AFSA Warriors,

Hooah!  I know many of you have heard this before but membership & involvement in professional organizations such as the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) are vital to the sustainment and betterment of our Air Force enlisted and our families.  Many of you hear the questions; "What’s in it for me?" or "What can I do to make a difference?"  Simply put; the answer is Involvement, Communication, Awareness, Responsiveness, and Education (I CARE).

Commit yourself to involvement in local base, community, and Association programs.  Join and take part in on-base and local programs and councils that represent the interests of Airmen. Participate in AFSA meetings and in the efforts promoted by your local AFSA chapter.  Volunteer for military and veterans’ programs that focus on the well-being of military members.  Be creative in looking for ways to improve the lives of current and past Airmen and their families.  Get others involved in such efforts and in joining the Association.  Why is such involvement important?   The answer is this:  Besides being noted as a base and community leader and an excellent AFSA representative, you will gain enhanced insight into the issues and challenges that impact Air Force members of all ranks.  You can use this insight to better relate to the issues and to communicate these concerns to AFSA Headquarters and to others.  Additionally, by getting those currently serving, those who served in the past, and family members involved, you increase AFSA’s influence and strength.

Strong, effective communication can assist the Association in accomplishing its mission.  Communicate critical insights, facts, and information to AFSA Headquarters; i.e., serve as the eyes and ears of AFSA Headquarters in the field for issues important to Airmen.  Work to communicate AFSA-provided information to other Airmen and, in particular, to enlisted leaders at all levels.  If a retiree, communicate AFSA information and efforts to other retirees and veterans.  If a family member, work to let other family members know what AFSA does for them and encourage them to join our team.  As a concerned citizen, communicate your needs and expectations to your elected officials.  Remember, they work for you, and you need to let them know how best to represent you.  In short, make strong, effective communication part of your daily approach; realize that your success in this regard will complement the efforts of the AFSA Headquarters staff.         

You can enhance your awareness of the issues by participating in events in your base and community; communicating with AFSA Headquarters and other Airmen; and regularly checking the information provided by AFSA headquarters through SERGEANTS Magazine, its other media, and reports generated to the field.   You also should follow local and national news reports and those provided by the Air Force.  Seek to understand the issues, and contact AFSA Headquarters when clarification is required.  Finally, work to improve the awareness of others.

Your responsiveness to the calls from AFSA Headquarters can make a real difference.  If AFSA encourages you to contact your elected officials to promote or oppose particular issues or legislation, please respond by doing so.  If AFSA promotes chapter involvement in letter-writing campaigns or visits to the local offices of elected officials (e.g., during congressional recesses when these officials are in their home areas conducting “town hall” meetings, etc.), please take part in these efforts.  You are members of AFSA because AFSA works to serve you; help us do that by being responsive to the calls for participation that come from the AFSA Headquarters’ staff.

It is in the area of education that you will find one of the most critical roles you can play in supporting AFSA’s overall effort.   It is important that you educate yourself through study and awareness.  Educate your fellow Airmen (those serving and who have served) about the issues and about AFSA programs that support them.  Help educate your AFSA Headquarters staff representatives on the ways they can best serve you and on the issues you want them to take to the Hill.  Educate members of Congress by giving them a clear picture of the factual situation in the field.  Also let them know that you are a proud AFSA member, and that you support the Association’s legislative agenda.

Through involvement, communication, awareness, responsiveness, and education, you can be an effective, essential participant in our work in Washington .  I encourage you to seriously consider each of these critical assets, plan to build strength in each of these areas, and implement your game plan.  Please care. 

The Association’s effectiveness depends on you!            

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions!

Hooah!

V/r

SMSgt Matthew R. “Mad Dog” Becker

Chapter 984

Brothers and Sisters of AFSA Division 89,

HOOAH!......On Thursday 26 Nov 2009, we will pause for Thanksgiving.  That will be the day when we break to give thanks for what we have—and reflect on the freedoms, privileges and the sacrifices that have been made by those who walked before us.  We will embrace the sprit of the “True American” and all its diversities which make us the greatest and most powerful country in the world!  While we are breaking from the daily rigors of life—celebrating with friends and family-- we must take a moment to reflect on the heroic men and women who made-up and make-up our great United States Armed Forces.  For their selfless sacrifices must not go unnoticed.

