To My Successor

September 2010 Navy

by LCDR David M. Bradley, USN (Ret)

By the time you read this, we will have completed a very successful and productive fall conference. I will have completed my second one-year term and, as our Bylaws require, now step aside for an able successor. With many new officers, District realignment, and organizational changes, your Association will be more relevant and beneficial to our Navy family as a whole.

Now, while all these changes will help the Association to function more efficiently to serve our members and the Navy family, there is one valuable element in the equation – YOU! We need more involvement at the local level in Chapter and District programs and their participation in veteran, community, and patriot events. Remember, our membership is open to all Navy personnel: former, retired, Reserve, and Active. Go to those meetings and recruit.

Another way you may contribute, and insure the continuation of those benefits you now have or hopefully enjoy in the future, is to establish and maintain a liaison with your Congressional representative. Believe it or not, most pay attention to their constituents; and, as a rule of thumb, believe that for everyone that contacts them on a particular subject, there are at least ten more out there with similar opinions. Stop by your representative’s District office and get familiar with the staff (they control access) and find out when your Congressman/woman will be in town. If you can make an appointment for a personal meeting, Capt Puzon will be more than happy to provide you with “talking” points outlining the Association’s positions on important legislation. Read and be familiar with them. You may even offer to obtain additional information on a subject to assist in their decisions and Association Headquarters will help in obtaining the information.

The Association sends out regular alerts concerning important legislation that may affect the military and/or our benefits. While the CAPWIZ program provides an electronic means of communicating your views to either your representative or those sponsoring the particular bill, a personal letter via “snail mail” will carry more weight. The Congressional staffers with whom I’ve spoken have all acknowledged that a signed letter is given more attention.

The Association’s Web page has a tab at the top entitled “Advocacy.” Under that tab are a number of subject areas that, to quote from its stated purpose, “educate Congress and the nation on issues pertaining to the Navy and National Defense.” We keep you informed of what’s happening now, provide you with resources you need to be knowledgeable of the issues and ask you to take action to help shape National policy. It contains the Association’s legislative goals, contains legislative updates and alerts, shows you how to get involved, and provides links to all three branches of our government. Additionally, it provides information concerning your specific representative such as their e-mail address, their Washington office mailing address, phone and fax numbers and local office address, phone and fax information. You’ll also find information concerning their committee assignments, names of important staff members, and their status on legislation of interest to you and the Association. An interesting adjunct is a listing of their Political Action Committee (PAC) donations for the past years that they have been in office.

Over the past year or so, we’ve seen many things such as pay and allowances, retirement pay, COLA, SBP, MEDICARE and TRICARE brought into question as a means of cost savings. In the past, we have taken these for granted assuming that they would never change. It’s only through the involvement of your Association, in concert with The Military Coalition (TMC) as well as the direct involvement of our members which have enabled us to hold the line and maintain a more-or-less steady course.

Pay attention to CAPT Puzon’s Legislative Update and Action Alert e-mails and act on them. Just about every piece of legislation will have an effect on your current or future retirement in one way shape or form. It’s up to YOU to prevent future erosion. Take care and I’ve been happy to have served you in whatever small way I’ve been able.