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Maryland Council (MD MOAA) |
Last Update: Apr 2021
BREAKING NEWS:
6888th Central Postal
Directory Battalion: COL Edna
Cummings, USA (Ret), of the Fort Meade Chapter is one of those leading an
effort to have Congress award a Congressional Gold Medal to the women of the
6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (also known as the Six
Triple Eight). These ladies were the only all-female, all-Black
unit deployed to the European Theater of Operations in WW II. Bills are
currently pending in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. (The
same bill passed the Senate unanimously in Dec 2020 but did not pass the
House.) Both Maryland Senators have co-sponsored the Senate bill, but only four
of our eight Representatives have done so. If your Representative is Rep
Harris, Rep Hoyer, Rep Mfume, or Rep Sarbanes, please download the letter
proposed by COL Cummings, edit it as necessary, and send it to your
Representative. Mailing addresses for each of them area available in the roster
here.
If you would prefer to send an email, please send it to the Military/Veterans
staffer identified in the same roster. You can read more about the Six Triple
Eight at https://history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/6888thPBn/index.html.
(4 Apr 2021)
Veterans’ Grab and Go
Event: We received this from
Delegate Mike Rogers, D-Dist 32, COL, USA (Ret):
“The Disabled Veterans
National Foundation (DVNF) will be hosting a Grab and Go event on Thursday, 29
April 2021 at the Knights of Columbus, Silver Spring MD. Veterans will receivd free groceries, hygiene kits, face masks, gift
cards, a hot meal, and a Veteran’s Resource Directory. Please visit https://www.dvnf.org/veterans-grab-go-event/
for more details.” (2 Apr 2021)
Special Forces
Scholarship: We received this email from a former Professor
of Military Science, offering a scholarship for a former Special Forces
soldier:
“My name is Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kirkland (U.S. Army, Retired). I am a life member of MOAA. I am reaching out to you to see if you can post to your website an annual scholarship we are sponsoring for a student who served in the U.S. Army Special Forces and is now a full time student. The award is for $1000.
It is named in honor of
Captain James Ahn who died in a tragic parachuting
accident while with his unit in Washington State in 2015. The following
is the link to the website: CPT James Ahn Memorial Scholarship. I
was James’ Army ROTC Professor of Military Science when he was a cadet at the
University of California Riverside.
Thanks so much for your help
with letting your members know about this scholarship.
Best,
LTC Rob Kirkland” (29 Mar 2021)
Vietnam Veterans Day:
A message from Maryland Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, George Owings:
“Why is Vietnam Veterans Day observed on two different dates?
On March 29, 1974 for the
first time, Vietnam Veterans Day was declared by Presidential Order. March 29th
was chosen because one year earlier on March 29,1973, the last combat troops
were withdrawn from South Vietnam.
House Resolutions were
introduced in many subsequent Congressional sessions designating March 29th as
Vietnam Veterans Day. Here is a link to one Resolution. However, it
wasn’t until 2017 that The Vietnam War Veterans
Recognition Act of 2017 was finally signed into law making the observance a
permanent one. For even more information, check out the Vietnam War
Commemoration Website. It is interesting here to note, that in 2011, a similar
Resolution was introduced in the United States Senate designating March 30th as
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, which may be why two different dates are now
associated with recognizing Vietnam Veterans.
In Maryland during the 2015
Session of the Maryland General Assembly, legislation passed which was
co-sponsored by Senator John Astle, a Vietnam Veteran
and Delegate C.T. Wilson, a veteran of the Persian Gulf & Bosnia. In the
bill, titled Commemorative Days – Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day (Chapter 1), March 30th was designated the Day of Observance.
Governor Larry Hogan immediately signed the legislation into law on the same
day, March 30, 2015. It was the first piece of legislation he signed as
Governor of Maryland.
While there has been much
debate over which day is correct or appropriate, and I mention here that
Maryland is not the only state to observe March 30th as the day to Welcome Home
Vietnam Veterans – I am of the opinion that we Vietnam
Veterans did not receive recognition and appreciation when we came home.
