October 20, 2025 • 39 mins
A podcast guest arrives with a $2,000 check—and a clear mission to help a warrior family heal. We sit down with Dennis Corrigan to unpack how his local MOAA chapter funds a full week at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run and how the Military Officers Association of America turns membership, mentorship, and policy expertise into real wins for veterans and their families.
Dennis shares the arc of his service—from Navy brat to P-3 Orion pilot, to building flight simulators, to running a veteran-owned small business that protects our grounds from ticks and mosquitoes. Along the way, we discuss what a sustainable transition looks like: leveraging experience, staying relevant, and choosing work that keeps you close to your purpose. Then we zoom out to the larger engine behind MOAA: scholarships for military-connected students, career and resume support for separating service members, and nonpartisan advocacy that ensures COLA adjustments, VA funding, and state-level benefits remain on track. If you’ve ever wondered how Virginia’s property tax relief for 100% disabled veterans happened or how the PACT Act gained momentum, this is the story behind the scenes—coalitions doing steady work.
We also dig into the quiet services families need most. Local MOAA leaders sit with survivors to navigate VA forms, burial honors, and national cemetery eligibility when a loved one passes. That care extends to dignity projects, like securing VA headstones for unmarked veterans, restoring names and service to memory. Whether you’re an officer ready to join, a veteran seeking mentorship, or a supporter wanting to make an impact, there’s a place for you here—chapter events, scholarships, and hands-on help that meets people where they are.
Want to keep this work going? Join or donate at moaa.org, share this episode with a veteran who could use the resources, and leave us a review so more families find their way to support and healing.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Zilliox (00:15):
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services,
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run.
And this week our guest isDennis Corrigan.
He is with a number oforganizations that uh I'm
personally associated with, andthe retreat is associated with
as well.
(00:35):
Uh Dennis is here.
I asked him to join us to talkabout MOA, the Military Officers
Association of America, and alltheir services.
But we also have our executivedirector, uh Sarah Ford, with us
because Dennis uh brought alonga donation for the retreat.
And I asked Sarah to join us.
(00:57):
And Sarah, thanks for coming.
I really appreciate it.
Sarah Ford (01:00):
Thank you, Larry.
Glad to be here.
Larry Zilliox (01:02):
Yeah.
And Dennis, thanks for joiningus.
I really appreciate you coming.
And very rarely, in fact, thismight be the first time that a
guest has showed up with money.
Oh that's good to hear.
Yeah, very good to hear.
So tell us a little bit aboutthe donation.
Dennis Corrigan (01:21):
So the donation is coming from the people who
make up the chapter of MOA thatexists here in the local area.
We meet at the Heritage HuntCountry Club because that's a
central location.
We've had our business and oursocial events that are there.
(01:41):
And one of our outreaches is tosupport those organizations
that support our veterans.
And that's in a myriad ofdifferent ways.
Having been supporting thisparticular uh endeavor here at
the William Warrior RetreatCenter for almost all 10 years.
In fact, the years before itwas actually built, uh, we
(02:04):
actually held a fundraising atuh the home of one of uh our HOA
members, and that's what turnedus on to this particular
endeavor.
And so uh every year we collectmoney.
Um the MOA members tend to bean average age of about 60.
And uh so we don't do carwashes.
(02:26):
So at the beginning of everyyear, when people are paying
their dues, um, they also makedonations, and that adds up
after a while.
And this is going to be ourthird uh donation uh that when
we've been able to make.
And we just voted for it thispast Tuesday, and so I don't
need to have the check in myhands, need to make sure it's in
(02:48):
yours.
Uh so that's what it's abouttoday.
Larry Zilliox (02:51):
And so we're doing an audio podcast.
Can you tell our listeners howmuch the check is for?
Dennis Corrigan (02:56):
It's for two thousand dollars.
Whoa, okay.
Which is almost the cost of aweek's stay.
Yes.
So that that makes it nice andmakes it feel good for us as
well.
Wow.
Sarah Ford (03:07):
Yes.
Dennis, thank you so much foryour support, um, both
personally for the WarriorRetreat and also through MOA and
the other organizations thatyou support.
Um, as you mentioned, MOA hasbeen a supporter of ours from
the beginning before the retreatwas even opened.
And it it shows the level ofcommitment that we have in this
community and to have thisofficers organization, you know,
(03:30):
gather together and come andsay, hey, we want to support
those still in the fight.
Um means a lot and says a lotabout MOA and about your group.
And as you mentioned, that uhpretty much covers a warrior
family stay here at the retreat.
So there's gonna be a warriorfamily that's gonna be impacted,
a warrior family that's gonnabe brought closer together and
provided healing here at theWarrior Retreat, thanks to your
(03:53):
support and the support of yourmembers.
So thank you very much.
Larry Zilliox (03:55):
Oh, you're welcome, very welcome.
Oh and did you have anothercheck?
No, no other checks.
Okay, all right.
Well, we're just checking.
Yeah, I just want to make surein case you had one you forgot
about.
Dennis Corrigan (04:08):
Yeah, no, this is this is the one that's uh
important.
Larry Zilliox (04:11):
So all right.
Well, we're gonna let Sarah go.
Um, because she's busy, sheneeds to go cash that check.
And uh uh Today's Friday.
Dennis Corrigan (04:22):
You can do anything on Saturday with it.
Larry Zilliox (04:24):
So uh she's gonna get back to work, and then
Dennis and I are gonna uh settledown here and talk about MOA.
So thank you for joining us,Sarah.
Sarah Ford (04:35):
Right, thank you, Larry, and again, thank you,
Dennis.
We appreciate your support andand look forward to continuing
to work with you in the years tocome.
Dennis Corrigan (04:41):
That's gonna happen.
Sarah Ford (04:42):
Wonderful, thank you again.
Dennis Corrigan (04:48):
Thanks.
The envelope, if you're gonnapull it out from Ether.
Larry Zilliox (04:55):
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Okay, see you later.
All right, bye-bye.
Okay, we're back.
Um Dennis, uh I I do wanna I Ido want to talk a little bit
about where you and I personallyintersect, is uh we're both
(05:18):
members of the American LegionHaymarket post-1799.
Dennis Corrigan (05:22):
Yes.
Larry Zilliox (05:22):
As well as here at the retreat, you are also
part of the Knights of Columbus.
And the Knights of Columbus umis a huge supporter of ours.
They have um for our yearlyannual uh car show that we do,
you guys are here donating thefood and then working the grills
(05:48):
and cooking hot dogs andhamburgers for everybody at no
cost.
Now, most people make adonation, which is very kind,
and we really appreciate it.
So that function in itself, thecost of the food as well as the
donations raised from uh peoplewho are getting hot dogs and
hamburgers, um we're we're we'retalking thousands and thousands
(06:13):
of dollars that you guys havebrought in.
And um, and it's no small feat.
I mean, you g you guys are outthere cooking for, I think this
last year was one of ourhighest.
We had like 865 people on theproperty.
And um uh a few, more than afew were pretty beefy, and I
think they might have gonethrough that line more than
(06:34):
once.
I won't tell.
So um, you know, uh thank youso much for everything you do.
And and also uh look, uh Dennisis uh a franchisee for Mosquito
Joe here in the local area, anduh they volunteer and come out
and spray the property uh forticks and mosquitoes, and um
(06:57):
that is so valuable to ourfamilies that takes a concern
away from them.
You know, a lot of our familiesaren't from the country,
they're from the city, and oneof the things they hear about
the country is that ticks willkill you or you'll get sick, or
you know, so they're a littlebit leery about going out with
the kids and everything andrunning around this huge
(07:19):
property.
