ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

President’s Note: Greetings to all and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. These past 4 months have gone by in a flash and the holiday season will be here in a few weeks. As always, I am extremely grateful for all that each of you and your organizations do to support our Soldiers, DA Civilians, Retirees, Veterans and their Families throughout the Central Texas area and I encourage you to reach out to me with ideas and opportunities where we can truly make a difference. Since the last newsPresident’s Note: Greetings to all and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. These past 4 months have gone by in a flash and the holiday season will be here in a few weeks. As always, I am extremely grateful for all that each of you and your organizations do to support our Soldiers, DA Civilians, Retirees, Veterans and their Families throughout the Central Texas area and I encourage you to reach out to me with ideas and opportunities where we can truly make a difference. Since the last newsletter, your Chapter has been extremely busy and the accomplishments of so many great volunteers are much appreciated and will be highlighted in this newsletter. The next few months will continue to be busy (no rest for the weary!!) as we prepare for the holidays and winter months, so I encourage all of you to see if there is a way to invest in your Chapter – be it your personal time, your talents, or your treasure, as each will ultimately make a difference in the lives of many today and in the future. We are better together, so come out and be a part of your Chapter whenever possible. Below are just a few of the highlights that have occurred during these past 4-5 months. Your Board of Governors and Committee Chairs continue to excel as they plan and execute these events, so please thank them when you get the chance because none of this would happen without their dedicated efforts.

 

1st Cavalry Division MIA/POW Memorial – 14 July 2023 On 14 July your Chapter was honored to support the 1st Cav Association and the Texas POW/MIA Association in the funding and unveiling of the new 1st Cavalry Division POW/MIA Memorial. This memorial recognizes those who were captured or are still missing from conflicts Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division fought in and reminds all that “We Will Never Forget”.

 

Back to School Backpack Partnership with AAFES – 14 July 2023 In preparation for the start of the new school year, your Chapter partnered with AAFES and provided backpacks and school items for 300 backpacks. Several volunteers from the Chapter and AAFES helped pack the backpacks and a check for almost $1500 was provided to AAFES to help support the cost of the school items. 

 

Greater Killeen Chamber/AUSA Joint Luncheon – 19 July 2023 The Greater Killeen Chamber Military Relations Council and the Central Texas AUSA Chapter partnered to sponsor a luncheon for community leaders. The guest speaker at the event was Gen Jim Rainey, CG Army Futures Command (AFC). Gen Rainey provided updates on the modernization of the Army, the role of AFC in terms of testing, acquiring, and getting into the hands of the Soldiers the modern systems that are technologically advanced and what the Soldier needs to fight and win on the modern battlefield.

 

3rd Annual Car Show – 30 September 2023 Your Chapter hosted its 3rd Annual Car Show on 30 September. Ronnie Turner and his team did a superb job again as over 85 cars, trucks and motorcycles registered this year. Leaders from Ft Cavazos, the local Community and interested visitors voted on which entries they thought were the best and awards were presented to over 30 different category winners. Congratulations to Allen Stewart who was the overall “Best in Show” winner with his 1965 Sunbeam Tiger

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Community Partner Recognition Dinner - 4 October 2023 This Fall your Chapter brought back the semi-annual Community Partner Recognition Dinner. A common event before COVID, this event is designed to thank all of our Community Partners for their tremendous support to our Chapter, this Community, and our Soldiers and their Families. It also serves as a way to get the word out about what AUSA does and how local businesses and organizations can help our Chapter and its overall mission. Over 40 Community Partners, old and new, participated in the event and Command Teams from across Ft Cavazos were guests at each table. LTG Bernabe, IIIAC CG, was the guest speaker.

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Annual AUSA National Conference – 8-12 October 2023

At the top of our website heading is our new Chapter logo. AUSA National released their new logo at the National Conference recognizing the significance of our past generations helping the new generation reach their full potential and succeed, just as Rudder’s Rangers did at Pointe du Hoc at Normandy. It helped shape the message for the Conference as the new Chief of Staff of the Army and Secretary of the Army laid out their priorities for the upcoming year. Our Chapter was honored to win the Largest Active Duty Division award after a 2 year hiatus, and we will strive hard to win the Largest Overall Chapter this coming year! 48 members of the community and Ft Cavazos attended the conference and our Texas Friendly Reception that we partner with the Capital Region Chapter was a resounding success once again! Congratulations once again to our NCOY and SOY who joined us at this annual event.

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Salute to Service Vietnam Veteran Pinning Ceremony - 24 October This year your Chapter was asked to assist the Temple Chamber in the recognition of Vietnam Veterans during their annual Salute to Service Luncheon. Over 700 veterans, active duty Soldiers, First Responders, and JROTC Cadets from across the Central Texas region were thanked for their selfless and dedicated service to our Nation and this community. As part of this celebration were we able to recognize 2 Vietnam Veterans who were pinned by LTG (R) Paul Funk and COL (R) Jerry Curtis from Temple, a former POW from the Vietnam conflict. GEN (R) Paul Funk was the guest speaker.

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As we start the next few months, I encourage you to support the Chapter by attending, volunteering, or getting the word out to others about upcoming events. Your Chapter stays very busy, and we appreciate any and all assistance. Below are some near term events that we hope you can join us for and please check out our website, centraltexasausa.org, for more information and opportunities.

 

Semi-Annual Great Place Front Gate Cleanup – 9 December

Scholarship Application Opens – 15 December

Wreath Retrieval at CT State Veterans Cemetery – 6 January

Annual Kickoff Breakfast/General Membership Meeting – 18 January

BoG Bi-Monthly Meeting – 24 January at Lonestar Conference Center (Sam Adams)

Annual Golf Tournament – 8 March at Clear Creek Golf Course on Ft Cavazos

BoG Bi-Monthly Meeting – 27 March at Lonestar Conference Center (Sam Adams)

JROTC Skills Meet – 30 March on Ft Cavazos

 

Thank you all once again for your tremendous support for our Soldiers, their Families, our retirees and veterans, and the DA Civilians. I encourage you to tell the Army Story whenever you can and also the AUSA story. Let others know who we are, what we do, and the importance of being a part of this great organization. And if the opportunity is right, encourage them or their organization to become members as well! My sincere best wishes to everyone for a blessed and safe Holiday Season and thanks for all you do to make us all better. Be All You Can Be!!!

Ken Cox