Across the world from Germany to Japan--Afghanistan to Iraq, on land, sea and air--American warriors are postured--on-point in the nation’s defense; providing solid, structured, and sound force through humanitarian, peacekeeping and combat related missions.  It is these heroic and staunch professionals who sit on the knife edge day and night whom we owe thanks to.  For without their commitment and dedication, our country would be in turmoil—challenged and overcome by the cancer of the world; prone to the overtly carnivorous forces hungry to attack and destroy our beloved freedoms.  America’s Warriors are postured to thwart any and all threats against our interests!

 T.E.A.M., I want to personally say THANK YOU for all your help, commitment and dedication you have provided to the defense of our great nation and to the AFSA family.  For without you, our cause would fail, our freedoms, benefits and quality of life would be drastically different.  I am proud to stand alongside a 120,000 member brethren who work for and are dedicated to—the betterment, improvement and enhancement of the United States Air Force Enlisted Airman!

As we prepare to enjoy a true American holiday, I urge each of you to pause and say THANK YOU to those who served before us—THANK YOU to those who serve today—and embrace those who will take the reigns of freedom and justice in the future.  Make this Thanksgiving a great day—a day our founding men and women would be proud of—and remember the sacrifices of a few who gave so much for so many. 

Team, the spirit of the American Warrior knows no limits.  This week I am proud to join my brothers and sisters in blue as we embrace Airmanship in its true fashion.  We need give thanks for all of life’s gifts and embrace the American Spirit; for we truly are an awesome T.E.A.M “Together, Everyone, Achieves, More”!

I wish you and your families an "AFSA-Lutely" happy, safe and healthy Thanksgiving holiday!   

Hooah!

V/r

Matthew R. "Mad Dog" Becker

AFSA Chapter 984

TEAM AFSA,

Simply put...WE NEED MEMBERS!  Specifically, we (Chapters) can NOT simply rely on the handful of potential FTAC or ALS Airmen we can pull once a month or every six weeks.  We NEED active, motivated and organized recruiting efforts.  We NEED a recruiting team! 

Sadly, I have seen many chapters drift away from recruiting as a core competency and instead operate in a quasi "Booster Club" fashion.  Hiding AFSA's message inside some Top 3 or Base event.  Granted, this may provide fodder for yoru Americanism reports; however active and focused recruiting will be the ONLY way AFSA will survive.

Time and time again i have seen chapters "in-breed" their buddies for key leadership postions; only to dicover that the true intent was to massproduce EPR bullets.  This is detremental to the chapter and AFSA as a whole.  Instead, chapters need to select motivated, dedicated and committed people--people who have AFSA's entire vision and best interests in mind.  Not, just the four gates which surround a base.

Warriors, I encourage each one of you to recruit just one person each this week.  I encourage you ti engage with your chapter leadership and get onboard with regular, focused recruiting and retention events.  Simply put, we  NOT let the true backbone of AFSA die--membership!

Its a responsibility for ALL of us especially for our elected AFSA officials!

Matthew R. "Mad Dog" Becker

Chapter 984

·         Authorizes 3.4 percent across-the-board pay raise (not including Retirees)

·         No increases in copayments for inpatient care under TRICARE Standard

·         Reserve retirees eligible for TRICARE Standard before age 60

·         Authorizes special compensation for designated caregivers of servicemembers with catastrophic injuries or illnesses

·         Reserve component servicemembers who served in combat zone to be retained on active duty until completion of the disability evaluation process

·         Requires a medical exam before separation of members who are diagnosed as suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

·         Extends to September 2013 the option for servicemembers to carry over 75 days of leave from one fiscal year to the next

·         Enacts the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act to reduce barriers to absentee voting

·         Establishment of voting assistance officers on military installations

·         Authorizes $30 million in supplemental educational aid, $14 million in special assistance to local educational agencies affected by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and $5 million in impact aid for children with severe disabilities

·         Extends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to provide financial assistance to local educational agencies with enrollment changes due to base closures, force structure changes, or force relocations

·         Changes the requisite number of federally connected children who attend area schools daily in order for a school district to receive impact aid from 6,500 to 5,000 students

·         An Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs is being added under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness

·         DOD Military Family Readiness Council to include one representative from the National Guard and one from the Reserve

·         Establish an internship pilot program for military spouses to obtain employment with other federal agencies or departments

·         Increases the maximum amount of Supplemental Subsistence Allowance from $500 to $1,100 per month

·         Max of 15% of monthly compensation may be involuntarily collected to repay overpayments erroneously paid to servicemembers

·         Reserve component members under delayed-effective-date active-duty orders are eligible for TRICARE coverage 180 days before active service begins

