The Military Officers Association of America, or MOAA, which is often touted as the leading voice on compensation and benefit issues for the military community, has launched a national recruitment campaign titled "Give Me 10!" Eligibility is open to all active duty, retired and reserve military officers across the five main branches of the armed forces - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Officers in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Public Heath Service are also qualified for membership.

Overall the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization is looking to add 4,000 members to its present roster, which boasts 370,000 officers in its 400 plus chapters. The local Mount Rainier chapter, which has 125 members and is based in Lakewood, hopes to add 50 members by the end of the year.

"We try to keep our members up to date on personal affairs matters," said retired Lt. Col. Heinz Haskins, who is the chapter's 2nd vice president and in charge of membership. "We have guest speakers and experts in to talk about wills, investments and financial concerns as well as local issues."

Col. Jerome Penner III, chief of staff at Madigan Army Medical Center, recently attended a meeting to discuss how TRICARE deals with retirees.

"Our local military community has the opportunity to be part of this formidable force for positive change," said chapter president, retired Col. Deryl McCarty. And change is something MOAA has proven to deliver. In the past decade, the organization has been the driving force behind the passage of several legislative victories such as securing a cumulative 41 percent pay raise for active duty military members and the ongoing effort to improve benefits for military survivors and disabled retirees.

Currently, the MOAA's legislative and benefit priorities include ensuring that TRICARE for Life benefits are retained under health care reform; increasing military manpower levels to ease deployment strains on the force; and linking the GI Bill benefit amount to the cost of four-year public college. MOAA also is working to upgrade retirement and health coverage for mobilized Guard and Reserve members and their families to be consistent with the increasing service demands being placed upon them.

MOAA places a heavy emphasis on improving support for families of deployed service members. The organization's belief that families are as important as the service members is evident since officers' spouses and widows are urged to join too.

"We are really trying to make sure the wives know they are welcome. The military is a way of life, and we are a steady connection to that. It is especially important for the widows to feel they still have ties to the military," said Haskins.

Chapter meetings are held on the third Sunday of the month at the Patriots Landing Retirement Community in DuPont. Annual dues are $15 or $40 for a three-year membership. Auxiliary dues for spouses are $5 a year and $12 for a three-year membership for widowers.

For more information, visit www.moaa.org, or contact Haskins at (253) 581-0596.