And uh more than once we said,look, we have a company that
comes in as raised, you don'thave to worry about it.
And so that's another way thatum folks uh uh really get to
experience your generosity, andwe can't thank you enough.
So if you're in NorthernVirginia, and I'm gonna put a
link down to Dennis's MosquitoJoe uh uh webpage, because if
(07:44):
you need that for your home,your property, you you
definitely want to give them acall because we more than
anything, we supportveteran-owned businesses that
support us.
Uh and uh we have a lot oftradesmen that come in here and
help us and do things like that.
So I can't thank you enough foreverything you do through the
American Legion, through theKnights of Columbus, and
(08:06):
Mosquito Joe.
Uh you're you're really one ofour top uh vendor volunteers,
and and we appreciate it somuch.
Dennis Corrigan (08:15):
Well, thank you very much.
Uh that's uh overly generousfor you.
Larry Zilliox (08:19):
So well, it it it just means it means so much to
us.
Um so I wanted to start bytalking a little bit about your
military career.
And one of the questions that Ialways ask our veterans um is
as a Navy veteran, why did youjoin the Navy and not the Air
(08:39):
Force?
Dennis Corrigan (08:40):
Well, that's a great question because uh I'd
have to go back to my years inhigh school.
Um and I was a Navy brat, so myfather was stationed at uh
Pearl Harbor.
Uh and I went to the DODDSsupported school in Hawaii,
which was Radford University,named after Admiral Radford from
(09:00):
World War II.
Larry Zilliox (09:01):
Right.
Dennis Corrigan (09:02):
Um and I wasn't gonna go to college unless I
either got a scholarship or anappointment to one of the
academies, and I did in fact getan appointment to the Air Force
Academy.
And and two days later, I gotan appointment to an ROTC, a
(09:24):
Navy ROTC scholarship, uh thatwas going to be at Auburn
University in Alabama.
Okay.
So living in Hawaii, going touh Alabama, which was an
experience.
And uh because I had seen theBlue Angels, I knew I wanted to
be a pilot.
Okay, so things just cametogether.
Yeah, yeah uh got thescholarship, went to Auburn,
(09:47):
graduated, was commissioned inEnsign, and went directly to uh
flight school.
Sarah Ford (09:52):
Okay.
Dennis Corrigan (09:52):
Now there is an interesting quick story about
that.
Uh I worked so hard the lastquarter of uh my two time at
Auburn to get my degree that uhI forced my eyes to a position
where I couldn't pass the eyeexam to be a pilot at the
physical before I graduated.
And so I was given the optionto become a naval flight
(10:15):
officer, which is the guy whoyou know sits in the back or
sits side by side with thepilot.
Um, but I got married uh fivedays after graduation and uh
went to Pensacola.
The first thing they do is uhtest your eyesight, and I passed
with flying colors.
And the uh the um optometristsaid, you know, you could be a
(10:37):
pilot.
And I said, I wanted to be apilot.
He said, Let me write this foryou.
So you just don't do thatwithout doing something special.
Uh so they sent me to see theadmiral who was there at
Pensacola uh when I put in myapplication to switch from naval
flight officer to being apilot, and he approved that that
(10:58):
change.
So all of my dreams came true.
Married the love of my life,uh, got to be a pilot.
Uh, and not that being a navalflight officer and NFO is a bad
deal, but that that's how Ientered.
So it's kind of an answer toyour question about the the uh
being a Navy pilot or being anAir Force pilot.
(11:19):
I think either one would havebeen great, but I certainly
enjoyed my family's commitmentto being in the Navy.
My grandfather was in the Navy,so it was something that was
built into to myself and uh didthat for 24 years.
Larry Zilliox (11:33):
What did you fly?
Dennis Corrigan (11:34):
I flew the P3 Orion, okay, anti-submarine
warfare and E-Lint uh uhairplane.
I was able to do that for 22 ofmy 24 years.
So I spent a lot of time uh inthe air and uh flying over the
ocean.
Flying over the ocean, yes.
Larry Zilliox (11:51):
Uh I was stationed in northern Maine at
at Loring Air Force Base, and weused to see P3s come in and do
touch and goes because they'd beright off the coast there.
Right, right.
Dennis Corrigan (12:00):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, Brunswick, Maine waswhere the a major P3 base was
located.
So in the nice part of Maine.
In the nice part of Maine, yes,yes.
So it was a it was a greattime.
Uh I spent uh 23 years in theNavy, 24 years in the Navy, and
uh when I finally retired, uh Iwas at Pax River, uh, Maryland,
(12:21):
uh doing the things thatprovided the uh training for
individuals in aviation, whetherthey were maintenance guys, air
crew guys, pilots, NFOs, uh, webought the supplies, uh, bought
the airplane training, etc.,that uh they need to to be able
to operate efficiently andeffectively.
(12:42):
So that was great.
When I got out of the Navy, uhI decided I didn't want to be a
beltway bandit, uh a defensecontractor who supported uh all
of the regulatory and and moneyand all that stuff.
I wanted to do something thatwe could build.
So I was on my 30-day vacationat the end of um my career, and
(13:07):
a company here in the local areacalled me and asked me if uh
I'd come for an interviewbecause they wanted to build
simulations, simulators, andthat was they needed someone who
knew the ins and outs, andthat's what I did.
Wow.
I joined them uh and I had agreat time doing exactly what I
just described.
(13:28):
We had offices all over uh allover the world because training
centers are not just in thecontinental United States.
Right.
Uh I enjoyed it.
Uh I finally retired after 15years of doing that, and I
decided I was gonna play golf.
I was going to enjoy life.
(13:48):
I was gonna walk the grandkidsto school and do that stuff, and
I got bored and I found out Icouldn't play golf three times a
week and feel so I startedlooking for something to do, and
Larry's already said, I uhfound something that would be uh
fun.
(14:08):
It was a seasonal job,mosquitoes hibernate like a lot
of mosquito insects.
So I uh I we my wife and I bothagreed that maybe this was
something we could do.
And the icing on the cake, thereason why we really did it was
because we watched uh my son putuh mosquito repellent directly
(14:31):
on my grandchildren's skinrather than putting it on their
clothes and that type of stuff.
And we said we gotta educate.
So we spend more time educatingpeople about insects and how to
protect themselves, their theiryard, their house, etc.
Uh, and that's what makes itfun.
We weren't in it for the money,we were in it for the being
(14:52):
busy doing something that wasworthwhile, right?
Larry Zilliox (14:54):
Right.
Uh how did you find yourtransition and separating from,
I mean, your whole tribe andthat whole life that you built,
and all of a sudden, you know,when you close that door, you
close that door.
That's right.
Um, how was that for you?
Dennis Corrigan (15:14):
It went pretty smoothly.
Um, the Navy at that particulartime was making sure that
people could uh enjoy the timeuh that they were doing the
transition.
So there were books writtenlike Navy Blue to Civilian uh
operations or civilianactivities, etc.
(15:34):
Uh went through a week-longcourse on how to write a resume,
and and and it was all done bythe Navy.
And and as a result, I thinkthat we lived through that uh
period of time very easily.
Uh and then I retired, and thenwithout having a single resume
yet written, I got this callfrom a company that knew who I
(15:57):
was, uh, knew where I was,called me, and you know, the
rest is history from thatstandpoint.
I I think I was very lucky.
Uh everybody doesn't have thatexperience.
Right.
Um the the community was alittle bit different because
during my tour uh with uh the uhNaval Air Systems Command, they
(16:18):
moved from being in CrystalCity out to Pax River.
Right.
