Jerry C. Harrison, Past President
George Washington Chapter
and
Gary B. Hopper, Past President
Fairfax-Lee Chapter

There are many reasons, of course. In general, most rational people act in accordance with what they perceive to be their self-interest. There is an important distinction to make: self-interest is not necessarily selfish-interest. Most recognize that no man is an island unto himself; that we are each part of successively larger groups, including family, community, work groups, military units, the Total Army, and this great country of ours. Our self-interest is inextricably related to the best interest of these groups in varying degrees, similar to the way our economy, for better or worse, is linked to the other major economies of the world.

In this vein, all professions develop associations that seek to improve and protect the interests of the profession as a whole. The collective efforts of the group serve not only the members of the association but all members of the profession. AUSA is the Total United States Army's professional association dedicated to keeping America's Army strong. In this capacity, the association serves us all: people on active duty; people in the reserve components; Department of the Army Civilians; and retirees. AUSA works hard on two basic levels to accomplish this mission:

NATIONAL LEVEL

As in any organization, leadership is a critical element in mission effectiveness. The new AUSA has a new leader. GEN (Ret) Gordon R. Sullivan recently assumed the position of AUSA president. He and his team at national headquarters are active, engaged, and committed to halting what many see as dangerous erosion of America's military capability.

Through a series of Torchbearer messages, GEN Sullivan is focusing attention on critical defense issues, and he calls for action to address them. These publicly aired Torchbearer messages are sent to the Army leadership, selected segments of the American public, members of Congress, key congressional staff, and the administration.

Torchbearer message #1 described the danger of allowing defense spending to sink below 3% of the gross national product, a level not seen since pre-World War II years. This message opened the debate on the necessary level of defense spending and influenced action in both the administration and the Congress.

Torchbearer message #2 addressed the importance of keeping the covenant made 25 years ago when conscription was ended and the Army became an all-volunteer force. It called attention to the recruiting and retention problems that are bound to ensue when a significant percentage of soldiers and their families depend on food stamps, Army Emergency Relief, and the supplemental program for Women, Infants, and Children.

As an association of professionals, the new AUSA is dedicated to support America's Total Army in maintaining the highest standards of military professionalism and to provide it the necessary resources to ensure the national security of the United States. The Institute of Land Warfare(ILW) provides an assortment of professional books, papers written by prominent military leaders, and other materials directly related to the art of war. ILW also sponsors a series of forums in conjunction with local chapters around the world to provide prominent speakers who address military topics of interest.

With every election in this country, we have a Congress comprised of fewer members with prior military experience. While the military services are constrained by law from "lobbying", AUSA, as a private organization, is not so restrained. AUSA is active, engaged, and committed to getting the Army message across to all members of Congress in factual terms that highlight military realities.

These are issues that affect all us all. America's Total Army cannot continue to serve us well if many of its soldiers qualify for welfare. Ensuring that the Total Army remains strong and ready is clearly in our collective self-interest.

CHAPTER LEVEL

The George Washington Chapter:

• Provides $15,000 annually in college scholarships to chapter members and their dependents.
• Provides the soldier and NCO of the month/quarter/year awards to all organizations within its jurisdiction.
• Provides funding for the PERSCOM Fall River Run; many organization day activities, annual Christmas Balls, unit picnics, and many other activities that help members and their families get together and share common experiences and interests.
• Provides tickets and helps to fund the hospitality suite for soldiers who attend the AUSA Annual Meeting.
• Has provided unit T-Shirts to enhance esprit-de-corps.
• Makes contributions to organizations such as the Arlington Ladies (Arlington Cemetery), Junior ROTC, and others.
• Conducts quarterly luncheon meetings with prominent speakers, providing insight into topical issues and an opportunity to network among military and industry leaders.
• Sponsors the annual Potomac River cruise where corporate members and military leadership get together in a social atmosphere.
• Sponsors the annual golf tournament where congressional staff, military leaders, and industry representatives meet in a social environment.
• Supports the Army birthday celebration in the Pentagon.

