April 2010 Navy
By LCDR David M. Bradley, USN (Ret)
Now that you’re retired (or about to be) and you have spare time on your hands (assuming you don’t play golf), you may consider volunteering your time and expertise in any number of areas.
Of course, first on the list should be the Association of the United States Navy. Contact your local chapter or District President to see how you may be of assistance. If there is no local chapter, now’s the time to form one. I doubt that there are few areas that you wouldn’t be able to find a dozen or more Navy personnel (current, former, retired, etc.) that would love to get together on a monthly basis. You may even be able to offer assistance to the local high school NJROTC unit; they’d love it.
Museums
Military museums are always on the lookout for former military to help with restorations, guides, docents, back office help, maintenance, and relief for paid staff. There are literally hundreds of these scattered around the U.S. and at least one in every state. To check for the one nearest to you, go to: www.military.com/Resources/ResourceSubmittedFileView?file=museums_museum_guide.htm.
Associations-Navy
There are more than four dozen Navy-associated groups, most centering on specific units, events, member status (officer, enlisted, ship type, etc.). Some, like the Naval Historical Foundation, promote and preserve the naval history of our country; or, in the case of the Naval Institute, serve as an independent forum that produces periodicals, books, and seminars to contribute to the professionalism of Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guards-men and the Sea Services they serve. A list of some of these organizations may be found at http://www.military.com/Community/Subpage/1,14746,NAVY,00.html.
Veterans and Retirees
These associations, in addition to functioning as information resources, also provide advice and assistance to members and non-members alike. Many, like the Military Coalition (in which your Association has a leadership position) comprised of 34 organizations representing more than 5.5 million members of the uniformed services— active, reserve, retired, survivors, veterans— and their families, work with your elected officials to ensure sensible and reasonable legislation that effects military hardware, personnel policies, and support.
Others, such as the DAV, provide free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies of government. http://www.military.com/Community/Subpage/1,14746,VETERAN,00.html is a list of some of these organizations.
Other Volunteering Opportunities
Should you desire to contribute to your local area, a site called VolunteerMatch (http://www.volunteermatch.org/) provides a site that you enter your ZIP code, city or state, and keywords describing the opportunity you’re looking for. Or enter the skills you have (or would like to develop).
Another site, http://www.serve.gov/index.asp, provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service, is an on-line resource that not only provides volunteer opportunities in your local area but also provides you the tools and assistance for your own do-it-yourself programs.
Some of the more interesting opportunities are with the US Forest Service or your state forest service. If you’re a traveler and like to camp, it becomes an especially attractive alternative. As a volunteer, you may work part-time or full-time on one-time projects or throughout the season. You may prefer performing invigorating physical labor outdoors or help out in an office environment. Your commitment is up to you.
If your schedule allows – for example, if you’re retired or have summers free – you may even have the unique opportunity to live in a national forest while working as a Forest Service volunteer as a work-camper in return for free rent. A recent article mentioned that there exists an itinerant, footloose army of available and willing retirees in their 60s and 70s marching through the American outback, looking to stretch retirement dollars by volunteering to work in parks, campgrounds, and wildlife sanctuaries, usually in exchange for camping space.
The cash-strapped park and wildlife agencies say that retired volunteers have in turn become all the more crucial as budget cuts and new demands have made it harder to keep parks open. Recreation managers say they have become more dependent than ever on a national network of volunteers, partly because of spending cuts and partly because remaining staff members have to prioritize what they can do. In some places, the retired volunteers are about the only staff members left.
Work-campers come together in one place — leading nature walks or staffing visitor centers, typically working 20 hours to 30 hours a week. Camp life revolves around the great outdoors: picking up trash, guiding visitors and, with luck, perhaps spotting the rare roadside hawk that has been reported in the Rio Grande Valley. Night brings a round of socializing: wine around the picnic tables out by the bird feeders, an open-mic sing-along at the recreation center, or an evening walk through the forest or grassland.
More information and opportunities may be found at http://www.volunteer.gov/Gov/.