The very successful Gold Bar Program, which first was tested last year during the 2009 Give Me 10! campaign, will be back in 2010. The 2010 program will offer 2,000 sets of gold bars to chapters that support commissioning ceremonies in ROTC programs across the country. We’ve doubled the amount of gold bars that were available last year, which should allow us to meet expected demand. Requests from chapters for gold bar sets will be accepted starting Jan. 1, 2010. Send your request via e-mail to chapters@moaa.org, along with an information copy to your state council president, if you have a state council. You also can mail your request to: MOAA, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314, Attention: Council and Chapter Affairs Department.

Gold bar requests must contain the following information: • Name of the chapter requesting gold bars; • Confirmation that arrangements have been made with the support of ROTC staff to allow chapter leaders to present gold bars and complimentary one-year memberships in MOAA; • Date of the commissioning ceremony; and • The number of new officers who will be commissioned and the service branch of those officers. The intent of the program is to provide a set of gold bars to newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenants and Ensigns, and have them sign up for a complimentary one-year membership in MOAA under Give Me 10! The chapter will receive Give Me 10! credit for each new officer that joins. The Gold Bar Program works best when chapter leaders contact and receive support from ROTC staffs in advance. Arrangements should be made to either get graduates’ information in advance so chapter leaders can fill out the application cards, or chapter leaders should seek permission to meet with the cadets/midshipmen and have them fill out the cards. Putting blank application cards in membership packages for new officers to fill out and send to MOAA on their own does not work. Experience tells us they just won’t do it, and you won’t get credit–or know what happened to their application cards. Getting the cards filled out in advance depends on having a good personal relationship with the staff in the ROTC units your chapter supports. Many chapters already have a good relationship, while other chapters still have time to develop one. We have established an initial close-out date for gold bar applications of April 1, 2010. This has been a great program so far, and we expect it to be even better in 2010. Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret. Director, MOAA Council and Chapter Affairs Department