The Fairfax-Lee chapter:

• Provides $6,000 annually in college scholarships to chapter members and their dependents.
• Provides the soldier and NCO of the month/quarter/year awards to all organizations within its jurisdiction.
• Provides funding for the Fort Belvoir Freedom Fest on July 4th and Octoberfest; many organization day activities, annual Christmas Balls, unit picnics, and many other activities that help members and their families get together and share common experiences and interests.
• Provides tickets and helps to fund the hospitality suite for soldiers who attend the AUSA Annual Meeting.
• Has provided unit T-Shirts to enhance esprit-de-corps.
• Sponsored six unit teams for the Army 10-miler and another unit team on a 50-mile race.
• Conducts quarterly luncheon meetings with prominent speakers, providing insight into topical issues and an opportunity to network among military and industry leaders.
• Sponsors the annual golf tournament where congressional staff, military leaders, and industry representatives meet in a social environment and the proceeds go to the scholarship fund.

WHY DO PEOPLE JOIN AUSA?

There are many reasons. Some people join because they want to add to the AUSA collective voice calling for a strong Army capable of protecting us and our way of life. For others, AUSA is the professional association for their chosen career. For still others, AUSA offers a means to resist the continuing erosion of military benefits. IN UNITY THERE IS STRENGTH. People are motivated by many different reasons. Some examples follow:

• Active duty soldiers join to help the association fight to close the pay gap, now at 14%, to protect other benefits, to ensure they have the weapon systems required to fight and win, to avoid returning to a "hollow" Army, and many more.
• Reserve Component soldiers join because AUSA provides a forum of Total Army integration, working closely with NGAUS and ROA, for the member interaction opportunities, for the professional education opportunities, and many more.
• Army civilians join because they have dedicated their careers to a strong Army and they want to add their voices to the call for draw down incentives, retirement benefits, pay issues, and many others.
• Retirees join because they know that, even though retired, they are still serving. They add to the collective voice fighting the erosion of retirement benefits, including COLA, healthcare, commissary/PX, and many others. These are commitments made to them years ago.
• Defense companies and corporations join because they see AUSA as a force for maintaining a strong defense.
• Non-defense companies join AUSA too. There may be no obvious direct benefit, but they understand that a strong Army keeps America strong, and a strong America is the key ingredient for maintaining our way of life.

People do not join AUSA for the sole purpose of utilizing the many discounts that are offered to members; however, many members find that these discounts more than offset their annual dues. For example, AUSA members receive:

• An 8% discount on GEICO automobile insurance discounts ranging from 9% to 20% on computer hardware, software, and accessories at-CompUSA stores.
• Discounts at all Vision One eye care stores ranging from $5 to 60%.
• 25% discounts on professional books.

AUSA NEEDS YOU!

So, there are myriad reasons why people join AUSA. But even with all the good reasons for joining AUSA, there are not enough members. The association's effectiveness in dealing with the critical defense issues is directly proportional to the number of members. Currently, only 28% of active officers, 8% of active NCOs, and 3% of reserve component members belong to the association. GEN Sullivan established a membership goal: achieve 200,000 by the year 2003, five years from now. 200,000 members means doubling our current membership. In the George Washington and Fairfax-Lee chapters, reaching the goal means a collective annual membership increase of 1,500 for each of the next five years.

AUSA needs your support. The chances are, if you are reading this in Base Camps Briefs, you are already a member of AUSA. If so, we thank you sincerely for your support. If you are not a member, we hope you will join today.

If every current member would get one new member, we would double our membership in short order. We ask each of you to find another member: A friend, a neighbor, a colleague, a relative, anyone with an interest in keeping America's Total Army strong.

AUSA is active, engaged, and committed to dealing with the many critical issues facing our Total Army today. We need each of you to be active, engaged, and committed to helping us increase our membership.

For membership information:   Larry Karjala 703-448-6081 or Mike Piersante 703-418-3766.

Past Chapter Presidents Harrison and Hopper gratefully acknowledge the joint efforts of their respective Membership Vice-presidents, Larry Karjala and Ron Johnson, in preparing this column. All four officers remain committed to increasing membership in their chapters. Their firms, Motorola, Flir Systems, Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Inc., and ESSI, all maintain Corporate Memberships in the respective chapters.

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