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My Investiture into the NATO Grand Priory (video)



My column in the Reserve Voice Online | August 2024 If it is to be, it is up to we! I wear a necklace that looks like a torch, and like the Olympic torch, it symbolizes a drive to excel and celebrate positivity in one's endeavors. The torch inspires me to create a movement. For me, that movement is the Reserve Organization of America and all it provides to support those serving in the Reserve Components, their family members, and their employers. If elected as your next President, I pledge to work with you in lighting a flame to create new energy and excitement around ROA. As I launched my candidacy for this position, I reflected on the movie Field of Dreams and its premise that "If we build it, they will come." They did come to fill that baseball stadium. We hoped to have the same result when we re-energized ROA for our second century, opened membership to all serving in the RC and continued growing our advocacy presence . . . yet in this instance, they have not come. To ensure the National Defense, ROA must adapt to the times to remain relevant to the 21st centuryserving-Reservists and their families. In the past 20 years, our force has moved from being a strategic force to an operational one. That means serving Reservists have less time for civic engagements, including less time for ROA - families and civilian employment become priorities = as they should. I have structured my campaign platform on three pillars: the Reserve Organization of America must remain Relevant and Optimized so we may fulfill our core mission of Advocacy. ROA needs to continue to find new partners and collaborators to enhance and expand our Relevance. If elected as the next ROA President, I will: Appoint a Task Force comprised of enlisted/NCOs from each service who will present to the EXCOM a plan for outreach and growth in ROA membership of this crucial component of our force; Appoint a Task Force that will engage with the employers of Reservists and ESGR leaders to hold "Business Roundtables" to discern employer issues that are relevant to the Advocacy role of ROA. Employers of Reservists are also an untapped group with the potential for membership in ROA; the Task Force will also be charged with discerning the interest of employers in membership in ROA; ROA has a legacy of strong family support that we must build on and expand to a more strategic advocacy role. Families are a foundational part of the force and the current service members cite "quality of life" issues as the key to staying in uniform. I believe there are ways we can leverage Standing Together for America's Reservists' acronym as a way to drive ROA's strategic advocacy for Reserve Families; Empower Departments and Chapters to engage in their states and regions on issues that impact the Reserve Components and our Veterans. There are opportunities to meet with school leaders to discuss the implementation of the Military Student Identifier in our schools, participate (as many of you already do) in the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, and more. Programs that interest and are relevant to the drilling Reservist and their families - delivered in diverse ways - will help draw them to ROA. Accomplishing any of the above or even continuing to do the current work of ROA requires Optimization. We need to hone our business practices, create new revenue streams, continue examining our operations' costs, and strengthen our relationships to ensure sustainability for ROA's Second Century of Service to the country. Conversations about the Minute Man Memorial Building, its affordability, its value proposition in a changing world, and its marketing impact must continue. I know that change is not easy nor always welcomed, but to paraphrase one of Army General Eric Shinseki's phrases, being irrelevant is worse. I believe that we all want ROA to remain relevant. ROA is charged by its charter to "... support and assist in the development and execution of a military policy for the United States which shall provide adequate National Defense." This means that ROA's core focus is on Advocacy - advocacy for the conditions that will enable a strong Reserve Force, support of the family and for the employer who releases them for duty when called. If elected president, I will work collaboratively with ROA members, other MSOs and VSOs, and other relevant organizations to broaden and deepen our bench and expand ROA's impact. Why me as ROA's next President? Relevance is one key attribute that I bring to ROA. I am the middle of 3 generations of Life Members of ROA - with a nearly 50-year history of being a part of ROA. My father was the first to join ROA; he retired as a LtCol in the Air Force Reserve following service as a bomber pilot in WWII with service in the 13th Air Force in the South Pacific. I served for 35 years as a drilling reservist in the Army Reserve. I served as a commander at various levels - from company to brigade. My brigade spanned 8 states and Puerto Rico, consisting of 6,000 soldiers in 54 units. I held a full-time civilian job while simultaneously readying many of these units for deployment. I walked the life of a drilling reservist, managing two careers and family simultaneously. I know how hard that is and the dedication this requires. I know what it takes to BE ready and what it takes for each and every service member to be Ready. My oldest son is an E7 in the Army Reserve - and a Life Member of ROA - and currently in Kuwait on his 3rd deployment. This time, he has children . . . and I am witnessing the impact of Mike's deployment on my grandkids. In fact, I spent much of this summer caring for my grandchildren doing what military families have done for centuries - caring for the children and the home while the Service Member is doing their duty. I know what it means to have a family member in the Army Reserve. Advocacy and policy are central to what I teach and do in my civilian career as a professor of nursing. I was one of the original co-chairs of the American Academy of Nursing's Expert Panel on Military/Veterans Health, where we originated the Have You Ever Served in the Military? initiative, am co-author of the I Serve 2 and Serving on the Homefront pocket cards for clinicians. Margaret Cope and I shared these pocket cards and the STARs School Kit with other colleagues at the 2023 Global Training Institute of the Military Child Education Coalition. Our article, The Reserve Component Connected Family In Your School: 'Still Invisible', made the centerfold of the conference magazine! I edited the November/December 2023 issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal, which aimed to educate civilian clinicians across the state about the needs of our Veterans and Reserve Component members and their families. (https://ncmedicaljournal.com/issue/8142) I have been actively involved in ROA over the years. Most recently I served as ROA's National Health Officer, chaired the Health Services/Health Affairs Committee, chaired the Organizational Structure and Policy Review (OSPR) Tiger Team, and have chaired the Army Junior Officer Selection Board for the past 3 years. Creating new energy and excitement as we move ROA further into its Second Century will take time and energy. I promise you that if elected as the next President of this great organization, I will be relentless and optimistic in advocating for ROA as we unleash our energies to expand our relevancy and optimize our functioning to broaden our advocacy for the reservist, their family and their employers, all in support of our National Defense. This sounds like a lot, but this is not about what I will do, but rather what we will do together because if it is to be, it is up to we!

Thanks for checking my webpage. For additional background information, visit Wikipedia Click here to contact me! © Peggy Chamberlain Wilmoth, 2024