Keeping apathy out of the ranks Published July 6, 2007 By Albert Buss The Retired Enlisted Association Pioneer Chapter 46 president F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo. -- Professional military organizations are alive and well because they are a great place to serve. Some of the largest PMOs have a chapter or post here; for example, The American Legion Post #6, The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1881 or Post 4343, The Noncommissioned Officers Association Frontier Chapter 1169, The Air Force Sergeants Association Cowboy Chapter 1178, The Military Officers Association of America and The Retired Enlisted Association Pioneer Chapter 46, just to name a few. These organizations exist for all active duty, reserve and retired military personnel. While there is an organization for every rank and age, the majority (around 80 percent or more) of the military within the local area are not involved or are unaware of the intended assistance or help these organizations can furnish. But there are those (20 percent) that spend countless volunteer hours to sustain the PMOs. Not only do they sustain the PMOs, but they also monitor military issues within the United States House of Representatives and the Senate, coordinate with state congressional representatives to understand how they stand on these issues, and ultimately, lobby or petition for or against issues. There are professional military organizations for just about any interest. Don't wait until the next transition assistance program to get involved; your benefits are at risk from a swipe of a pen. It has happened in the past and numerous attempts have occurred within the last year. Once you have lost a benefit that was promised, your interest may change. That is one reason I am as involved as I am. And I do know who my congressional delegates are and the proposed replacements. Knowing who your House of Representatives or Senators are is a requirement on your part. It is amazing the number of personnel that don't have a clue. We need to keep apathy out of the ranks. I can tell you for sure, out of the fifty-seven PMOs that do exist are well aware of all the congressional delegates. Most of the PMOs are either members of the National Military Veterans Alliance or The Military Coalition, which both reside in the Washington, D.C., area. These two organizations monitor the military issues closely, and subsequently, keep the PMOs abreast of the status. Therefore, the congressional issues are monitored very closely on a daily basis. As we all should know, federal benefits are not the only veteran benefits that exist. PMOs monitor state veteran's benefits and issues also. And believe me, there numerous state benefits that exist within each state. These benefits were lobbied or petitioned by the Veteran's Commission within each state. PMOs monitor the Veteran's Commission on its maintaining or creating benefits for veterans. Let's face it, without the PMOs involvement within each state, veteran's benefits could change dramatically. We need to keep apathy out of the ranks. Other benefits of PMOs are the camaraderie and the fraternal aspects that exist. The self esteem of assisting others within the local community is priceless. Like they say, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The lack of membership within the PMOs is decreasing on an annual basis. Consequently, the numbers required to maintain a strong lobbying status are slowly dwindling. The only advice I could give is to become a member, get involved and reap all the benefits that you earned. Just as a note, the average age of the current membership doing all they can do within most PMOs is around 70 years old. Take inventory of your knowledge pertaining to your earned benefits and your congressional delegation. Get involved and let's keep apathy out of the ranks.