U. S. Army Warrant Officers Association
USAWOA ONLINE
35th Annual Meeting of the Members
15 - 19 October 2007
SAN ANTONIO-DOWNTOWN (MARKET SQUARE)
318 WEST DURANGO
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78204
Attendees were greeted by the Banner pictured left and the WOA Jeep pictured
right. The M151A2 jeep was displayed by CW4 Derek Stewart. Front and rear
bumpers were painted with "USAWOA" on the left and "WOA 1" on the right.
No, the jeep is not for sale but if you want to buy one go to
www.armyjeeps.net. Earlier we said you
can't register and drive an M151 series jeep in New York BUT we have since
found out that with persistence you can -
see the story about registering one.
See also the 35th AMM Photo Gallery
Thanks to the
receipt of over 700 proxies and over 80 members in attendance we exceeded
the quorum requirement of 593 or 10% of the membership eligible to vote.
Considering the very high OPTEMPO we thank each and everyone who contributed
to exceeding the goal. Because next year is an election year we will need to
meet or exceed 15% of the membership eligible to vote represented by proxy
or in person to have a quorum. We plan to have both the 36th AMM Proxy and
the Ballots in electronic form next year. Please help us achieve a quorum
before the meeting convenes.
Roy Valiant, USAWOA National President
A Pre-AMM Best Ball Golf Outing
was held at the Fort Sam Houston Golf Course.
Tee time was 0800 on October 15th. (see
Photo Gallery)
The 35th Annual Meeting of the
Members kicked off with the Annual National President's Reception
at 1800 hours on Monday, October 15th.
The President's Reception was held
pool-side at the Holiday Inn.
(see
Photo Gallery)
The business session of the
AMM opened at 0900 hours on Tuesday, October
16th. See
list of attendees and
Business Meeting Agenda
The following annual reports were submitted (see
Photo Gallery):
National President
National Vice President
National Treasurer
(also briefing slides)
European President
Mid-North Region Director
Mid-South Region Director
North-East Region Director
South-East Region Director
Western Region Director
(also briefing slides)
Assistant Vice President Army National Guard
(also briefing slides)
Assistant Vice President Army Reserve/
Assistant Vice President, Veterans and Retirees
National Webmaster
The
following Non-Profit Foundation Updates were
presented:
Warrant Officers Heritage Foundation
USAWOA Scholarship Foundation
An Officer Professional Development Day
was
conducted on October 17th and 18th.
Attendees were updated on the following topics.
(see
Photo Gallery)
BRAC and
Wounded Warrior Program- Brig. Gen. James Gilam,
CG,
Brooke Army Medical Center/Cdr, Great Plains Regional Medical Command
OES and WO Update
- COL Mark T. Jones & CW5 Charlie Wigglesworth, Warrant Officer Career Center
Status of WO Issues (ARNG)
- CW5 Tom O'Sullivan, CCWO
ARNG, NGB
Status of WO
Issues (USAR) - CW5 Jim Thompson, CCWO USAR, HQ DA OCAR
WO Net on the
Army Battle Command Knowledge System - CW5 (Ret) Dave Welsh
(see briefing slides )
Focus Group Reports -
Presentation of the topics; explanation of the purpose of the focus group
process; and desired goals of the focus group work; introduction of Group
Leaders & Assignment of Members to Focus Groups; and deliberations by the
Groups gook place on Thursday October 18th
(see
Photo Gallery).
Focus Group 1 - Army and/or
Department of Defense Issues -
CW4 (Ret) Bill Buss
Group Leader:
Advocate
Authorization of Warrant Officers as instructors at the service academies.
Advocate Reduction of time in grade requirements in all components for W2
thru W4 (suggest 4 years each) to aligned with that of the other enlisted
and officer grades for first considerations for promotion. It is a motivator and
a supply and demand issue.
Advocate Authorization to wear the CW6 insignia (at W5 pay rate)
for the WO Advisor to the CSA, Chief Warrant Officers
of the Branches (CWOB) and some Regiments (provided they are CW5s), and Command
Chief Warrant Officers assigned to authorized CCWO billets in the Army National
Guard and Army Reserve.
