Military Officers Association of America Announces 2024 Awards for Exceptional Support of Veterans and Servicemembers

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Military Officers Association of America

Apr 10, 2024, 13:13 ET

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) has selected the 2024 recipients of its annual awards honoring lawmakers, individuals, businesses and nonprofits whose efforts improve the lives of servicemembers, survivors, veterans, and their families. The awards ceremony will be held Tuesday, April 16 on Capitol Hill. The recipients:

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) each will receive the Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award. These four members of Congress led efforts on both sides of the Senate and House Armed Services committees to help pass the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which supports $886.3 billion in funding for national defense, including a 5.2% pay increase for servicemembers — the largest pay raise since 2002. It also includes provisions to support military families and invests billions of dollars in quality-of-life issues, such as housing, child care, health care, and post-service career opportunities.
Betsy Dudley, national security advisor for Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), and Elizabeth Field, formerly a director at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), each will receive the Colonel Paul W. Arcari Meritorious Service Award, which honors congressional staff members who have made significant contributions to the uniformed services community. Dudley has been helping military families by working to improve the Basic Allowance for Housing and addressing DoD's ongoing child care shortage. Field's work at the GAO contributed to increased congressional oversight involving DoD's management of family and unaccompanied housing.
The Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA) and The ROCKS Inc. each will receive MOAA's Distinguished Service Award. KDVA has been a leader in recognizing and supporting the millions of Americans and Koreans who served in the Republic of Korea during their military careers. With more than 10,000 members, KDVA is focused on supporting the U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance and its veterans. Since its inception, The ROCKS Inc. has been working to fill gaps in Army mentorship, especially for those in underserved communities. A major focus for the organization is providing scholarships for ROTC and Junior ROTC students. In 2023, the organization awarded $7 million to students to pursue their post-secondary education goals.

"MOAA is honored to recognize these partners and advocates for their unwavering support of the uniformed services community," said Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), MOAA's president and CEO. "They are tackling and addressing the issues that matter most for our men and women in uniform, as well as our veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors. We are proud to work alongside them and thank them for their dedication."

About MOAA: MOAA is the nation's largest and most influential association of uniformed service officers and their surviving spouses. It is an independent, nonprofit, politically nonpartisan organization. With more than 360,000 members from every branch of uniformed service – including active duty, National Guard, Reserve, retired, former officers, and surviving spouses – MOAA is a powerful force speaking for a strong national defense by representing the people who make a strong national defense possible. MOAA is an association of officers and surviving spouses representing and supporting all ranks across all services, at every stage of their careers. It is the leading voice on compensation and all benefit matters for all members of the uniformed services community. MOAA supports two charities, one that provides scholarships to children of uniformed servicemembers and one that prevents and protects all currently and previously serving veterans and their families from crisis.

SOURCE Military Officers Association of America