The National Military Family Association wants me and you to support military families this holiday season by writing a check to -- you guessed correctly -- the National Military Family Association.
This being the Advent Season and all, I would like to just roll my eyes and launch that solicitation into Cyberspace Purgatory but this is the second time this year NMFA has made my blood boil and I have run out of cheeks to turn.
Last spring NMFA incensed me by gleefully announcing that TriWest Healthcare Alliance would sponsor their gala annual party. In their own words, TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a privately held, Phoenix-based corporation that contracts with the Department of Defense to administer the military health care entitlement in the 21-state West Region. TriWest is monitored by the TRICARE Management Authority, a department within the DoD.
"We take pride in the fact that managing the TRICARE program for over 2.7 million beneficiaries is our only line of business."
If TriWest's only line of business is managing the TRICARE program, shouldn't one assume their only source of income is that juicy DoD contract? If that is the case, perhaps the National Military Family Association, an organization purporting to advocate for military families, could advocate for me and my loved ones by questioning how TriWest can legally and morally channel taxpayer dollars earmarked for medical care to underwrite a social function on the other side of the country.
I am baffled that I never hear anyone else complaining about stuff like this. Am I the only Navy spouse who isn't hoping her husband lands a job with TriWest when he retires from military service? Ladies, I have news for you: former Congressional staffers and retired Army doctors have a tight grip on the keys to that executive suite.
If you feel inclined to support military families this holiday season, I'd recommend you expend a little time rather than money. In 30 seconds or less you can say a prayer for someone's son, daughter, brother, or sister who will be waking up in Afghanistan or Iraq on Christmas morning. In 5-10 minutes you can write a note to a family whose soldier or sailor won't be able to make it home this holiday season or a family that will never see their loved one again. In two or three hours you can babysit the children of a deployed sailor or soldier while the frazzled young parent finishes her/his holiday shopping (or reads a book or takes a nap uninterrupted).
I favor people power over government programs. Thanks for listening even when you totally disagree with me.
Not that I want you to sit over there miserable with no galas in sight, but I'd rather have my tax dollars going to about 100 other things. Including me so I could pay some student loan interest. Then again, I was raised by the female Toby Ziegler. So I'm righteously indignant, too.
ReplyDeleteThe frosting on this cake for me is that the NMFA gave me an award last year. (I hope I can find it before Dec 31 so I can pass the $100 Commissary gift certificate along to a young enlisted family before the expiration date.)
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