Focus Group 2 - Legislative
-
CW4 (Ret) Percy Butler,
Group Leader:
Survivor Benefit
Plan (SBP):
Advocate acceleration of the elimination of the reduction of SBP benefits for
the surviving spouse. Reduction of the benefit to the surviving spouse when a
retiree dies and again at age 65 is an insult to the dedication our spouses gave
in our support. Without regard to attaining social security benefits, the
surviving spouse needs the needs the SBP pay-out even more after the death of
the service member.
Advocate Adjustment of the housing allowance (BAH) for pay
grade W1 so that it is at or above that of pay grades
E6 and E7 to entice them to be warrant officers.
Address the
26-plus years of pay compression,
emphasize that the tables still do not correct all of the pay compression that
occurred over the years. Request and promote revisitation of targeted pay for
appropriate warrant officer pay grades.
Focus Group 3 - Recruiting,
Retention & Communications -
CW3 (Ret) Gene Perrino
Group Leader:
Recruiting and
Retention:
How can USAWOA recruit more members? How can USAWOA retain its current members?
Communications: How can USAWOA get the
NEWSLINER back on schedule, mailing by the 5th or 6th of the current month?
Also, what do you, as an active member, want to see in the NEWSLINER?
Focus Group 4 -
Association Focus, Resourcing & Awards Program -
CW4 (Ret) Greg Gouty
Group Leader:
Resourcing the
Association:
On what do you want the association to be placing its available efforts and
resources? How can the home office better serve the Corps and you as a member?
We work on a very thin budget so if your response involves funding, please
propose how we are to acquire the necessary funds?
Awards Program: Re-look the awards
criteria especially the Spouse of the Year.
Focus Group 5 -
Miscellaneous -
CW4 Pat Nelligan/CW4 (Ret) Max Bennett Group Leaders:
Warrant Officer
artifacts:
Advocate where the artifacts and memorabilia should be stored and or displayed
from WOCC Warrant Officer Hall of Fame at Fort Rucker and the State RTI WOCS in
the future. Examples of these are guidons, class shirts, photos, etc.
Warrant Officers
Heritage Foundation:
How can USAWOA and it's members best support the Foundation
USAWOA
Scholarship Foundation:
How can USAWOA and it's members best support the Foundation?
Change the designation of retired Army Reserve members -
of 60 years of age or older
- from "AUS (Ret.)" to "USA (Ret.). AUS is an acronym for
"Army of the United States," previously issued to all servicemembers during
World War I. Subsequently, it was reserved for references to retired Army
Reservists aged 60 years or older and took on a pejorative meaning. No other
service has such a designation.
Focus Group 6 - Business Development -
CW5 Poyas Haynes Group Leader:
The
Business Meeting reconvened at 0900 hours on
Friday, October 19th.
Chapter Awards and Streamers
were presented on Friday,
October 19th:
Years of Continuous Operation Streamers (see
Photo Gallery):
|
35 YEARS |
15 YEARS |
|
U. S. Army Warrant
Officers Association
Fort Bragg Silver
Chapter
Fort Hood Silver Chapter
Arizona Silver Chapter
|
Statue of Liberty
Chapter
Keystone Chapter
Fort McCoy Chapter
|
|
25 YEARS |
10 YEARS |
|
Greater Atlanta
Chapter
Fort Gordon
Chapter
Mid-America
Chapter
St. Louis
Gateway Chapter
Marne
Chapter
|
Iron City Chapter
|
|
20 YEARS |
5 YEARS |
|
Northern California
Chapter
|
Cornhusker Chapter
Acadiana
Chapter
Hampton Road
Chapter
Big Sky
Chapter
Northern
Lights Chapter |
Chapter Level Awards
(see
Photo Gallery):
| AWARD |
CHAPTER |
|
Best Professional
Development Program |
Aberdeen-Edgewood Chapter |
|
Community Affairs for Sustaining Programs |
Lord Fairfax Silver Chapter |
|
Community Affairs for Services |
Fort Bragg Silver Chapter |
|
Community Affairs for Donations |
Heidelberg Chapter |
|
Best Chapter for Retention |
North Texas Chapter |
|
Best Chapter for Recruiting |
Above the Best Chapter |
|
Best Region for Recruiting and Retention |
Mid-South Region |
|
Best Chapter Website |
Gold Rush Chapter |
|
Outstanding Chapter |
Redstone Arsenal Chapter |
|
Outstanding Region |
Southeastern Region |
Business Meeting Minutes
have been approved and are
available for viewing.
