committee also will be charged to consider service component (regular, Reserve, National Guard), gender, and ethnic diversity. The committee will seek candidates with special qualifications, such as financial management, investment banking, accounting, health care, legal, or political expertise, that complement essential board functions. MOAA’s continuing leadership in the world of military associations requires a cross- section of our membership on the board. We need a large number of well-qualified mem- bers of all ranks in the application pool. Within MOAA’s membership, there are many members with the knowledge, experience, and special skills we can use to good effect. Each eligible voting member will receive a ballot with the August 2016 issue of Mili-

tary Officer. Space will be provided on the ballot to write in votes for other MOAA mem- bers not on the committee’s slate of nominees. Online voting also will be available. After the election results are validated, new directors will take office right after the annual meeting in the Washington, D.C., area, Oct. 26. We need highly skilled men and women in all officer grades. Please consider offering yourself as a candidate, and above all, plan to vote in the upcoming election.

1 DoD and Coast Guard ethics regulations provide that currently serving DoD and Coast Guard personnel may participate in the management of nonfederal entities, such as MOAA, in a personal capacity provided 1) they act exclusively outside the scope of their official positions, 2) they were not offered the management position because of their DoD or Coast Guard as- signment or position, and (3) their management status or activities do not conflict with their official duties. Coast Guard of- ficers also must secure a favorable ethics opinion from their servicing Coast Guard ethics attorney.