General Bradley retired from the United States Air Force in August 2008, with 41 years of service. He was the Chief of Air Force Reserve, Headquarters, United States Air Force, Washington, District of Columbia, and the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, the largest Major Command in the U.S. Air Force, responsible for over 76,000 Airmen, around the world. Prior to this he was the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for Reserve Matters, the Pentagon He is a Vietnam veteran, with 337 combat missions as a fighter pilot. He has over 7,000 flying hours in the A-37,A-10, F-4, and F-16 fighter aircraft.
He is the Founder and CEO of the Lamia Afghan Foundation. The non-profit foundation was established in 2008, to build schools for girls in Afghanistan. This foundation has now built seven schools and has established literacy and sewing training programs for women. It gathers, moves, and distributes humanitarian aid to families in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)/Refugee Camps, orphanages, schools, hospitals, and rural villages across the country. Its goal now is to provide education and economic development opportunities for long-term, self-sustainability for all Afghans; men, women, girls, and boys.
To date it has moved over three and a half million pounds of winter clothing, blankets, shoes, boots, food, school supplies, medical equipment, and medical supplies for distribution; totaling eighty-five Air Force C-17 cargo loads of humanitarian aid.
(A U.S. federal law, the Denton Amendment, allows humanitarian aid to be flown to foreign countries on Air Force aircraft, free, on a space-available basis.)
The foundation also works with two other non-profits, Kabul Orthopedic Organization (KOO), and A Leg To Stand On (ALTSO), to help children injured by explosions get new custom-made prosthetics. He is also a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.
Since his retirement, John and his wife Jan Bradley have travelled to Afghanistan seven times on behalf of the Foundation. They normally stay a month, each time they travel there.
Annual Toys for Tots Toy Collection
We will be collecting toy donations for the annual Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign at our November meeting.
If you would like to participate, please bring a new, unwrapped toy to the November luncheon. The toy should be $20 or lower in value. Each donation is bound to delight the child who receives it! No previously used toys pleae.
We do not have the ability to accept cash in lieu of an actual toy. If you forget the toy, you can alsways make a cash donation at:
Congratulations to our own Lt Col Karon Uzzell-Baggett, USAF (ret.) recently elected to the MOAA Board of Directors! She was a great Chapter President and now will bring her outstanding skills to MOAA National for all. Happy News!
If you haven’t seen the latest copy of the MOAA Military Officer Magazine, you should check it out. Please make sure to read “WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN A MOAA CHAPTER.” The article spells out seven good reasons and our chapter’s activities reflect each one of them. You can use these when you are talking to potential members: Make yourself heard, Give back to the community, Expand social opportunities, Network with fellow officers, Stay informed, Influence state legislation, and Find camaraderie with a purpose. Sounds like “Never Stop Serving” to me!
One of our annual activities is providing scholarships to veterans and dependents of veterans of any rate/rank. Our campaign is wrapping up and we must make our distributions by the end of the year. If you would still like to contribute this year, please do so soon. You can bring cash or check to our next luncheon, or you can send a check to our chapter mailbox: MTC MOAA, P.O. Box 50252, Nashville, TN 37205. You should be proud!
Despite the intense focus on US elections, the international situation has continued to worsen, which places even more of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in harm’s way. We should continue to advocate for them and their families through MOAA’s legislative advocacy program. You might be tired of hearing it, but it’s important to emphasize that the easiest way to make your support known is through participation in MOAA’s Legislative Action Center (LAC) at https://moaa.quorum.us. If you need any assistance, just ask any member of the MTC Board of Directors!!
At the last luncheon (another great speaker, by the way), Patricia Bergquist provided a summary of the latest MOAA publications and guides available to Premium and Life Members to read. Most importantly perhaps, there is a new publication “Preparing for the Loss of a Military Spouse.” To find this publication and others, please go to MOAA.org and log in. Then click on “Resources” and under “Surviving Spouse”, you will find “Preparing for the Loss of a Military Spouse” and “A Survivors Checklist.”
Finally, I greatly look forward to seeing you at our last 2024 monthly luncheon where we will hear from Lt Gen John Bradley, USAF (ret.) on the “Lamia Afghan Foundation.” Plus, don’t forget to bring new unwrapped toys for the annual “Toys for Tots!”. Again, we will meet at Old Natchez Country Club this month on November 19th at 11:30 am. Don’t forget to RSVP via the link you will be getting soon, which helps the Club staff to ensure great support. See you there!
Larry Cotton
CAPT, US Navy (ret.)
President
A message from LtCol Karon Uzzell-Baggett on her election to the National MOAA Board
I would like to sincerely thank all the chapter members who voted during this summer’s 2024 MOAA National Board and Bylaws Election. Your support is deeply appreciated, and I am delighted to join the 2024 – 2030 MOAA National Board. I have the honor of following in the footsteps of Mrs. Patricia Bergquist, who served on the MOAA Surviving Spouse Advisory Committee and provided critical insights on Surviving Spouse issues several years ago.
Lt Gen Brian T. Kelly, USAF, Retired, MOAA President and CEO, recognizes the importance of MOAA chapters and councils referring to them as the “heartbeat of the association.” I hope to work diligently to advance the concerns of our area chapters and our council during my term.
Sincerely,
Karon Uzzell-Baggett,
Lt Col, USAF, Retired.
In Process: MOAA Online Account Changes
11/1/2024
The modifications to the MOAA Website continue to be a work-in-process; however, you should now be able to login and validate your account. Please remember that your email address will be your new username and when you first login to the new application you may be asked to create a new password. If your first attempt at this update does not take, please try again.
A new, secure online dues payment portal will be forthcoming shortly. Beta testing scheduled to begin the first week of October.
The Legislative Action Center can be accessed by opening the website, clicking on “Advocacy” and then choosing the “Legislative Action Center” from the list on the left side of the page. Please visit the MOAA Legislative Action Center soon!
We Need Your Contact Assistance!
We use a combination of methods to reach out to our members for dissemination of information, and for our annual membership dues and scholarship solicitations. Each method relies on one important factor, we have to use current email or postal addresses. And when mail is returned or emails are undeliverable we need valid phone numbers so that we can reach out to rectify the situation.
Each member provided current information when they joined; however, we know that as circumstances change , in many instances there are changes to email addresses, postal addresses and phone numbers.
This affects the Chapter, as well as the MOAA National database; so we need your assistance in keeping our records up to date for yourself as well as for your fellow Chapter members.