The Exhibit
Area
was open during all the business meeting breaks and lunch hours. It including Warrant Officer Memorabilia, handouts,
plus USAWOA Scholarship Foundation, Warrant Officers Heritage Foundation,
and Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Corporate Member exhibitors included
Grantham University and Vidmar Storage Technologies, Division of Stanley
Works.
(see
Photo Gallery)
The Annual Meeting of the
USAWOA Board of Directors took place at 1600
hours on Friday, October 19th.
The
Annual Banquet took place at 1700 hours on
Friday, October 19th (see
Photo Gallery).
The guests of
honor were Brig. Gen. and Mrs. Michael B. Cates. The General is the
Commander of the U. S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive
Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. He is also the Chief of the Army
Veterinary Corps - see
biography and picture.
Prior to the Banquet General Cates pinned AMM attendee Arthur Rakowitz
signifying his promotion to CW3 in the U. S. Army Reserve
(see
Photo Gallery).
After the posting of the Colors
by the AMEDD Color Guard and the National Anthem by the AMEDD Center and
School Band, the Invocation was rendered by our own USAWOA Founder
President Emeritus CW4 (Ret) Don Hess. This was followed by a Memorial to
KIA/MIA/POW Ceremony. The KIA/MIA/POW Table was dedicated to
1LT Thomas M. Martin,
son of CW4 Candis and SGM (Ret) Ed Martin. "Candy" is the USAWOA
Mid-South Region Director and AMM Host Committee Chairperson. Also on the
KIA/MIA/POW table was a listing of all
Warrant Officer casualties of the U. S. Armed Forces
since that fateful day of 11
September 2001
(see
Photo Gallery).
After dinner BG Cates spoke to the attendees on how were and the Army can take
care of ourselves and our soldiers.
This was followed by presentation of the
Virginia Holcombe Memorial Warrant
Officer Spouse of the Year Award
which went to
Rose Scott,
spouse of
President Emeritus CW4 (Ret) Bob Scott, and the
Albert M. Holcombe
Memorial Warrant Officer of the Year
went to CW3 (Ret) Eugene "Gene"
Perrino who is the current Southeast Region Director, who coincidently was
the Master of Ceremonies for the Annual Banquet
(see
Photo Gallery).
Also, during the Banquet the
USAWOA Scholarship Foundation Fund Raiser Winners were drawn by Linda Cates,
wife of BG Cates. They were P. Q. Frisko of Plantation, FL, a $1,000;
Melissa Stewart of Tacoma, WA, a $500 Savings Bond; and Bill
Kinsella of New Hyde Park, NY, a $250 Savings Bond. Congratulations to the
winners and thanks to everyone who supported the fund raiser.
The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Door Prize
winner was CW3 Patrick Morris, President of the Lord Fairfax Silver
Chapter in Alexandria, VA. Patrick received two $50 travelers checks provided
by PFCU
(see
Photo Gallery).
See also the 35th AMM Photo Gallery
Mark your Calendars
USAWOA 36th Annual Meeting of the Members
20 to 24 October 2008
Aberdeen, Maryland
| See summary and pictures European Region 2007 AMM |
|
See summary and pictures from the 34th AMM St.
Petersburg, FL in 2006 |
|
See summary and pictures from the 33rd AMM, Tucson, AZ
in 2005 |
| See summary and pictures from the
32nd AMM, Leesburg, VA in 2004
|
| See summary and pictures from the
31st AMM, Gettysburg, PA in 2003 |
| See summary and pictures from the
30th AMM, San Juan, PR in 2002 |