Senator Webb Says U.S. Entering 'Uncharted Territory' After Nine Years of War

MOAA AND USNI SPONSOR DEFENSE FORUM: "A New Normal: How is the War Within Transforming Our Force & Families?"

Chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee of Senate Committee on Armed Services, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and Assistant Secretary of Department of Veterans Affairs to speak at Forum.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Honorable Jim Webb, (D-VA), the chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, will join Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA and Mrs. Sheila Casey, and DVA Assistant Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth as featured speakers at the Sept. 10  Defense Forum Washington (DFW) - "A New Normal: How is the War Within Transforming Our Force & Families?" hosted by The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

"The force is stressed by the past nine years of war.  Having experienced multiple and extended deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, this is especially true for our ground forces," said Senator Webb.  "We are entering uncharted territory in terms of the long-term consequences of past rotation cycles and an unsatisfactory deployment-to-dwell ratio."

Because of the topical relevance, the DFW will expand on groundbreaking exchanges from the three previous forums. Discussions will center on the physiological health and welfare of our force, veterans and their families. Topics will include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as medical care and support services for the wounded and disabled servicemembers.

"The DFW typically draws more than 500 key leaders from Congress, the executive branch, NGOs and the media,"  said retired Navy Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, MOAA's president. "Our goal is to advance a more informed and constructive public dialogue about these important issues and help make a difference."

In addition to the keynote speakers, three discussion panels of wounded warriors and family members, military and civilian experts will address topics including:

• "Navigating Recovery: Are We Meeting Needs and Expectations?"
• "Confronting the Reintegration Process – Embracing the Experience," and
• "The New Normal: Hope For The Future"

Questions from the audience will be welcomed.

Speakers, panelists and MOAA and USNI leaders will be available for interviews.

The Defense Forum, including lunch, is free to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve servicemembers. The registration fee is $45 for other USNI-MOAA members and spouses, $75 for non-members, and $25 for students.  

Registration, program agenda and information is available at the DFW website at www.defenseforumwashington.com.

• On-line registration is open until noon Wednesday, September 1.
• To register by phone, call (800) 233-8764 – Phone registration closes at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 1.  
• After Wednesday, September 1, registration will only be available through the in person on-site registration line at the conference opening at 8 a.m. on Friday, September 10.

MOAA is the nation's largest and most influential association of active duty, National Guard, Reserve, retired, and former military officers and their families and survivors. It is an independent, nonprofit, and politically nonpartisan organization with more than 370,000 members from every branch of service. MOAA promotes a strong national defense by advocating equitable treatment of those who serve and have served their country in uniform. For more information, visit www.moaa.org.

Founded in 1873, the U. S. Naval Institute is a non-profit, professional military association of more than 50,000 members.  An independent, nonpartisan forum on global security issues, it creates books, magazines, blogs and conferences – and maintains expansive historical archives.  The Institute educates on the need for a strong national defense; on the enduring role of the maritime services in preserving it and on our national obligation to the men and women of the all-volunteer force who provide it.

Thank you to our corporate sponsors.

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Steven Cochran: rising country singer/songwriter and wounded Marine joins Defense Forum Washington as the moderator on The New Normal: Hope For the Future panel, and will perform at the networking reception coming from his first-hand experience. http://click.oo155.com/Preview.aspx?EmailId=357&AccountID=690&ViewMode=HTML

Defense Forum Washington 2009 – video coverage of the 2009 DFW event on TheMOAAChannel.

SOURCE Military Officers Association of America