But my children were uh at thattime high school seniors and a
high school junior, and I wasn'tgoing to uh move.
So I was doing a two-hourcommute from um Springfield all
the way out to Pax River.
But what was nice is there werethree other guys in the car.
(16:41):
And every week we took turns uhdoing it.
So the only thing I had toremember is during the week that
I was driving, I was notallowed to go to sleep.
So it turned out to be a very,very good experience for us.
And uh like I said, everythingI've talked about from high
school all the way through thisthat particular point in my
(17:03):
life, everything came to me.
I I don't know if it camewithout a whole lot of prayer.
It probably did.
Uh, but you know, it turned outthe way I'd hoped it would turn
out.
So we've been very lucky fromthat standpoint.
Larry Zilliox (17:17):
And when did you find MOA and how did you get
hooked up with them?
Dennis Corrigan (17:23):
When uh MOA first started, there their name
wasn't MOA.
It was uh the Reserve OfficersAssociation of America.
Okay, and they were um tryingto recruit individuals to join
them, and I'll talk about why uhin a minute.
Um, but they were trying torecruit people, and so I joined
TROA initially, and that thenmorphed into uh we don't just
(17:48):
want retired or reserveofficers, we want active duty as
well.
And so now we attractindividuals from all phases of
uh active duty veterans, peoplewho didn't retire, uh
reservists, uh, and the uh twoum mostly uh unrecognized
(18:09):
organizations, the uh nationalhealth uh uh uh group and as
well as NOAA, the NationalOceanographic and Atmospheric
Association.
So all seven of those, if youput them together, uh is what we
uh started seeing as part ofthe the group.
And so I became a life memberof uh that particular
(18:32):
organization and transitioned toMOA.
Um and I have always looked foroutreaches.
First, uh when I joined TROAand MOA, it was their offices
are in uh the local NorthernVirginia DC area.
Um and I don't I didn't see anyactivities, but we were
(18:55):
constantly being briefed onwhat's going on with Congress,
with uh the Pope uh programoffice uh memorandum uh process,
which is how the government isfunded.
Same thing with militarydepartments.
Uh so when I got here toHaymarket, moved from
Springfield to Haymark for ourfinal retirement, it turned out
(19:19):
that there was a chapter of MOAat the local Gainesville uh
location of Heritage Hunt, whichis an hoa that's pretty pretty
big in terms of size.
Larry Zilliox (19:32):
Yeah.
Dennis Corrigan (19:32):
And and those so now there was a way to be
with other individuals who whoare veterans, who are retired.
Uh we even have a couple ofactive duty individuals in the
local area that are part of MOA.
And so it the chapter here, soit was a chance to be with
people and do things with peopleuh that were both uh fun and uh
(19:59):
uh social things, but it alsogave us a chance, gave me a
chance to be more involved ingiving back, still serving, if
you would.
Larry Zilliox (20:08):
Sure, sure.
So let's talk a little bitabout the services that MOA
provides to its members and toall veterans, which is one of
the things that really attractedme to MOA.
And I've had a number of guestswho have been officers and are
members of MOA and talked abouthow helpful the resources that
(20:29):
MOA provided when theyseparated, as far as when it
came to job seeking and resumebuilding and and mentoring and
things like that.
And uh one of the things that II would hear and I really
thought was great is that whileMOA is a Military Officers
(20:49):
Association of America,membership is officers, the
services that they provide areavailable to all veterans.
Dennis Corrigan (20:56):
That is absolutely correct.
Larry Zilliox (20:58):
Regardless of rank, you don't have to be an
officer.
If you need help and they uhcan act as a resource, please
reach out to them.
So, what are some of theservices that they provide?
Dennis Corrigan (21:10):
Big MOA provides scholarships for uh
individuals who are familymembers of anyone tied to that
litany of things, officers,veterans, uh enlisted ranks,
whatever their connection tothat one day of service in the
military allows them to applyfor that.
(21:32):
That's a tremendous uhadvantage for individuals.
Some of them are grants, someof them are loans, but it's it
makes no difference that thereis still that resource available
to them.
The other thing that uh MOAdoes is try to protect and in
some cases uh increase theamount of things that the
veterans uh department of theU.S.
(21:55):
government uh provides.
So they're there to make surethat uh VA hospitals are funded,
that people get their uh colauh for their retired pay, uh
making sure that there's equityin the way the military
operates, that the uh especiallyfor individuals who are um in
(22:19):
other parts of the U.S.
that aren't necessarily righthere in the local DC area.
Our MOA chapter here hascontinued the concept of
scholarships.
Uh we seek all of the uh highschools that have a ROTC
program.
Okay our local high school,Battlefield High School, has an
(22:40):
Air Force ROTC.
And what we would like to helpcontinue is individuals that are
in an ROTC, a junior ROTC, befacilitated to to uh go to a
regular four-year college andjoin an ROTC unit at that
college and hopefully getcommissioned as a ensign or
(23:04):
second lieutenant in one of theother services.
Sure.
Because we feel like when weretired, it was a hole, and that
a lot of people were rightthere to fill our holes.
But who was going to fill thelast man's hole or the last
woman's hole?
And then that was gonna have tocome from the general
(23:24):
population.
And we haven't had a war in along time.
Um, we've had lots ofconflicts, we've been in
Afghanistan, we've been in Iraq,we've been those places.
Um, but there's a lot ofpeople, especially in Congress,
that have never had a day ofservice, have never been
involved in a day of service.
(23:45):
Uh and providing that resourcefor them is an important aspect
of getting things passed.
We are a nonpartisanorganization.
We like to talk to everypolitical organization about who
we are, what we are, what weneed, and what support they can
(24:07):
provide.
And you're seeing that uh uhmore and more often.
And that's why MOA's um effortsto provide legislators with the
information they need isimportant.
Uh, the chapter here is at thenext level down.
While we do support MOA uhefforts in legislation, there is
(24:31):
governmental things in Virginiathat require uh
military-familiar individuals tobe a part of.
And so in Virginia, there's a auh Virginia Council of
Councils.
So our chapter is considered acouncil, and we support the
group that's is in Richmond, uhproviding them with the funds
(24:55):
and the personnel support tostorm uh the legislature to talk
about the things in anonpartisan way that helps them
to make a better decision.
And if that better decisionprotects benefits or as benefits
are required, the PAC Act, uh,which occurred some years ago,
(25:16):
MOA was heavily involved inthat, and we were heavily
involved from a council point inmaking sure that our own uh
Commonwealth uh legislature wasalso ready to support that.
Larry Zilliox (25:29):
So that is a such an important aspect of the work
that MOA does is policy, andtrying to develop policy
guidelines for not only federalbut state and local um
governments because all of thebenefits that veterans have came
(25:52):
because of American Legion, theVFW, MOA, uh Iraq, Afghanistan
Veterans Association.
These are all organizationsthat you can join and be a
member of and pay dues, andthose dues support the lobbying
and the policy assistance thatthese organizations give to
(26:16):
legislators to get benefits foryou.
So I know a lot of folks thinkthat uh all of this takes place
on a federal level and it's allabout Congress, but there are so
many rules and regulations andlaws that affect veterans on a
state level.
For instance, here in Virginia,if you're a veteran and you
(26:40):
have 100% disability, you don'tyou don't pay tax on your home.
And the only reason that law isin place is because veteran
organizations pushed for it.
That's correct.
It's not because legislatorsjust woke up one day and said,
Oh, you know, let's just giveveterans who are 100% disabled,
let's just give them a tax breakon their home.
(27:01):
Well, they don't want to giveany money away ever.