If we are now welcomed home and thanked on BOTH March 29th and March 30th, well
that is just fine with me.
I hope you will join with me
in recognizing and thanking those who served.” (27 Mar
2021)
If you are a Vietnam Era Veteran in the Fort
Meade area, stop by the Main Exchange on Monday 29 Mar, from 1100-1300 to
receive a Vietnam Era Veteran pin and a free Mission BBQ sandwich. If you are
not in the Fort Meade area on Monday, stop by any Mission BBQ restaurant for a
free sandwich. (27
Mar 2021)
COVID Vaccine
Eligibility at VA: On 24 Mar,
President Joe Biden signed a law allowing the VA to give COVID vaccinations to
all veterans and their spouses. This is a major expansion of VA access to the
shots. See https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2021-news-articles/congress-passes-sweeping-new-rule-allowing-va-to-vaccinate-all-veterans,-spouses/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TMNsend&utm_content=NC+AFHRM+1+ERet+L+NC
for the MOAA article on this. See https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/
for the VA page to sign up. That page indicates it may be a while before you
may get a shot, though! (25 Mar 2021)
Identification Card
News: There are new generation
military ID cards being issued. You will receive the new when your old one
expires and when you renew it. Due to COVID, if your ID card expires you have
until June of 2021 to renew it.
Pass and ID offices
are taking appointments for ID renewals. Check with your closest base. You can
make an appointment using this web site https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/ Some offices allow you to make an appointment by telephone some are not
allowing walk-ins. The Fort Meade ID Card office has just moved to Bldg 4550 (between the main flagpole and the Garrison
Headquarters). (18
Mar 2021)
COVID-19 Information: The Maryland Department of Health has
released a fact sheet
for veterans concerning COVID-19. (8 Feb 2021)
Maryland Responds: The Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
is a community-based, civilian, volunteer program that helps build the public
health infrastructure and response capabilities of communities in Maryland.
Maryland Responds is composed of dedicated Responders who stand ready to
volunteer their skills, expertise and time to support
ongoing public health initiatives and to assist during emergencies. Maryland
Responds, previously known as the Maryland Professional Volunteer Corps, is
administered by the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) Office of
Preparedness and Response (OP&R). They are looking for
volunteers in both medical and non-medical professions. Please visit https://mdresponds.health.maryland.gov
for more information and to register. (16 Jan 2021)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Web Pages of the Maryland Council of Chapters, an affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America. The Maryland Council was awarded a Five Star Level of Excellence for 2019 (as of August 2020).
The Maryland Council is composed of ten chapters, spread geographically across the state. Here is a list of the Chapters, with links to their individual Web Pages. All Chapters have an informational page here or a separate chapter-hosted page (Stars indicate the Level of Excellence rating earned by the Chapter for 2019 – as announced in August 2020.):
·
* * * * * Star Spangled Banner (Winner of 5 Star Col
Marvin J Harris Communications Award for 2018, as of May 2019)
·
* * * * * Montgomery County
(Winner of 5 Star Col Marvin J Harris Communications Award for 2018, as of May
2019)
·
* * * * * Susquehanna – Chapter Site at MOAA
·
* * * * Upper
Eastern Shore
·
* * * * * Upper Potomac – Chapter
Site at MOAA
Council
Officers
Here are the Council officers for 2021 – 2022 (as of 13 Jan 2021):