·         Travel and transportation allowances for up to three designated individuals to travel with and assist seriously injured or wounded service members, including those with serious mental disorders, for the duration of their inpatient stay

·         Increases the authorization for the Homeowners Assistance Program by $300 million

AFSA lobbyists continue to inform members of Congress of the sacrifices those who wear and have worn the uniform (and their families) make on a daily basis for the protection of the American way-of-life. From fighting for full pay raises for those still wearing the uniform, to full on-time cost of living allowances (COLA) for retirees, AFSA continues to lead the way to preserve and improve the quality-of-life for its members. Several other areas where AFSA has been successful the past several years include:

AFSA is the Air Force enlisted organization dedicated to the people behind the stripes. We are all enlisted grades of Air Force Active Duty, ANG and AFRC, retired, veteran and family members. We are the men and women who have a long and rich heritage of being the force behind the high-tech machinery, of being well-educated decision makers, of being the people who make procurement recommendations and of being the people who work on systems and platforms and assisting in research and development. We are the people who have invested their lives in the cause of freedom in America.

Each year Congress makes hundreds of decisions on issues that directly affect the lives of enlisted people and their families. Important issues such as medical care, job security, pay, commissary privileges, education benefits and other benefits. There was a time when the voice of the enlisted Airman was nowhere to be heard ... until the Spring of l96l, when a handful of men came together to form the Air Force Sergeants Association. AFSA is an international organization dedicated to speaking out on behalf of the people behind the stripes and today, with nearly 130,000 members, AFSA has led the way on both Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon and has earned the recognition and respect of Washington's leaders for its sustained role as the "Voice of the Enlisted". The AFSA mission, at the headquarters level, is to advocate improved quality-of-life and economic fairness that will support the well-being of Air Force enlisted personnel and their families.

AFSA Professionals!

Hooah!  The spirit of America’s freedoms will be exercised and celebrated this month.  This month, all across America—men, women, adult teenagers and elderly folks of all races, colors, religions and creeds will pause to celebrate the spirit of the American veteran!  

November 11, 2009 marked the 91st year America has officially celebrated the American War fighter on Armistice Day; commonly known today as Veterans Day.  Following the Treaty of Versailles in 1918 and Armistice—the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day of the 11^th month became known as Armistice Day and ultimately, an American holiday.  This day is dedicated to the sprit of the American warrior and all Americans should pause and take a moment to reflect on the heroic men and women who made-up and make-up our great United States Armed Forces.  For their selfless sacrifices must not go unnoticed. 

Moreover, 9 November, 2009 marked the 19^th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and ultimately—the end of the nearly 30 year “Cold War”.  Since the early 60’s American Warriors were postured to respond at a moments notice to answer the call of freedom and defend the privileges and liberties that we have come to enjoy and sometimes take for granted.  Our courage, fortitude and determination to succeed at whatever the cost, is just as staunch today as back in 1961.   

History has proven that the spirit of the American “fighting man & woman” could never be silenced.  Sometimes bent but never broken—their professionalism, dedication and motivation remained unchallenged.  Today American warriors are deployed worldwide in support of the Global War on Terror in austere and unwelcoming locations.  However, the support and well wishes we provide these ambassadors of freedom is unparalleled by any measure.   Our thoughts for their safe return and wishes for eased burdens on their families and loved ones left behind should remind us that no one should ever be forgotten.

Team, I ask you to honor the stellar commitment, accomplishments, and dedication of the American Warrior by passing on the great mantra of AFSA to your peers, subordinates and leadership.  Founded in 1961, AFSA had taken a dream—a goal—a passion of 4 enlisted members and made it a reality.  Today we stand beside a 120,000 member team who work for and are dedicated to—the betterment, improvement and enhancement of the United States Air Force Enlisted Airman!

 Make today a great day—a day our founding men and women would be proud of—and remember the sacrifices of a few who gave so much for so many.  Sponsor an Airman to a membership, a friend…renew your membership….challenge a peer to do the same.

Team, the spirit of the American Warrior knows no limits.  This month I am proud to join my brothers and sisters in blue as we embrace Airmanship in its true fashion.  Whole heartedly we need give thanks for all of life’s gifts and embrace the American Spirit; for we truly are an awesome T.E.A.M “Together, Everyone, Achieves, More”!

Go out...inform…recruit…and retain!  Please share this message with your chapters…..

As one of your most dedicated AFSA leaders, I bid you a huge “Thank You” for your selfless service!

 Hooah!

Matthew R. "Mad Dog" Becker

AFSA Chapter 984