So uh keep that in mind whenyou think about these
organizations, and especially ifyou're an officer out there,
you need to belong to MOA.
You need to go to the webpagemoaa.org and take a look and
(27:22):
register, pay your dues, and uhbe part of this organization
because it supports not only youand your fellow officers, but
it supports through makingresources available and helping
all veterans, it supports thosethat were under your command,
(27:46):
that you took an oath to guideand and lead.
And here's a choice chance foryou to continue to do that for
those men and women that thatworked under you when you were
an officer.
And so uh if you don't want tojoin, hit that donate button.
(28:09):
Give, give whatever you can tenbucks, a hundred bucks,
thousand bucks.
Uh this work to lobby on in all50 states and on a national
level is not cheap.
And it you can't do it uh withvolunteers and you can't do it
with wishful thinking.
So please um join MOA,M-O-AA.org.org, join or donate.
(28:37):
And if you're a veteran, andespecially if you need
transitional assistance,especially when it comes to
mentorship, uh resources forlocating a job, resume building,
interview techniques and andand everything that you need,
check out the MOA webpagebecause they have a tremendous
(29:00):
amount of resources.
And then there's also a way tofind a chapter in your local
area.
And when you find that chapter,reach out to them, explain your
situation, tell them whatyou're having trouble with, and
I guarantee you they'll help.
And if they can't help, theywill find somebody who can help.
And um so as we kind of wrapthings up, uh Dennis, what's the
(29:26):
I have one other thing that I'dlike to mention.
Dennis Corrigan (29:29):
Okay.
That uh we're talking about uhstuff that happens when you're
living.
At our particular chapter here,we also have an individual
who's trained to assist familiesin need at the time when death
has occurred.
Yeah.
And that that transition forthose individuals, sometimes,
especially when we're all theway out in Haymarket, it's not
(29:52):
like there's a base real close.
Um and so we maintain thatcapability.
And and some of the others doas well.
The uh American Legion, theVFW, uh, for instance, both have
uh uh service officers that uhtake and help families through
that.
And we are no different.
Uh the other aspect of it isit.
(30:14):
If an individual, male orfemale, is a veteran officer,
then they can belong to MOA, asLarry has talked about.
When that member goes away orgoes past, uh the surprising
spouse is made a member, anauxiliary member, but she has or
(30:36):
he has, depending on which way,uh, has the chance to join in
the social, be a part of thediscussion about uh benefits, uh
what we do uh to supportbenefits so that they don't go
away or if they need to beincreased.
Uh and and that's a functionthat we find in the chapter.
All this stuff is personal.
(30:56):
You don't want to be on thephone with this.
We we sit right next to the thefamily.
We help them do the thepaperwork, understand the
benefits, because I foundpersonally that there's a lot of
people who pass that haven'ttold their wife, haven't made a
will, haven't given instructionson on what they would like to
(31:18):
see uh after their death.
Uh-huh.
And hopefully they are lookingdown rather than looking up.
Uh so that that part of it Ithink is a really important part
that I found important,especially when I was uh
involved in some of those kindof things.
Larry Zilliox (31:36):
Well, it is important because the benefits
that a veteran is receivingcease when when they pass, but
there are additional benefitsavailable through the VA for
that veteran spouse or family.
Um and they don't actually evenhave to be a member of any
(32:00):
organization, they don't evenhave to be service-connected
disability, they just need to bea veteran.
And in fact, you know, ifyou've got an aunt or an uncle
who is a veteran and they'vepassed, you you can call a local
MOA chapter and say, you know,Uncle Dave passed.
Right.
(32:20):
And Aunt Betty, uh, he he neverreceived any veteran benefits,
but I understand that my my auntmay be eligible for some.
And how does she get those?
And there's somebody at the MOAchapter that will walk them
through that, that hasexperience, that knows what's
available, um, because it'shard.
(32:43):
Dealing with the VA is hard foralmost everybody.
And and so when you can bring aprofessional into the process,
that's not only going to get youbut what you need, but also
make sure that you're gettingeverything and you're entitled
to, um, which often you just getwhat you ask for and you don't
(33:06):
know what you don't know.
And so that's an amazingservice, I think, um, because it
it really is a time when thingsare so unsettled.
And and also some relativeswant their veteran interned at a
national cemetery because theVA will pay for that, you know,
(33:28):
because a funeral is expensive.
And so um, yeah, I think that'san amazing service, really.
Dennis Corrigan (33:36):
And I think you've heard this story, but
just for your uh listeners toknow that uh here we have a
local cemetery that's a publicfor-profit cemetery that had 32
members, 33 members that had nograve marker.
And it turned out that those 33were military veterans.
So the American Legion here andin Manassas and a couple of
(34:00):
other American Legions haveworked diligently to get uh
headstones to not only reflectthe name and the states of birth
and but also to reflect thatthey're a military veteran,
which is something that the VAprovides free of charge for
every headstone that a veteranuh should have.
(34:23):
Yeah.
And that's that's a big effort.
Uh you know, it's still servingthose who served and passed
away is an important aspect ofwhat we do in the local
environment.
Larry Zilliox (34:34):
Sure, yeah.
Well, listeners, please go tothe webpage moa.org, check it
out.
If you are an officer, join.
No excuse.
You gotta join.
At a minimum, donate.
Uh, if you need help withtransitioning, check out the
(34:54):
resources.
Um, you know, it's a greatorganization, and it's been
around for a long time.
And I know I have seen MOA repsat Building 62, uh at Walter
Reed, just sitting around in thelobby, talking to people and
(35:16):
come down.
What are you doing?
Are you gonna separate soon?
Have you thought about whatyou're gonna do after you get
out?
You know, we're we're here tohelp.
We're here.
And they're just sitting aroundin suits in the lobby of
Building 62.
And I I saw them a number oftimes when we were up there, and
I thought, well, who are thoseguys?
And then finally startedtalking to one of them, and they
(35:38):
just come and they sit and theylook for officers and talk to
the guys that are there, part ofthe soldier recovery unit,
about whether they're gonna gobefore the med board, when
they're getting out, what whatthey offer, that kind of thing.
It was really, it was reallygreat to see because it was such
a laid-back casual approach,you know.
(35:59):
Um but as we kind of wrapthings up, what's the what's the
most important thing you wantpeople to know, our listeners to
know about MOA?
Dennis Corrigan (36:11):
They're nonpartisan, so that that puts
them in the middle.
They're able to talk toeveryone, um, they're able to
use their knowledge of thesystem, whether it's that works
which works in Congress or andon the Commonwealth or state
level, uh, that they'recompassionate, they're they're
(36:33):
enthusiastic about uh assisting.
They believe in the in thewatch phrase still serving.
Now, because like you saidbefore, uh many of the officers
were in charge of other men andwomen.
And we've never lose sight oftrying to take care of them.
And that has been the reason Iwas I'm part of the MOA uh
(36:57):
community as well as the otherones.
I think that uh spreading mytime over the American Legion,
the Knights of Columbus, uh VFW,and MOA are my four passionate
type of outreach efforts.
So I thank you for having metoday.
I love talking about what'simportant to me.
And I I really, though, supportthis particular William Warrior
(37:19):
Retreat Center.
And I think it's true, and youcan correct me if I'm wrong.
You know, we lose 19 to 22individuals every day who have
lost the faith that they'reimportant, that they have a role
in the world after havingserved so um distinguishedly in
(37:41):
uh in the service.
And the people who come hereget reunited with that bond of a
family can provide thatprevents that.
And I think that's important.
And that's why this place isimportant to me.
Larry Zilliox (37:57):
Well, we we really appreciate your support.
