Admiral Moon posted on March 01, 2011 00:16
March 2011 Navy
By RADM Timothy D. Moon, USN (Ret)
Happy Birthday, Navy Reserve! I hope that everyone is surviving the constant onslaught of winter weather that has hit most of the country this winter. It is beautiful, looks so peaceful and is fun to play in; but it can really disrupt our lives with lengthy commutes, delayed or cancelled airline flights, power outages and a host of other challenges. Hopefully, spring is not far away!
The annual AUSN Capital Hill reception was held on 19 January. The room was filled with energy as over two hundred leaders and representatives from OSD, SECNAV, OPNAV, Congress, Congressional Staffs, industry, other veterans’ service organizations, and AUSN were in attendance. During this event, I had the distinct honor and privilege to recognize several members of the 111th Congress and professional staff from the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) during the AUSN Navy Now Forum on 19 January. AUSN Legislative Awards were presented to Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Ms. Diana Tabler and Mr. Jon Clark of the SASC, and Mr. John Chapla and Mr. Mike Higgins of the HASC. These individuals went “above and beyond” to draft and pass legislation that supports our Sailors and their families.
AUSN, largely through the efforts of Rear Admiral Casey Coane, our Executive Director, and Captain Ike Puzon, our Director of Government Relations, is recognized by Congress and their staffs and Navy leadership as a leading voice in advocating for a strong Navy and for Sailors and their families. We are known for leadership and teamwork while engaging with all of our partners in the legislative process on behalf of you, our members.
AUSN advocates for hardware and equipment such as the Littoral Combat Ship, the F-35 and the modernization of Aegis fleet assets. This is important to the Navy and our Sailors, but AUSN’s real strength is in advocating for programs and benefits that directly impact Sailors and their families. Our 2011 legislative goals are focused on health care, personnel, veterans and retiree issues. We pursue these initiatives as an association, and also in partnership with other veteran’s service organizations and military service organizations like The Military Coalition and the National Military and Veterans Alliance.
One item that AUSN strongly supports is the development and procurement of a single integrated pay and personnel system. Fielding this capability will strengthen the Navy’s employment of an operational reserve and will facilitate the implementation of the continuum of service initiatives, both of which are high priorities within Navy leadership. It will enable a truly seamless transition as Sailors change lanes between active and reserve status during their Navy careers.
In the January 2011 edition of Navy, Captain Ike Puzon, AUSN Director of Government Relations, detailed the Association’s legislative goals for 2011. This comprehensive list of legislative initiatives will ensure a strong Navy and secure benefits that our membership has earned through many years of selfless sacrifice and dedicated service. It addresses issues that impact our entire membership and their families. These goals were identified with very little input from anyone outside the headquarters staff and a few elected officers. I encourage each of you to read these legislative goals and to provide input and feedback where you find that we have failed to capture something correctly. You are stakeholders in AUSN and we want, and value, your input. We want you to engage with us, and to support our efforts where you can. The legislative goals can also be found on the AUSN Web site at www.ausn.org. Let us know what is important to you so we can refine and prioritize our legislative activities. In closing, AUSN represents the interest of all Sailors and their families. This includes active and reserve, officer and enlisted, serving and retired, and their families. Our strength is in our membership and we will get even stronger with a larger and more active membership. We need your input so you are “cleared hot” to let us know what you think.