0 k '4
The Maintenance Officer Association (MOA) is committed to enhancing the USAF mission by improving the maintenance world. Although comprised primaril of USAF maintenance officers, MOA is not associated with the UnitedrStates Air Force or any other I
SUMMER 1990
ISSUE NO. 40
From the (New) President byUColDonW~
Wen, the baton has been passed and a new group has taken over the MOA reigns. If you read "Confessions of a Former MOA Basher" (Issue No. 39), you know that I am not only the new president but also a new member of the organization (the bottom line being I was too ignorant to cut and nur when they camelooking for volunteers). Atany rate, my perspectiveonwhatis right andwhat is m n g with the organization may be a little bit limited, but it's fresh. I can tell youthatthe backgroundof allyournewM0Aofflcers is heavily weighted toward field experience, particularly in the operational commands. J now discussionson the future of the organization we all are in agreement that the MOA's goals and agenda have been somewhat ill-defined in the past. We have at times d e r e d by setting overly ambitious goalswhich we then failed to attain. It is ow opinion that we have some holes in the dike that need to be plugged befoxe we can get on with thebusiness of drainingtheswamp. Sowehaveagreedthatthebest course of action is to set a modest agenda for the next year and then achieve it, rather than seaing ow sightstoo highandthen M h g short. There are several adminisrntive up. items which we intend to
First, the membership has a rightto expectanewsletterwithsomedegree of frequency. This involves getting the letter put together and printed, alongwithmainwanup-to-date mailinglist.Thatmay soundsimple, but I am quickly finding out that there is more to that process than meets the eye. Nonetheless, we have to do better in this area, and we intend to. If you read the last edition of the ER, you may have noted the large number of un6lled Advisor, Regional Director and Chapter President positions. Obviously, we can't build a s!mngworldwide organizationwithout active regional and local organizations, and that is anotheritemwe need to improve m the year ahead. Some of you in senior leadership positions inthosel'vacant" locations can be expecting a can from Chris McWilliams or myself in the weeks ahead as we hyto finsome of those positions. One thing which always seems to elicit a strong reaction fmm MOA members is the nominanon process each prospective member is subjected to. I have to admit that there is something inherently distasteful about a letter which begins "Dear Nominee" and thm asks you to mad intwentybucks. In fact, the nomination pmcess is mandated by the
organhion's by-laws and is not subject to arbimry or whimsical change. Stin, there may be some relatively minor adjustmen@we can make (such as a new nomination letter) which would serve to streamline the pmess. Idkewise,ow interactionwithnew Tech School graduates has been somewhat sporadic and needs to be increased.Thiscouldinvolvea comp h t a r y one-year membemhip or some other means of drawing the new folks into the organintion as they enter the career field. The bottom line is that ow m h h i p pnxlessis probablyworthyof at least some minor &ion, and that goes hand m hand with establishing our presence at Lowry and Chanute. That is a shopping list of some adminimah items we intend to tackle in thenext year in an effort to build astrongerorgax&mtionalsmcture. They are important items and willrequire a lot of work to s&+&m out However, all of us recognizethat the administation of this organization is just a vehicle by which we accomplishourbasicgoals-that of providing a fonun for ideas and fostering professionalism within the career field. The fonun has ahvays been there inthe form of thisnewsletter. However, it seans to us that at continncdonplg.
3