ROA member Air Force Maj. Gen. Vanessa Dornhoefer greets a World War II veteran during a V-E Day ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2024.

Dornhoefer received the French National Defense Medal for work in Afghanistan as part of the Civil-Military Action Committee for the NATO Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers from 2016 to 2018.

The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, commonly referred to by its French acronym CIOR (for La Confédération Interalliée des Officiers de Réserve), represents the interests of more than 1.3 million reservists across 34 participating nations within and beyond NATO, making it the world’s largest military reserve officer organization.

AFGSC

Concerns amongst the Air Force’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) community in 2023 about exposures in the field being tied to numerous cancer diagnosis as presented to the Department of the Air Force and General Thomas Bussiere (AFGSC/CC) initiated the first Missile Community Cancer Study.

“I’m the commander of this mission, and if I don’t care, who does?” said Bussiere, a cancer survivor himself. Airmen who served in bunkers and missile fields had suspected cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma might be service-related, but the Air Force had earlier dismissed those concerns based on 2001 and 2005 studies.

Bussiere said he wasn’t happy with those reports.

“I read the two previous reports, and to say they were wanting in their deliberate, disciplined approach to review the issues in that career field is an understatement,” said Bussiere. The study has found higher rates of prostate and breast cancer among Airman at the missile installation and hazardous chemicals at from a small sampling of the ICBM bases.

Air Force Global Strike holds regular town halls to update the community on the Missile Community Cancer Study and will soon transition to platforms allowing members who no longer serve or associate in a government entity to participate.

AFRC

Two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, two HC-130J Combat King 11 aircraft and two teams of combat rescue officers and pararescuemen based out of Patrick Space Force Base, assisted in the airlift a mother and her child in crisis. “These real-world missions are what our countless hours of training have prepared us for,” said Lt. Col. John Lowe (920th OG/CC). “Rescue was able to plan and execute this mission without hesitation.”

According to Capt. Dylan Gann (301st RS pilot), “Everyone in the wing mobilized with exceptional speed. By uniting our efforts, we saved crucial time, delivering life-saving assistance six hours ahead of other response teams.”

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a reserve unit from Keesler Air Force Base, is made up of 10 full time and 10 part time aircrews. They operate 10 WC-130J aircraft, equipped with weather monitoring equipment and are tasked with providing weather reconnaissance for hurricanes and winter storms.

A prediction of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, made in April by forecasters at Colorado State University, stated that the hurricane season will become “extremely active” due to warm seawater and less wind shear to disrupt storms. The impact of increased storm seasons has had its effect on the Hurricane Hunters.

“If you ask the wing commander at Homestead [Air Reserve Base], at Tyndall [Air Force Base], at [Joint Base] Charleston, any coastal installation, they’ll tell you the same thing. They rely on that hurricane center forecast that tells them what’s going to happen,” said Maj. Chris Dyke (A3/A3OW). “Like any good reconnaissance mission, our job is to create certainty out of uncertainty.”

On May 2, Chaplain Cummings was selected to the rank of colonel by the United States Senate.

Cummings is currently assigned as the Deputy Command Chaplain at Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and U.S. Army Military District of Washington, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.

Chaplain Cummings reflected and shared his thoughts on his military service and service to ROA:

"As I now enter my 36th Year of Service, I am honored and humbled in this accomplishment, which I owe to the Reserve Organization of America.

"Having grown up and served in the organization, at the most senior of national leadership positions, I am indebted to those who cared and invested in my development.

"From the guidance and mentoring of great leaders before me, such insight and wisdom nurtured this junior officer, into the now senior leader emerging on a national stage. We need organizations as ROA in times such as this because:

1) Our leaders need the advocacy it provides for the future and;

2) Our nation needs the citizen-warriors it protects the most.

As I move forward in my journey in both uniform and ROA...I keep in the mind the ageless insight delivered in scripture...'To whom much is given greater authority...much is to be expected.'"

On behalf of the Reserve Organization of America (ROA), Wiley Rein LLP filed briefs of amicus curiae in support of petitions for writs of certiorari in Feliciano v. Department of Transportation and Flynn v. Department of State, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision to deny the petitioners their reservist differential pay.

The Federal Circuit's decision to refuse differential pay to the petitioners, reservists who were mobilized to active duty, disincentivizes reservists from volunteering for important active duty missions, deters potential servicemembers from pursuing military service, and ultimately impacts the readiness and effectiveness of the U.S. Armed Forces, ROA argued.

Nick Feliciano, who works as an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration, was mobilized from July 2012 through September 2014. Similarly, Charles Flynn, who worked as a Special Agent in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, mobilized to the Office of Military Commissions from March 2020 to 2022. Both were denied reservist differential pay on the basis that they volunteered for their active duty missions.

ROA argues that the Court should grant the petitions for review to "remedy the Federal Circuit's interpretive error and to ensure that it does not continue to injure Reservists and hinder military readiness." Specifically, ROA's briefs argue that the Federal Circuit erred in its reading of Congress' differential pay statute, ignoring the text of the statute to instead rely on policy preferences, such as whether a reservist's service is voluntary or involuntary.

As Wiley explained, "perhaps most egregious is the Federal Circuit's distinction between voluntary and involuntary mobilizations." There is little reason to believe that Congress meant to draw a distinction between voluntary and involuntary deployments, considering that the United States "ended involuntary military service 50 years ago[.]" "[T]he Federal Circuit's reading of the differential-pay statute will actively thwart Congress's intent."

The ROA is represented on a pro bono basis by Scott A. Felder, Boyd Garriott, Kahlil H. Epps, Wesley E. Weeks, and Lukman Azeez.

Join us for the 2nd Quarter ROA Academy on May 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern to learn more about the Day of Service coming this in October.

The inaugural '22 Days of Service' initiative presented by the Reserve Organization of America (ROA)!

Throughout October, ROA members and military reserves unite for community service to honor ROA's anniversary.

From cleaning public spaces to volunteering at shelters, our grassroots efforts make a meaningful impact. With a century of advocacy for reserve members and families, we celebrate our legacy while educating about our victories.

Let's strengthen communities, celebrate camaraderie, and uphold ROA's spirit of service. Join us October 1st-22nd, 2024, as we make a difference together!

If you plan to attend the ROA ACADEMY 14 May, please CLICK HERE to register.