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VADM Norbert Ryan Luncheon

VADM Norbert Ryan ’67, USN (Ret.) Speaks at Chapter October 2005 Luncheon

VADM Norbert Ryan '67, USN (Ret.) is the President of MOAA, the Military Officers Association of America, formerly The Retired Officers Association (TROA). He was also former Chief of Naval Personnel and, as many know, is the twin brother of former USNA Superintendent VADM John Ryan.

Many thanks to Chapter member Jim Hatch '47 for arranging this very valuable visit to our Chapter!

VADM Ryan is the ninth President of MOAA in its 76-year history. MOAA is the fourth largest association in the country, gathering over 20,000 new members each year. The name change, implemented three years ago, was intended to make it obvious that you don’t have to be a retired officer to be a member. Members include active duty, retired, National Guard, Reserve, and former officers and their families.

MOAA works as an advocate for its members as well as for service members and the service academies. Influence in Washington, DC, according to VADM Ryan requires a voice, which means voting members. Current membership is approximately 365,000 members represented by 419 chapters. The larger the voice, the more the influence. From the get-go, we are fighting a battle of communication and education since only 31% of current Senators have any military service in their backgrounds!

MOAA gives us a voice that works. Recently, survivor benefits for spouses were reduced from 55% to 35%. MOAA worked to get those benefits rights restored to 55% and recently succeeded in getting a bill passed to do just that. This represents an $8 billion dollar program!

VADM Ryan next spoke to the issue that he referred to as the mission and the reality being “out of alignment”. He summarized as follows:

We are currently at war.
The nation is not at war. Our military is at war. (Less than 1% of the population is involved in the war.)
The result is that our volunteer corps is terribly stressed.
The one weapons system that has never let us down is our men and women in uniform, but we have let them down.
Only 3.2% of the GDP (gross domestic product) is being spent on the military and the war. That’s a peace time budget! (The lowest since 1940!)

The Army missed its recruiting goal by 9,000 people this year. Current USMA graduate retention of over five years is less than 30%. The other services are not looking much better. VADM Ryan blames this problem on the current “Pers tempo-Ops tempo”. Most recent USMA grads have already had two or more tours in Iraq. Their families want to know when and if they are ever going to see them and for how long.

The only way to turn the Pers tempo-Ops tempo problem around is to recruit and retain more service members. Just to get that ball rolling requires an immediate increase benefits and bonuses.

VADM Ryan said that our combined voices must say loudly and clearly to the United States Senate, that “we are very disappointed they did not get a defense bill passed!”

In closing, he stressed that, in order to have our voice heard, we all need to “stay engaged” and “stay in the arena” of our country’s military. Join MOAA, stay involved in our Alumni Association and other military organizations, and continue to be an advocate for our men and women in uniform.

For complete information about MOAA, visit their web site at:

www.moaa.org

(Note: You can also call 1-800-234-6622 for a 1-year free membership to get started.)

Many thanks to VADM Ryan for making time in his busy schedule to visit with the Atlanta Chapter. For more info on VADM Ryan, click VadmRyanBio.pdf.

Click on a thumbnail image to see a full-sized picture.

Chapter member Jim Hatch '47 introduces VADM Ryan.

VADM Ryan begins his presentation to the Chapter members.

Chapter President Steve Frederick '72 presents VADM Ryan with his personalized Atlanta Chapter apron and a standing invitation to our LobsterFest each summer.