|
President |
Norton |
Bob |
COL |
USA |
||
|
1st Vice Pres |
Gary |
Palmer |
Lt Col |
USAF |
||
|
2nd Vice Pres |
Cathy |
Hampton |
MAJ |
USA |
||
|
Secretary |
Dave |
Peterson |
CAPT |
NOAA |
||
|
Treasurer |
Jim |
Campbell |
Capt |
USAF |
||
|
Webmaster |
Jim |
Shiffrin |
Maj |
USAF |
jim.shiffrin@gmail.com |
|
|
Chaplain |
Jim |
Campbell |
Capt |
USAF |
||
|
Immediate Past Pres |
Bryon |
Hartzog |
LTC |
USA |
||
|
Legislative Director |
Lynn |
Nash |
CAPT |
USPHS |
(This is the correct email) |
|
|
Transition Liaison |
Annie |
Brock |
||||
|
Spouse Liaison |
Cheryl |
Glang |
glanghaus@comcast.net |
|||
|
Md Veterans Commissioner |
Jim |
Shiffrin |
Maj |
USAF |
jim.shiffrin@gmail.com |
|
|
MOAA
Director – Maryland Military Coalition |
Harvey |
Kaplan |
COL |
USA |
||
|
Annapolis |
Andrew |
Fallon |
COL |
USA |
||
|
Ft Meade |
Bryon |
Hartzog |
LTC |
USA |
||
|
Gen Smallwood |
Daniel |
Donohue |
COL |
USMC |
||
|
Montgomery Co |
Dave |
Peterson |
CAPT |
NOAA |
||
|
Prince Georges |
Steve |
Regner |
Col |
USAF |
||
|
Southern MD |
|
|
|
|
Combined
with Gen Smallwood |
|
|
Star Spangled |
Sean |
Casey |
BG |
USA |
||
|
Susquehanna |
Cathy |
Hampton |
MAJ |
USA |
||
|
Upper Eastern Shore |
Mike |
Johnson |
CW5 |
USA |
mjnmi1@verizon.net |
|
|
Upper Potomac |
Guy |
Everhart |
CAPT |
USN |
gfeverhart@gmail.com |
|
The Southern Maryland Chapter is currently functioning as an affiliate of the Gen Smallwood Chapter.
Here are the Maryland Council Bylaws, updated on 12 Jan 2019. (13 Mar 2019)
Here are the Maryland Council of Chapters Goals for CY2019-2020, approved by the Council on 12 Jan 2019. (19 Jan 2019)
The 2020 Congressional Luncheon was cancelled due to
the COVID-19 pandemic. (July 2020)
MOAA
membership is open to all current, former, and retired officers of any of the
seven Uniformed Services. Visit the Why Join MOAA
page at the MOAA Web Site for details on the three classes of membership, and
to join.
There
is a “Why MOAA” video produced by the MOAA National Office. Please use the following link to access the video:
For those concerned about embedded links and cyber security,
please do the following:
1) Go to the YouTube website by
typing: www.youtube.com
in your web browser
2) Type MOAA in the search bar
3) Click on the link to the MOAA
channel
4) Once the MOAA channel comes up,
you will immediately see the “Why MOAA” video.
5) If you want to cut and paste the
video web address for others, click on the “Videos” link, then select the “Why
MOAA” Video
6) Once the video begins playing,
highlight and then copy the web address at the top of the screen. It
should exactly match the hyperlink listed in this email.
If you are a MOAA member who is not
a member of a Maryland Chapter, please
click here to find the chapter in your area.
Council
Calendar
The Council officers and Chapter Presidents meet quarterly, on call of the President. Meetings are currently held at O’Loughlin’s Restaurant, 1258 Bay Dale Drive, Arnold MD 21012, starting at 1130. Here are the recent and upcoming dates, with links to the minutes of each, as they are available (older minutes are available here)
Mar 10, 2018 - Minutes
Jun 9, 2018 - Minutes
Sep 8, 2018 - Minutes
Nov 1, 2018 (At National Meeting) - Minutes
Jan 12, 2019 - Minutes
Mar 30, 2019 - Minutes
Jun 22, 2019 - Minutes
Aug 24, 2019 - Minutes
Nov 2, 2019 - Minutes
Jan 11, 2020 - meeting cancelled due to MOAA-sponsored Caribbean cruise
Mar 14, 2020 (Virtual) - Minutes
Jun 13, 2020 (Virtual) - Minutes
Oct 3, 2020 (Virtual) - Minutes
Jan 16, 2021 (Virtual) - Minutes
April 3, 2021 (Virtual)
Editorial
Policy
MOAA, the Maryland Council of Chapters and the individual chapters
in Maryland are non-partisan. Information on this web site reflects the
position of the Maryland Council of Chapters only.