We can't thank you enough.
And thanks for coming on andtelling us about MOA.
I've wanted to do an episodeabout MOA for quite some time.
I um haven't met the guys atBuilding 62, had a few um guests
who are MOA members.
I knew uh, especially I so likethe idea that resources are
(38:17):
available to all veterans,regardless of rank.
Um, I think that is really uhreally awesome.
Um, so you know, thank you somuch for joining us.
Dennis Corrigan (38:26):
You're welcome and thank you for having me.
Larry Zilliox (38:28):
Well, listeners, we'll have another episode next
Monday morning at 0500.
And if you have any questionsor suggestions, you can reach us
at podcast atwillingwarriors.org.
We're available on all majorpodcast platforms on our YouTube
channel or Reese AcrossAmerica.
So thanks for listening.
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services,
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run.
And this week our guest isDennis Corrigan.
He is with a number oforganizations that uh I'm
personally associated with, andthe retreat is associated with
as well.
(00:35):
Uh Dennis is here.
I asked him to join us to talkabout MOA, the Military Officers
Association of America, and alltheir services.
But we also have our executivedirector, uh Sarah Ford, with us
because Dennis uh brought alonga donation for the retreat.
And I asked Sarah to join us.
(00:57):
And Sarah, thanks for coming.
I really appreciate it.
Sarah Ford (01:00):
Thank you, Larry.
Glad to be here.
Larry Zilliox (01:02):
Yeah.
And Dennis, thanks for joiningus.
I really appreciate you coming.
And very rarely, in fact, thismight be the first time that a
guest has showed up with money.
Oh that's good to hear.
Yeah, very good to hear.
So tell us a little bit aboutthe donation.
Dennis Corrigan (01:21):
So the donation is coming from the people who
make up the chapter of MOA thatexists here in the local area.
We meet at the Heritage HuntCountry Club because that's a
central location.
We've had our business and oursocial events that are there.
(01:41):
And one of our outreaches is tosupport those organizations
that support our veterans.
And that's in a myriad ofdifferent ways.
Having been supporting thisparticular uh endeavor here at
the William Warrior RetreatCenter for almost all 10 years.
In fact, the years before itwas actually built, uh, we
(02:04):
actually held a fundraising atuh the home of one of uh our HOA
members, and that's what turnedus on to this particular
endeavor.
And so uh every year we collectmoney.
Um the MOA members tend to bean average age of about 60.
And uh so we don't do carwashes.
(02:26):
So at the beginning of everyyear, when people are paying
their dues, um, they also makedonations, and that adds up
after a while.
And this is going to be ourthird uh donation uh that when
we've been able to make.
And we just voted for it thispast Tuesday, and so I don't
need to have the check in myhands, need to make sure it's in
(02:48):
yours.
Uh so that's what it's abouttoday.
Larry Zilliox (02:51):
And so we're doing an audio podcast.
Can you tell our listeners howmuch the check is for?
Dennis Corrigan (02:56):
It's for two thousand dollars.
Whoa, okay.
Which is almost the cost of aweek's stay.
Yes.
So that that makes it nice andmakes it feel good for us as
well.
Wow.
Sarah Ford (03:07):
Yes.
Dennis, thank you so much foryour support, um, both
personally for the WarriorRetreat and also through MOA and
the other organizations thatyou support.
Um, as you mentioned, MOA hasbeen a supporter of ours from
the beginning before the retreatwas even opened.
And it it shows the level ofcommitment that we have in this
community and to have thisofficers organization, you know,
(03:30):
gather together and come andsay, hey, we want to support
those still in the fight.
Um means a lot and says a lotabout MOA and about your group.
And as you mentioned, that uhpretty much covers a warrior
family stay here at the retreat.
So there's gonna be a warriorfamily that's gonna be impacted,
a warrior family that's gonnabe brought closer together and
provided healing here at theWarrior Retreat, thanks to your
(03:53):
support and the support of yourmembers.
So thank you very much.
Larry Zilliox (03:55):
Oh, you're welcome, very welcome.
Oh and did you have anothercheck?
No, no other checks.
Okay, all right.
Well, we're just checking.
Yeah, I just want to make surein case you had one you forgot
about.
Dennis Corrigan (04:08):
Yeah, no, this is this is the one that's uh
important.
Larry Zilliox (04:11):
So all right.
Well, we're gonna let Sarah go.
Um, because she's busy, sheneeds to go cash that check.
And uh uh Today's Friday.
Dennis Corrigan (04:22):
You can do anything on Saturday with it.
Larry Zilliox (04:24):
So uh she's gonna get back to work, and then
Dennis and I are gonna uh settledown here and talk about MOA.
So thank you for joining us,Sarah.
Sarah Ford (04:35):
Right, thank you, Larry, and again, thank you,
Dennis.
We appreciate your support andand look forward to continuing
to work with you in the years tocome.
Dennis Corrigan (04:41):
That's gonna happen.
Sarah Ford (04:42):
Wonderful, thank you again.
Dennis Corrigan (04:48):
Thanks.
The envelope, if you're gonnapull it out from Ether.
Larry Zilliox (04:55):
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Okay, see you later.
All right, bye-bye.
Okay, we're back.
Um Dennis, uh I I do wanna I Ido want to talk a little bit
about where you and I personallyintersect, is uh we're both
(05:18):
members of the American LegionHaymarket post-1799.
Dennis Corrigan (05:22):
Yes.
Larry Zilliox (05:22):
As well as here at the retreat, you are also
part of the Knights of Columbus.
And the Knights of Columbus umis a huge supporter of ours.
They have um for our yearlyannual uh car show that we do,
you guys are here donating thefood and then working the grills
(05:48):
and cooking hot dogs andhamburgers for everybody at no
cost.
Now, most people make adonation, which is very kind,
and we really appreciate it.
So that function in itself, thecost of the food as well as the
donations raised from uh peoplewho are getting hot dogs and
hamburgers, um we're we're we'retalking thousands and thousands
(06:13):
of dollars that you guys havebrought in.
And um, and it's no small feat.
I mean, you g you guys are outthere cooking for, I think this
last year was one of ourhighest.
We had like 865 people on theproperty.
And um uh a few, more than afew were pretty beefy, and I
think they might have gonethrough that line more than
(06:34):
once.
I won't tell.
So um, you know, uh thank youso much for everything you do.
And and also uh look, uh Dennisis uh a franchisee for Mosquito
Joe here in the local area, anduh they volunteer and come out
and spray the property uh forticks and mosquitoes, and um
(06:57):
that is so valuable to ourfamilies that takes a concern
away from them.
You know, a lot of our familiesaren't from the country,
they're from the city, and oneof the things they hear about
the country is that ticks willkill you or you'll get sick, or
you know, so they're a littlebit leery about going out with
the kids and everything andrunning around this huge
(07:19):
property.
And uh more than once we said,look, we have a company that
comes in as raised, you don'thave to worry about it.
And so that's another way thatum folks uh uh really get to
experience your generosity, andwe can't thank you enough.
So if you're in NorthernVirginia, and I'm gonna put a
link down to Dennis's MosquitoJoe uh uh webpage, because if
(07:44):
you need that for your home,your property, you you
definitely want to give them acall because we more than
anything, we supportveteran-owned businesses that
support us.
Uh and uh we have a lot oftradesmen that come in here and
help us and do things like that.
So I can't thank you enough foreverything you do through the
American Legion, through theKnights of Columbus, and
(08:06):
Mosquito Joe.
Uh you're you're really one ofour top uh vendor volunteers,
and and we appreciate it somuch.
