Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army July 23, 2017

Our Community Salutes 2017 !As reported last month, AUSA, Delaware Chapter, conducted our Sixth Annual ‘Our Community Salutes’ event on May 16, 2017. After some delay, the photos are now available on the OCS webpage, ocsde.org.

Each enlistee received letters of appreciation signed by Senators Carper and Coons and Representative Blount-Rochester, as well as one from the Chairmen of both the State House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees.

!Christopher McGuire (pictured here with his wife), a counselor with Dover High School, was presented with the GEN Colin L. Powell Award for his efforts to assist students seeking to begin their career in the military.

!Thanks, Christopher!

�1AUSA: Voice of the Army, Support for the Soldier

2017 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition !!The Association of the U.S. Army will conduct its 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition on October 9 to 11 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., located between 7th and 9th Streets, N Street and New York Avenue. !The meeting is North America’s largest exhibition of land power vehicles and equipment, and features discussion panels, workshops, and professional development sessions.!This year the AUSA Delaware Chapter will be recognized as the Overall ‘Best Chapter’ in Category 5 (under 250 members). ! The President will receive the award at the opening ceremony on October 9.!Admission is free to AUSA members, but some events (Guard/ Reserve Breakfast, ROTC Luncheon, etc.) require tickets in advance. !

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CHAPTER NEWS * Support for Soldiers; All Components, All Ranks *

Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army July 23, 2017

U.S. Army Warrant Officer Association partners with AUSA.

Last month AUSA and the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Association have a new membership agreement, whereby a 1-year AUSA membership was extended to all current members of the USAWOA that began on June 1, 2017. From this agreement, our Chapter added 64 new members.

Welcome to all of these new members, and we look forward to your ideas an comments.

Upcoming Events:

287th Army Band Performances

26 July 2017 Delaware State Fair (Armed Forces Day) Harrington, DE 7:00 PM – Ceremonial Band!

6 Aug 2017 Bellevue State Park Summer Concert Series Wilmington, DE 6:30 PM – Concert Band!

19 Aug 2017 Old Time Peach Festival, Middletown, DE 9:00

AM – Ceremonial Band

and a few other events; !

26 Aug 2017 Chesapeake City Lions Club Car Show, 9:00 AM – Chesapeake City, MD

26-27 Aug 2017 Dover Air Force Base Open House featuring the USAF Thunderbirds, 9am-4pm - Dover, DE

22 Sep 2017 Vietnam Dustoff Association Dinner in recognition of UH-1 crews that performed Medical Evacuation missions in Vietnam in support of American ground forces, 7:00 PM – Modern Maturity Center, Dover, DE

�2AUSA: Voice of the Army, Support for the Soldier

!V.A. News !

Veteran Homelessness: No Veteran should be without

a place to call home. !The VA is committed to ending homelessness among Veterans. Their focus is threefold: !Coordinated outreach to

proactively seek out Veterans in need of assistance.

Connecting homeless and at-risk Veterans with housing solutions, health care, community employment services and other required supports.

Collaborating with federal, state and local agencies; employers; housing providers, faith-based and community nonprofits; and others to expand employment and affordable housing options for Veterans that are exiting homelessness.

Review all V.A. programs and services at:

http://www.va.gov/

Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army July 23, 2017

242nd Army Birthday Chapter members and guests celebrated the 242nd Birthday of the U.S. Army on June 14th at the newly opened Delaware Military Museum. The Museum, operated by the Delaware Military Historical and Education Foundation, is located at Armory, First Regiment Road, Wilmington, DE, 19805. (Per tradition, the first cut of the cake is made by both the senior and junior person in attendance.) !From left to right: COL (Ret) Gary W. Dawson, President of the AUSA Delaware Chapter; Sergeant Luna; MG (Ret) William Duncan, a Korean War Veteran; CW3 (Ret) Charles Glenn; and BG (Ret) Terry Wiley, the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Delaware.

!!Online Exchange Use is Underway !

Last month, about 12,000 “beta test” veterans’ tested online exchange shopping, which will be open for millions of honorably discharged veterans on Veterans Day, Nov. 11th.

All veterans are being encouraged to take the first step by confirming veteran eligibility status at: https://www.vetverify.org. It might be a multi-step process if the Defense Manpower Data Center lacks information to verify that a veteran served and received an honorable discharge.