Spouse and
Surviving Spouses Newsletter
Below
are recent newsletters from the former Spouse and Surviving Spouse Liaison
Officer, Mrs. Cheryl Glang. (25 Feb 2021)
-
Nov 2020
-
Feb 2021
Maryland
National Guard Unit of the Year
Stay
tuned for the announcement of the National Guard Unit of the Year for 2021. (29 Jan 2021)
Highlights
of recent and upcoming Chapter activities
Kudos to the Susquehanna Chapter: From COL Teri Coles, USA (Ret), the Sr
Director of Council and Chapter Affairs at MOAA: “Kudos to Mike Early and
members of the Susquehanna Chapter for their efforts promoting the COVID Relief
program and for raising awareness about MOAA and the chapter. He worked
with our Development team as well on background information. We are all so
thrilled with the final result and we are posting this
on all of our media platforms. I thought I’d share with you for further distro
throughout the council and chapters should you decide to do that.” https://www.wmar2news.com/
Property Tax Relief
in Anne Arundel County: On 4 Jan 2021 the Anne
Arundel County Council passed legislation establishing a real property tax credit for disabled
veterans and their surviving spouses. For details, see this
link. The credit will be 50% of the Property Tax if the Veteran is at least
75% disabled, and 25% for Veterans with a disability rating of 50% to 74%. (14 Jan 2021)
We have an updated list of members of the Maryland Senate Veterans’ Caucus.
We were unable to get a new list of the members of the Maryland House of
Delegates Veterans’ Caucus updated before the 2021 session. (25 Mar
2021)
Make MOAA's One Powerful Voice® heard in
Maryland. It will take each MOAA member living in Maryland to make this happen.
Act now to do your part!
Here is a list of Points
of Contact for the Maryland Congressional delegation (both Senators and all
eight Representatives) (updated 25 Feb 2021)
·
From
time to time, we will suggest messages we would like Maryland members to send to
Annapolis on upcoming bills of interest to all of us. There are two web-based
methods you can use to contact your State Legislators:
·
The
Maryland Legislature maintains a Web Site that you can use to contact your
Senator or Delegate. To use it, visit http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmmain.aspx?pid=legisrpage&tab=subject6,
and select the legislator’s name. If the legislator accepts e-mail (I hope most
of them do today), you will see a link to Contact Online. Click on that link.
Enter your identifying information, and type or paste the text into the Message
box.
·
Another
method is to visit http://mdelect.net/.
This site, run by the Maryland State Archives, allows you to enter your address
(Zip+4 will do, unless district lines go through your Zip+4 area – then enter
your full address), and it will tell you who your Federal and State legislators
are. There are links to their web sites. Some have e-mail tools built in;
others will link into Outlook, as above. (21
Jan 2013)
·
NEW
– here is a link to a roster provided
by the Legislature with office locations and phone numbers for all of the State Senators and Delegates. Some have moved
since last year. (26 Jan 2018)
You can find information on
MOAA’s national legislative priorities at the MOAA Take Action web
page.
The Maryland Veterans’ Commission will meet next on
20 Apr 2021.
(22 Mar 2021)
Here
are recent minutes from the Commission:
Job Search
Contact our Transition Liaison Officer, Mrs Annie Brock, at mdmoaatransition@gmail.com for any transition-related questions. (11 Jun 2020)
Looking for a new job, or know someone who is? Visit the MOAA Transition and Career Center
for Career Information.
Veterans’
Benefits
For further information on Veterans’ Benefits, please visit any of the following Web Sites:
United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Maryland Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)/TRICARE
Please send any comments and suggestions to the Webmaster using the email address shown in the listing of Council Officers above.
