Happy holidays – A well-deserved break!

December 2011/January 2012 - Navy
By RADM Timothy D. Moon, USN (Ret)

December is a time of joy and celebration as we share the holiday season with our friends and families. People travel from faraway places to relax, spend time together, reflect on the past, share the holiday spirit, and ring in the New Year. As joyous as that sounds, there will be a number of our Navy families who are apart over the holidays while their Sailor is serving somewhere around the world to make it safe and secure for the rest of us. We can never say thank you loud enough or often enough to all of these brave men and women.

Because of the holidays, December is a great month to recognize our Navy families and discuss family readiness. Family members make incredible contributions––many of which are never recognized or are taken for granted––to the Navy mission every day. Children, spouses, siblings, parents and grandparents provide a tremendous support network for our Sailors. They take care of everything at home. Because of their love, devotion and incredible sacrifice, our Sailors can focus on their jobs without worrying about how things are going at home. That is a very comforting feeling. The Navy has implemented many programs and made tremendous improvements in family readiness over the past decade. Families now have a comprehensive network of services and support groups that they can use to tackle the many challenges they face on a routine basis every day. Family readiness is truly a focus area of Navy leadership.

Captain Ike Puzon, Master Chief Jerry Featherstone and I joined leaders from other Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and Military Service Organizations (MSOs) at a VSO/MSO Roundtable hosted by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Attended by several influential members of Congressional committees dealing with defense and veterans issues, I was impressed by the dialogue and the genuine concern for veterans voiced by Members of Congress. Issues discussed included retirement benefits, health care, jobs for veterans, education benefits and funding for the Veterans Administration. The Members of Congress listened to the concerns voiced by the VSOs and MSOs and I am optimistic that they will consider our inputs as this is the same forum that provided the dialogue with Congress that resulted in passing the concurrent receipt legislation.

AUSN is a member of both The Military Coalition (TMC) and the National Military Veterans Alliance (NMVA). These organizations bring many MSOs and VSOs together to leverage the power of their collective memberships to address issues impacting military personnel, veterans and family members. I attended the recent TMC Board of Director’s and quarterly business meetings, and I left impressed with the energy and commitment that each individual and each VSO/MSO organization brings to their mission. As part of the NMVA, Captain Ike Puzon and I attended a conference hosted by the Pew Health Group to gain support for the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now Act of 2011 (H.R. 2182, S. 1734) which was introduced by Representative Phil Gingery (R-GA), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN). I encourage you to find out about this important bill that seeks to encourage the development of products to treat, prevent, detect and diagnose antibiotic-resistant infections. These infections are a significant and growing threat to our injured warriors and we need to push for this legislation.

The New Year will bring a few changes to AUSN. Starting this month, we will publish the Navy magazine every other month, so do not be surprised when it does not appear in your mailbox in January. Captain Ike Puzon, a name synonymous with NRA and AUSN over the past decade, will be leaving AUSN at the end of year. I, like many others, will personally miss his energy, his understanding of the legislative process, his innate ability to build relationships, and most importantly, his genuine concern for the Navy and its Sailors, families and veterans. Ike – on behalf of our 18,000 members, and the countless number of men and women who have benefitted from your efforts, thank you for all that you have done for us.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday season and a joyous New Year’s celebration filled with special memories of fantastic times with family and friends. Be smart, be safe and best wishes for a great start to 2012.