Dennis Corrigan (08:15):
Well, thank you very much.
Uh that's uh overly generousfor you.
Larry Zilliox (08:19):
So well, it it it just means it means so much to
us.
Um so I wanted to start bytalking a little bit about your
military career.
And one of the questions that Ialways ask our veterans um is
as a Navy veteran, why did youjoin the Navy and not the Air
(08:39):
Force?
Dennis Corrigan (08:40):
Well, that's a great question because uh I'd
have to go back to my years inhigh school.
Um and I was a Navy brat, so myfather was stationed at uh
Pearl Harbor.
Uh and I went to the DODDSsupported school in Hawaii,
which was Radford University,named after Admiral Radford from
(09:00):
World War II.
Larry Zilliox (09:01):
Right.
Dennis Corrigan (09:02):
Um and I wasn't gonna go to college unless I
either got a scholarship or anappointment to one of the
academies, and I did in fact getan appointment to the Air Force
Academy.
And and two days later, I gotan appointment to an ROTC, a
(09:24):
Navy ROTC scholarship, uh thatwas going to be at Auburn
University in Alabama.
Okay.
So living in Hawaii, going touh Alabama, which was an
experience.
And uh because I had seen theBlue Angels, I knew I wanted to
be a pilot.
Okay, so things just cametogether.
Yeah, yeah uh got thescholarship, went to Auburn,
(09:47):
graduated, was commissioned inEnsign, and went directly to uh
flight school.
Sarah Ford (09:52):
Okay.
Dennis Corrigan (09:52):
Now there is an interesting quick story about
that.
Uh I worked so hard the lastquarter of uh my two time at
Auburn to get my degree that uhI forced my eyes to a position
where I couldn't pass the eyeexam to be a pilot at the
physical before I graduated.
And so I was given the optionto become a naval flight
(10:15):
officer, which is the guy whoyou know sits in the back or
sits side by side with thepilot.
Um, but I got married uh fivedays after graduation and uh
went to Pensacola.
The first thing they do is uhtest your eyesight, and I passed
with flying colors.
And the uh the um optometristsaid, you know, you could be a
(10:37):
pilot.
And I said, I wanted to be apilot.
He said, Let me write this foryou.
So you just don't do thatwithout doing something special.
Uh so they sent me to see theadmiral who was there at
Pensacola uh when I put in myapplication to switch from naval
flight officer to being apilot, and he approved that that
(10:58):
change.
So all of my dreams came true.
Married the love of my life,uh, got to be a pilot.
Uh, and not that being a navalflight officer and NFO is a bad
deal, but that that's how Ientered.
So it's kind of an answer toyour question about the the uh
being a Navy pilot or being anAir Force pilot.
(11:19):
I think either one would havebeen great, but I certainly
enjoyed my family's commitmentto being in the Navy.
My grandfather was in the Navy,so it was something that was
built into to myself and uh didthat for 24 years.
Larry Zilliox (11:33):
What did you fly?
Dennis Corrigan (11:34):
I flew the P3 Orion, okay, anti-submarine
warfare and E-Lint uh uhairplane.
I was able to do that for 22 ofmy 24 years.
So I spent a lot of time uh inthe air and uh flying over the
ocean.
Flying over the ocean, yes.
Larry Zilliox (11:51):
Uh I was stationed in northern Maine at
at Loring Air Force Base, and weused to see P3s come in and do
touch and goes because they'd beright off the coast there.
Right, right.
Dennis Corrigan (12:00):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, Brunswick, Maine waswhere the a major P3 base was
located.
So in the nice part of Maine.
In the nice part of Maine, yes,yes.
So it was a it was a greattime.
Uh I spent uh 23 years in theNavy, 24 years in the Navy, and
uh when I finally retired, uh Iwas at Pax River, uh, Maryland,
(12:21):
uh doing the things thatprovided the uh training for
individuals in aviation, whetherthey were maintenance guys, air
crew guys, pilots, NFOs, uh, webought the supplies, uh, bought
the airplane training, etc.,that uh they need to to be able
to operate efficiently andeffectively.
(12:42):
So that was great.
When I got out of the Navy, uhI decided I didn't want to be a
beltway bandit, uh a defensecontractor who supported uh all
of the regulatory and and moneyand all that stuff.
I wanted to do something thatwe could build.
So I was on my 30-day vacationat the end of um my career, and
(13:07):
a company here in the local areacalled me and asked me if uh
I'd come for an interviewbecause they wanted to build
simulations, simulators, andthat was they needed someone who
knew the ins and outs, andthat's what I did.
Wow.
I joined them uh and I had agreat time doing exactly what I
just described.
(13:28):
We had offices all over uh allover the world because training
centers are not just in thecontinental United States.
Right.
Uh I enjoyed it.
Uh I finally retired after 15years of doing that, and I
decided I was gonna play golf.
I was going to enjoy life.
(13:48):
I was gonna walk the grandkidsto school and do that stuff, and
I got bored and I found out Icouldn't play golf three times a
week and feel so I startedlooking for something to do, and
Larry's already said, I uhfound something that would be uh
fun.
(14:08):
It was a seasonal job,mosquitoes hibernate like a lot
of mosquito insects.
So I uh I we my wife and I bothagreed that maybe this was
something we could do.
And the icing on the cake, thereason why we really did it was
because we watched uh my son putuh mosquito repellent directly
(14:31):
on my grandchildren's skinrather than putting it on their
clothes and that type of stuff.
And we said we gotta educate.
So we spend more time educatingpeople about insects and how to
protect themselves, their theiryard, their house, etc.
Uh, and that's what makes itfun.
We weren't in it for the money,we were in it for the being
(14:52):
busy doing something that wasworthwhile, right?
Larry Zilliox (14:54):
Right.
Uh how did you find yourtransition and separating from,
I mean, your whole tribe andthat whole life that you built,
and all of a sudden, you know,when you close that door, you
close that door.
That's right.
Um, how was that for you?
Dennis Corrigan (15:14):
It went pretty smoothly.
Um, the Navy at that particulartime was making sure that
people could uh enjoy the timeuh that they were doing the
transition.
So there were books writtenlike Navy Blue to Civilian uh
operations or civilianactivities, etc.
(15:34):
Uh went through a week-longcourse on how to write a resume,
and and and it was all done bythe Navy.
And and as a result, I thinkthat we lived through that uh
period of time very easily.
Uh and then I retired, and thenwithout having a single resume
yet written, I got this callfrom a company that knew who I
(15:57):
was, uh, knew where I was,called me, and you know, the
rest is history from thatstandpoint.
I I think I was very lucky.
Uh everybody doesn't have thatexperience.
Right.
Um the the community was alittle bit different because
during my tour uh with uh the uhNaval Air Systems Command, they
(16:18):
moved from being in CrystalCity out to Pax River.
Right.
But my children were uh at thattime high school seniors and a
high school junior, and I wasn'tgoing to uh move.
So I was doing a two-hourcommute from um Springfield all
the way out to Pax River.
But what was nice is there werethree other guys in the car.
(16:41):
And every week we took turns uhdoing it.
So the only thing I had toremember is during the week that
I was driving, I was notallowed to go to sleep.
So it turned out to be a very,very good experience for us.
And uh like I said, everythingI've talked about from high
school all the way through thisthat particular point in my
(17:03):
life, everything came to me.
I I don't know if it camewithout a whole lot of prayer.
It probably did.
Uh, but you know, it turned outthe way I'd hoped it would turn
out.
So we've been very lucky fromthat standpoint.
Larry Zilliox (17:17):
And when did you find MOA and how did you get
hooked up with them?