For most applicants the process goes smoothly. Those approved for the ‘beta test” receive an email inviting them to be a test participant and begin to shop immediately through four exchange service portals: www.shopmyexchange.com for Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES): www.mynavyexchange.com for Navy exchanges;

www.mymcx.com for Marine Corps stores, and www.shopcgx.com for Coast Guard exchanges.

By early July, 90,000 veterans have attempted to

�3AUSA: Voice of the Army, Support for the Soldier

Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army July 23, 2017

register to exchange shop online starting Nov. 11. Twelve percent of them got invitations to shop immediately. AAFES was monitoring shopping patterns to ensure their online portal and distribution system are ready for waves of new shoppers this fall, said Ana Middleton, president and chief merchandising officer for AAFES.

“My worst fear,” said Middleton, “is a tsunami on November 11th, if everybody decides, ‘Hey, I’m going to check this out’ and they sign on that day at the same moment.” AAFES is building website capacity to allow for 30,000 simultaneous shoppers at any given time. A lot of shoppers “would have to be signing on at that exact same millisecond to stress it out. So yes, I feel that we are sized appropriately.”

Exchange use will save shoppers time and money, as there are no taxes and shipping is prompt.  Exchange profits go to pay salaries, fund store operations and to ensure adequate website capacity, AND a percentage of profits are distributed to on-base Morale, Welfare and Recreational activities including child development centers, fitness centers, and, overseas, school lunches. !

Kent Vietnam Veterans Honor Vietnam ‘Dustoff ’ Association Crews who Saved them

“That others may live,” was the slogan of the UH-1 Dustoff helicopter crews who flew into firefights to rescue the wounded in Vietnam. That slogan and heroism has been passed down to today’s medical evacuation crews who serve in harm’s way across the globe.

Vietnam Dustoff Association is coming to Dover for their September 21-23, 2017 national convention. They will be hosted by Kent County Chapter 850, Vietnam Veterans of America. They have special meaning to Joe Startt Jr., Chapter 850 president, who will never

forget his own lifesaving ride after being wounded in Vietnam in 1969. “I remember being told to hold on, help was on the way. In less than 15 minutes the ‘whop, whop, whop’ was like an angel’s voice telling me I’d survive.”

“The UH-1 Huey on display at the Kent County Veterans Memorial Park serves as an ongoing reminder of their heroism,” he said. Paul Davis (pictured left) , V.P. of Chapter 850, worked for two years with government officials and chapter members to acquire and transport the UH-1.

�4AUSA: Voice of the Army, Support for the Soldier

Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army July 23, 2017

One of the highlights will be a Friday, September 22, 7 p.m., dinner hosted by the chapter at the Modern Maturity Center and followed by several events the next day. Saturday’s agenda will include a 10 am ceremony at the Kent County Veterans Memorial Park on S. Little Creek Road in Dover where crew members will be honored, followed by lunch at the Dover AFB dining facility where the Dustoff crews with be greeted by representatives of the 436th Airlift Wing.

“These men, several thousand of whom paid the ultimate price saving lives in Vietnam,” are our brothers…,” said Mr. Startt. “We will always honor and revere them.”

The $35-a-plate dinner will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. The cutoff date is September 15. For tickets or sponsorship opportunities, call 302-697-8384 or email pauldavis5322@comcast.net. !

100 Years Ago, U.S. is Drawn into World War I 💥 The U.S. entered World War 1 on April 6, 1917 with a regular Army of only 130,000 men. Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917, making the mobilization of a mass Army feasible. Registration began in June, and by July 1917, tens of thousands of drafted men were on their way to Army training camps. Rather than reinforce Allied troops already engaged with German forces, GEN John J. Pershing established the American Expeditionary Forces that would fight in a sector of its own. The speed and magnitude of the American build up of troops, equipment and support bases was unprecedented. The U.S. mobilized over 3.7 million men in World War I, deploying more than 2 million to Europe. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive became the largest battle the U.S. had ever fought, employing nearly a million men, 4500 tanks and artillery, and requiring 34 evacuation hospitals and nearly 164 miles of railway, moving 40,000 tons of ammo per day. ! ! !

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Gary W. Dawson, President Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army

Want to get involved? Email me at guard7000@aol.com

�5AUSA: Voice of the Army, Support for the Soldier