AUXILIARIES ASK FOR MORE MILITARY OFFICER MAGAZINE COVERAGE

I would like to suggest you add an “In Memoriam” page for Auxiliary members, and perhaps the same for wives who predecease their husbands.

In California alone there are 9741 auxiliary members who belong to MOAA, according to your records. There are 1366 belonging to chapters, and 280 who belong to chapters but not to National.
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Mary Kalinyak
CAL-MOAA Auxiliary Liaison continue reading

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POTENTIAL REMOVAL PROMPTS UPROAR

Fellow Veterans of the Naval Services:

This morning, Ms Abby Sue Fisher of the National Park Service came to Marines’ Memorial to inform me that the Ship’s bell of the USS San Francisco is to be removed from display in the lobby of the Marines’ Memorial Club and returned to the National Park Service within 30 days. She left with me an unsigned and undated copy of a the letter allegedly from the Deputy Director of the Navy Historical Center, a Captain McDaniel, wherein the Navy Historical Center is requesting the Bell be returned to the Naval Historical Center. I have attached the letter to this email.

Ms Fisher also gave me a copy of a 28 June 1950 San Francisco Examiner in which a story about the donation of the Bell of the USS San Francisco (CA -38) having been presented to then SF Mayor Robinson, so that the Bell could be part of a memorial to RAdm Daniel Callaghan and his men who lost their lives aboard the ship off Guadalcanal. The monument is currently the USS San Francisco Monument at Lands End on the SF Peninsula. Ms Fisher insisted that the National Park Service improperly loaned the Bell to the Marines’ Memorial Association.

Ms Fisher told me that it was certainly improper that the Bell had been loaned to “…a Convention Center and a Hotel”. When I told here we are not a Convention Center or an Hotel, but a private Veterans organization, with a IRC 501c(19) War Veterans status, and tasked to maintain a museum, she informed me that because she heard our front desk take reservations and accept payment, that we are a hotel. continue reading

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NAVY SEAL, MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT, TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF HEROES

Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England will induct Medal of Honor recipient Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon in a ceremony
April 9 at 2 p.m. EDT.

The White House announced Monday that Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat Sept. 29, 2006, while serving as an automatic weapons gunner in a Naval Special Warfare Unit in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.

President Bush is expected to present the Medal of Honor to Petty Officer Monsoor’s parents at a ceremony at the White House on April 8 at 3 p.m. Media interested in covering this event should contact the White House Office of Media Affairs at (202) 456-6238. continue reading

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CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE (CAGW) DISCLOSES PORK

CAGW’s 2008 Congressional Pig Book will make its debut April 2!

It’s the time of year again that official Washington dreads - the unveiling of CAGW’s annual Congressional Pig Book.

After passing an earmark-free continuing resolution to fund government operations for fiscal 2007, Congress has again gorged on earmarked pork in fiscal 2008. The 2008 Congressional
Pig Book features a complete database of pork-barrel projects in the federal budget and profiles the most egregious examples from the annual appropriations bills. CAGW has identified a total of
11,610 pork-barrel projects, costing taxpayers $17.2 billion. Some of the lowlights from this year’s Pig Book include: $4,840,870 for wood utilization research; $1,529,220 for the Appalachian Fruit Lab; and $984,400 for Idaho’s strategic plan for managing noxious weeds.

As always, CAGW will name the names of those members of Congress who circumvent budget rules to “bring home the bacon.”

To get your own copy of the 2008 Congressional Pig Book Summary, make a tax-deductible contribution of $25 or more to CAGW today! See: http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer.

Submitted By: Col Bill Gavitt

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CALIFORNIA’S VETERANS AT A CROSSROADS

Those who have put service to our nation above all else deserve our respect, our thanks and our assurance that the doors to the future will be open to them. We must demand that education, job training, healthcare, and housing be readily available to these heroes. As you well know, California is at a critical juncture, and the investments we make now in educating our people are key to our collective success in the years to come. Those returning to California from service in Iraq and Afghanistan have much to give our state, and our state has much to gain from
educating them.

Below is an op-ed from the San Diego Union Tribune that I thought you might find of interest. I look forward to working with you to build a stronger and more prosperous California.

California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi continue reading

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UNDERSTANDING NEEDS OF TODAY’S OFFICERS AND FAMILIES

MOAA has established the President’s Currently Serving Spouse Advisory Council with the purpose of helping the organization better understand the needs and issues facing today’s officers and families. The council, which met for the first time Sept. 12, consists of 14 military spouses representing the active duty service branches and the active components of the Guard and Reserve.

“While MOAA already does a lot for spouses and families of currently serving military members, we want to increase our knowledge of their issues and concerns so we can provide better support to them,” says MOAA’s president, Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret. The council is an internal focus group that reports directly to Ryan with its deliberations, discussions, and recommendations. Council members will meet quarterly and fulfill one-year terms. Each serves on one of four committees: Outreach, Government Relations, Products/Services, and Communications.

The council members, chosen by MOAA headquarters staff, represent a diverse mix of spouses who can offer a range of perspectives. Council members are: Diane Sams, Tammy Guthrie, Alison Loeffler, Kelly Kimball, Wanda Castellaw, Nina Valli, Cathy Jackman, Debbie Koss, Paula Sumrall, Bill Hammond, Michele Rubeor, Nicole Alcorn, Rosemarie Nemeth and Tanya Biank. continue reading

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HERE’S WHAT’S NEW WITH HR 3997

HR 3997 was hung up in the Senate and House just before they broke for the Christmas recess. Now it appears to have lost its momentum. From checking Thomas, it looks like the Senate did it’s thing and sent it to the House on 20 Dec, then nothing. I have seen references to S.1974 but no text. Is there a relationship there?

What is happening? continue reading

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VETERANS ADMINISTRATION ADDS 20 NEW VET CENTERS
Philadelphia, February 27, 2008

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake today said an expansion by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of its Vet Centers, which provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to returning combat veterans, is well ahead of schedule.

In February 2007, VA announced it would open 23 new centers during the next two years. Fifteen of those centers are already operational, and five others are seeing patients in temporary facilities while finalizing their leases. The other three facilities will begin operations later this year.

“Building on our past successes, 2008 will see a permanent increase in the number of Vet Centers, as we bring the remaining facilities on line to reach a record 232 Vet Centers by the end of the year,” Peake said. continue reading

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