Dennis Corrigan (17:23):
When uh MOA first started, there their name
wasn't MOA.
It was uh the Reserve OfficersAssociation of America.
Okay, and they were um tryingto recruit individuals to join
them, and I'll talk about why uhin a minute.
Um, but they were trying torecruit people, and so I joined
TROA initially, and that thenmorphed into uh we don't just
(17:48):
want retired or reserveofficers, we want active duty as
well.
And so now we attractindividuals from all phases of
uh active duty veterans, peoplewho didn't retire, uh
reservists, uh, and the uh twoum mostly uh unrecognized
(18:09):
organizations, the uh nationalhealth uh uh uh group and as
well as NOAA, the NationalOceanographic and Atmospheric
Association.
So all seven of those, if youput them together, uh is what we
uh started seeing as part ofthe the group.
And so I became a life memberof uh that particular
(18:32):
organization and transitioned toMOA.
Um and I have always looked foroutreaches.
First, uh when I joined TROAand MOA, it was their offices
are in uh the local NorthernVirginia DC area.
Um and I don't I didn't see anyactivities, but we were
(18:55):
constantly being briefed onwhat's going on with Congress,
with uh the Pope uh programoffice uh memorandum uh process,
which is how the government isfunded.
Same thing with militarydepartments.
Uh so when I got here toHaymarket, moved from
Springfield to Haymark for ourfinal retirement, it turned out
(19:19):
that there was a chapter of MOAat the local Gainesville uh
location of Heritage Hunt, whichis an hoa that's pretty pretty
big in terms of size.
Larry Zilliox (19:32):
Yeah.
Dennis Corrigan (19:32):
And and those so now there was a way to be
with other individuals who whoare veterans, who are retired.
Uh we even have a couple ofactive duty individuals in the
local area that are part of MOA.
And so it the chapter here, soit was a chance to be with
people and do things with peopleuh that were both uh fun and uh
(19:59):
uh social things, but it alsogave us a chance, gave me a
chance to be more involved ingiving back, still serving, if
you would.
Larry Zilliox (20:08):
Sure, sure.
So let's talk a little bitabout the services that MOA
provides to its members and toall veterans, which is one of
the things that really attractedme to MOA.
And I've had a number of guestswho have been officers and are
members of MOA and talked abouthow helpful the resources that
(20:29):
MOA provided when theyseparated, as far as when it
came to job seeking and resumebuilding and and mentoring and
things like that.
And uh one of the things that II would hear and I really
thought was great is that whileMOA is a Military Officers
(20:49):
Association of America,membership is officers, the
services that they provide areavailable to all veterans.
Dennis Corrigan (20:56):
That is absolutely correct.
Larry Zilliox (20:58):
Regardless of rank, you don't have to be an
officer.
If you need help and they uhcan act as a resource, please
reach out to them.
So, what are some of theservices that they provide?
Dennis Corrigan (21:10):
Big MOA provides scholarships for uh
individuals who are familymembers of anyone tied to that
litany of things, officers,veterans, uh enlisted ranks,
whatever their connection tothat one day of service in the
military allows them to applyfor that.
(21:32):
That's a tremendous uhadvantage for individuals.
Some of them are grants, someof them are loans, but it's it
makes no difference that thereis still that resource available
to them.
The other thing that uh MOAdoes is try to protect and in
some cases uh increase theamount of things that the
veterans uh department of theU.S.
(21:55):
government uh provides.
So they're there to make surethat uh VA hospitals are funded,
that people get their uh colauh for their retired pay, uh
making sure that there's equityin the way the military
operates, that the uh especiallyfor individuals who are um in
(22:19):
other parts of the U.S.
that aren't necessarily righthere in the local DC area.
Our MOA chapter here hascontinued the concept of
scholarships.
Uh we seek all of the uh highschools that have a ROTC
program.
Okay our local high school,Battlefield High School, has an
(22:40):
Air Force ROTC.
And what we would like to helpcontinue is individuals that are
in an ROTC, a junior ROTC, befacilitated to to uh go to a
regular four-year college andjoin an ROTC unit at that
college and hopefully getcommissioned as a ensign or
(23:04):
second lieutenant in one of theother services.
Sure.
Because we feel like when weretired, it was a hole, and that
a lot of people were rightthere to fill our holes.
But who was going to fill thelast man's hole or the last
woman's hole?
And then that was gonna have tocome from the general
(23:24):
population.
And we haven't had a war in along time.
Um, we've had lots ofconflicts, we've been in
Afghanistan, we've been in Iraq,we've been those places.
Um, but there's a lot ofpeople, especially in Congress,
that have never had a day ofservice, have never been
involved in a day of service.
(23:45):
Uh and providing that resourcefor them is an important aspect
of getting things passed.
We are a nonpartisanorganization.
We like to talk to everypolitical organization about who
we are, what we are, what weneed, and what support they can
(24:07):
provide.
And you're seeing that uh uhmore and more often.
And that's why MOA's um effortsto provide legislators with the
information they need isimportant.
Uh, the chapter here is at thenext level down.
While we do support MOA uhefforts in legislation, there is
(24:31):
governmental things in Virginiathat require uh
military-familiar individuals tobe a part of.
And so in Virginia, there's a auh Virginia Council of
Councils.
So our chapter is considered acouncil, and we support the
group that's is in Richmond, uhproviding them with the funds
(24:55):
and the personnel support tostorm uh the legislature to talk
about the things in anonpartisan way that helps them
to make a better decision.
And if that better decisionprotects benefits or as benefits
are required, the PAC Act, uh,which occurred some years ago,
(25:16):
MOA was heavily involved inthat, and we were heavily
involved from a council point inmaking sure that our own uh
Commonwealth uh legislature wasalso ready to support that.
Larry Zilliox (25:29):
So that is a such an important aspect of the work
that MOA does is policy, andtrying to develop policy
guidelines for not only federalbut state and local um
governments because all of thebenefits that veterans have came
(25:52):
because of American Legion, theVFW, MOA, uh Iraq, Afghanistan
Veterans Association.
These are all organizationsthat you can join and be a
member of and pay dues, andthose dues support the lobbying
and the policy assistance thatthese organizations give to
(26:16):
legislators to get benefits foryou.
So I know a lot of folks thinkthat uh all of this takes place
on a federal level and it's allabout Congress, but there are so
many rules and regulations andlaws that affect veterans on a
state level.
For instance, here in Virginia,if you're a veteran and you
(26:40):
have 100% disability, you don'tyou don't pay tax on your home.
And the only reason that law isin place is because veteran
organizations pushed for it.
That's correct.
It's not because legislatorsjust woke up one day and said,
Oh, you know, let's just giveveterans who are 100% disabled,
let's just give them a tax breakon their home.
(27:01):
Well, they don't want to giveany money away ever.
So uh keep that in mind whenyou think about these
organizations, and especially ifyou're an officer out there,
you need to belong to MOA.
You need to go to the webpagemoaa.org and take a look and
(27:22):
register, pay your dues, and uhbe part of this organization
because it supports not only youand your fellow officers, but
it supports through makingresources available and helping
all veterans, it supports thosethat were under your command,
(27:46):
that you took an oath to guideand and lead.
And here's a choice chance foryou to continue to do that for
those men and women that thatworked under you when you were
an officer.
And so uh if you don't want tojoin, hit that donate button.
(28:09):
Give, give whatever you can tenbucks, a hundred bucks,
thousand bucks.
Uh this work to lobby on in all50 states and on a national
level is not cheap.
And it you can't do it uh withvolunteers and you can't do it
with wishful thinking.
