COL Cammermeyer to Receive Matlovich Medal

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 17, 2016

RE: Cammermeyer to Receive Matlovich Medal

Contact:  AVER Public Affairs, Denny Meyer 718.849.5665 publicaffairs@aver.us or AVER President, Steve Loomis, LTC, USA, (Ret) 505.301.1737

Atlanta, GA (MAR 16, 2016) – Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, the highest ranking active officer to challenge the US military’s ban on LGBT service members, will be presented the 2016 Leonard Matlovich Medal for Distinguished Service by American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), the nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans Service Organization.  The Medal will be presented to Dr. Cammermeyer at AVER’s 25th anniversary national convention to be held April 21-24, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.   Continue reading →

AVER 25th Anniversary National Convention

I want to personally invite you along with all other American Veterans for Equal Rights members to join me at this spring’s

AVER 25th Anniversary National Convention

in Albuquerque/Santa Fe from 21 April to 24 April 2016!

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Now that the holidays are behind us, I encourage each of you to register for our AVER convention.  We are going to have a great convention as we work into AVER’s future and protect the fights we have won.  Maj Gen Patricia Rose, the highest ranking out service member, is our great keynote speaker and Colonel Margerethe Cammermeyer will be presented the Matlovich Award for her service and advocacy on behalf of LGBT veterans and service members.

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Veterans Day Events

IMPORTANT!

Chapter Presidents and Coordinators,

AVER is running a national advertising campaign in USA Today, next weekend.  USA Today sends a special Veterans Day insert in its paper to military bases, hotels, restaurants and newsstands across the country.  The advertisement was sent to you previously and is attached today.

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Plan to Attend AVER’s 2016 National Convention

Plan Now to Attend AVER’s 2016 National Convention in Albuquerque

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The Bataan Chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights is honored to announce AVER’s 2016 convention will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 21-24, 2016.

We are very excited to confirm the keynote speaker for the event will be US Air Force Major General Patricia A. Rose, Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. General Rose is the highest ranking out officer in the United States Military, and she will be accompanied by her wife, Lieutenant Julie Roth, US Navy (retired) one of the first women to perform scientific duty in Antarctica and also among the first women in the Navy to achieve aircrew status. We are very proud to have this remarkable couple help lead our 2016 national convention.

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Registration for the convention and hotel along with information regarding the convention will open on 15 Nov 2015. Please make plans now to attend what is sure to be one our most exciting and productive conventions in AVER’s 25+ years of service as America’s LGBT Veterans Service Organization.

Gay Man Nominated for Secretary of the Army

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

For Immediate Release Re: Gay Man Nominated for Secretary of the Army

President Obama has nominated Eric Fanning to be the new Secretary of the Army. If confirmed, he will be the first openly gay secretary of any service.

Mr. Fanning is currently serving as the acting Secretary of the Army. He has served in positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Navy and Air Force offices, and is well respected in the Pentagon.

LTC(R) Steve Loomis, national president of the American Veterans for Equal Rights welcomes Mr. Fanning’s nomination to this key position of leadership in our Army. “Eric Fanning is a highly capable and experienced person to lead our Army. While he is not the first gay person in positions of responsibility in the Pentagon, he is exceedingly qualified for this important top position. We offer our full support and wish him the best in his leadership of our largest military service.”

“This nomination demonstrates President Obama’s continuing commitment to our LGBT community,” said Danny Ingram, AVER past national president. “A review of Fanning’s extensive service in the Pentagon shows that he is imminently qualified to become the nation’s next Secretary of the Army. While AVER is extremely happy to see this nomination, the fact that he is a gay man is no more a factor for his selection than his race, age, or gender.”

AVER is America’s first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans and active duty service organization. http://aver.us/

Contact information: AVER President: Steve Loomis, LTC, EN, U.S. Army (Retired) 505-301-1737, sloomis@swcp.com

AVER Public Affairs: Denny Meyer, 718 849-5665, publicaffairs@aver.us

Website www.aver.us

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AVER/

Happy 225th Birthday U.S. Coast Guard

Happy birthday with gratitude to the United States Coast Guard, which turns 225 today 4 Aug 2015. The Coast Guard is the oldest continuous maritime service in the United States (the Continental Navy was disbanded in 1785), and is the only branch of the nation’s 7 uniformed services to operate under the civilian control of the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in time of war. Continue reading →