WASHINGTON - The Reserve Officers Association (ROA) is extending free memberships for up to two years to members who have been mobilized to support Operations Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom, or Enduring Freedom. ROA's Executive Committee unanimously approved the program to show the Association's appreciation and support to Reservists serving their country on active duty.
"As a military-based association committed to national security and the members who provide that security, extending free memberships is the least we can do for Reservists," said retired Air Force Reserve Maj. Gen. Robert Nester, president of ROA. "The last thing we want our members and their spouses worrying about while they're serving their country on active duty is the status of their memberships," Nester added.
As part of the new service ROA will extend memberships free of charge for up to two years, the maximum time for which Ready Reservists can be mobilized when the President declares a national emergency. The only benefit suspended is that the extended members will not receive the paper copy of the association's magazine, The Officer, while they are deployed. The magazine is still available to them and all ROA members at www.roa.org.
Extended members will have to renew their memberships when they return from active duty or become life members to continue to receive the magazine.
"What a great way to show appreciation for our service!" said Maj. John C. Jacobi, an Army Reservist who just returned from a 369-day deployment to Iraq and took advantage of this special offer. "It's gestures like these and the work ROA does for all of us on the front lines in Washington while we are fighting for our country that I belong to the association and became a life member when I returned (from Iraq)," he added.
"I know that the ROA has given its members a lot and continues to fight to eliminate disparities between Reservists and the Active Component," Jacobi said. "This is why it is so important for the ROA to work with and educate our elected officials in Washington D.C., surfacing issues to change that which make sense for the Total Force."
To initiate an extension of membership, members or their next of kin should call ROA headquarters at (800) 809-9448, ext. 727, or e-mail the ROA Membership Director Lt. Col. Mike Boone at mboone@roa.org. ROA continues its long tradition of "Serving Those Who Serve."
The Reserve Officers Association is a member-based association with 75,000 members from all of the uniformed military services. Located on Capitol Hill, the Association was founded in 1922 and advocates for rights and benefits of its members and for a strong Reserve Component in support of national defense.