So please um join MOA,M-O-AA.org.org, join or donate.
(28:37):
And if you're a veteran, andespecially if you need
transitional assistance,especially when it comes to
mentorship, uh resources forlocating a job, resume building,
interview techniques and andand everything that you need,
check out the MOA webpagebecause they have a tremendous
(29:00):
amount of resources.
And then there's also a way tofind a chapter in your local
area.
And when you find that chapter,reach out to them, explain your
situation, tell them whatyou're having trouble with, and
I guarantee you they'll help.
And if they can't help, theywill find somebody who can help.
And um so as we kind of wrapthings up, uh Dennis, what's the
(29:26):
I have one other thing that I'dlike to mention.
Dennis Corrigan (29:29):
Okay.
That uh we're talking about uhstuff that happens when you're
living.
At our particular chapter here,we also have an individual
who's trained to assist familiesin need at the time when death
has occurred.
Yeah.
And that that transition forthose individuals, sometimes,
especially when we're all theway out in Haymarket, it's not
(29:52):
like there's a base real close.
Um and so we maintain thatcapability.
And and some of the others doas well.
The uh American Legion, theVFW, uh, for instance, both have
uh uh service officers that uhtake and help families through
that.
And we are no different.
Uh the other aspect of it isit.
(30:14):
If an individual, male orfemale, is a veteran officer,
then they can belong to MOA, asLarry has talked about.
When that member goes away orgoes past, uh the surprising
spouse is made a member, anauxiliary member, but she has or
(30:36):
he has, depending on which way,uh, has the chance to join in
the social, be a part of thediscussion about uh benefits, uh
what we do uh to supportbenefits so that they don't go
away or if they need to beincreased.
Uh and and that's a functionthat we find in the chapter.
All this stuff is personal.
(30:56):
You don't want to be on thephone with this.
We we sit right next to the thefamily.
We help them do the thepaperwork, understand the
benefits, because I foundpersonally that there's a lot of
people who pass that haven'ttold their wife, haven't made a
will, haven't given instructionson on what they would like to
(31:18):
see uh after their death.
Uh-huh.
And hopefully they are lookingdown rather than looking up.
Uh so that that part of it Ithink is a really important part
that I found important,especially when I was uh
involved in some of those kindof things.
Larry Zilliox (31:36):
Well, it is important because the benefits
that a veteran is receivingcease when when they pass, but
there are additional benefitsavailable through the VA for
that veteran spouse or family.
Um and they don't actually evenhave to be a member of any
(32:00):
organization, they don't evenhave to be service-connected
disability, they just need to bea veteran.
And in fact, you know, ifyou've got an aunt or an uncle
who is a veteran and they'vepassed, you you can call a local
MOA chapter and say, you know,Uncle Dave passed.
Right.
(32:20):
And Aunt Betty, uh, he he neverreceived any veteran benefits,
but I understand that my my auntmay be eligible for some.
And how does she get those?
And there's somebody at the MOAchapter that will walk them
through that, that hasexperience, that knows what's
available, um, because it'shard.
(32:43):
Dealing with the VA is hard foralmost everybody.
And and so when you can bring aprofessional into the process,
that's not only going to get youbut what you need, but also
make sure that you're gettingeverything and you're entitled
to, um, which often you just getwhat you ask for and you don't
(33:06):
know what you don't know.
And so that's an amazingservice, I think, um, because it
it really is a time when thingsare so unsettled.
And and also some relativeswant their veteran interned at a
national cemetery because theVA will pay for that, you know,
(33:28):
because a funeral is expensive.
And so um, yeah, I think that'san amazing service, really.
Dennis Corrigan (33:36):
And I think you've heard this story, but
just for your uh listeners toknow that uh here we have a
local cemetery that's a publicfor-profit cemetery that had 32
members, 33 members that had nograve marker.
And it turned out that those 33were military veterans.
So the American Legion here andin Manassas and a couple of
(34:00):
other American Legions haveworked diligently to get uh
headstones to not only reflectthe name and the states of birth
and but also to reflect thatthey're a military veteran,
which is something that the VAprovides free of charge for
every headstone that a veteranuh should have.
(34:23):
Yeah.
And that's that's a big effort.
Uh you know, it's still servingthose who served and passed
away is an important aspect ofwhat we do in the local
environment.
Larry Zilliox (34:34):
Sure, yeah.
Well, listeners, please go tothe webpage moa.org, check it
out.
If you are an officer, join.
No excuse.
You gotta join.
At a minimum, donate.
Uh, if you need help withtransitioning, check out the
(34:54):
resources.
Um, you know, it's a greatorganization, and it's been
around for a long time.
And I know I have seen MOA repsat Building 62, uh at Walter
Reed, just sitting around in thelobby, talking to people and
(35:16):
come down.
What are you doing?
Are you gonna separate soon?
Have you thought about whatyou're gonna do after you get
out?
You know, we're we're here tohelp.
We're here.
And they're just sitting aroundin suits in the lobby of
Building 62.
And I I saw them a number oftimes when we were up there, and
I thought, well, who are thoseguys?
And then finally startedtalking to one of them, and they
(35:38):
just come and they sit and theylook for officers and talk to
the guys that are there, part ofthe soldier recovery unit,
about whether they're gonna gobefore the med board, when
they're getting out, what whatthey offer, that kind of thing.
It was really, it was reallygreat to see because it was such
a laid-back casual approach,you know.
(35:59):
Um but as we kind of wrapthings up, what's the what's the
most important thing you wantpeople to know, our listeners to
know about MOA?
Dennis Corrigan (36:11):
They're nonpartisan, so that that puts
them in the middle.
They're able to talk toeveryone, um, they're able to
use their knowledge of thesystem, whether it's that works
which works in Congress or andon the Commonwealth or state
level, uh, that they'recompassionate, they're they're
(36:33):
enthusiastic about uh assisting.
They believe in the in thewatch phrase still serving.
Now, because like you saidbefore, uh many of the officers
were in charge of other men andwomen.
And we've never lose sight oftrying to take care of them.
And that has been the reason Iwas I'm part of the MOA uh
(36:57):
community as well as the otherones.
I think that uh spreading mytime over the American Legion,
the Knights of Columbus, uh VFW,and MOA are my four passionate
type of outreach efforts.
So I thank you for having metoday.
I love talking about what'simportant to me.
And I I really, though, supportthis particular William Warrior
(37:19):
Retreat Center.
And I think it's true, and youcan correct me if I'm wrong.
You know, we lose 19 to 22individuals every day who have
lost the faith that they'reimportant, that they have a role
in the world after havingserved so um distinguishedly in
(37:41):
uh in the service.
And the people who come hereget reunited with that bond of a
family can provide thatprevents that.
And I think that's important.
And that's why this place isimportant to me.
Larry Zilliox (37:57):
Well, we we really appreciate your support.
We can't thank you enough.
And thanks for coming on andtelling us about MOA.
I've wanted to do an episodeabout MOA for quite some time.
I um haven't met the guys atBuilding 62, had a few um guests
who are MOA members.
I knew uh, especially I so likethe idea that resources are
(38:17):
available to all veterans,regardless of rank.
Um, I think that is really uhreally awesome.
Um, so you know, thank you somuch for joining us.
Dennis Corrigan (38:26):
You're welcome and thank you for having me.
Larry Zilliox (38:28):
Well, listeners, we'll have another episode next
Monday morning at 0500.
And if you have any questionsor suggestions, you can reach us
at podcast atwillingwarriors.org.
We're available on all majorpodcast platforms on our YouTube
channel or Reese AcrossAmerica.
So thanks for listening.
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