Retiree appreciation

In thanks for his years of volunteer service, retired Air Force Master Sgt. James Gordon was named Volunteer of the Year and presented with a certificate June 15 by 72nd Air Base Wing and Tinker Installation Commander, Col. Steven Bleymaier. For the last five years, Mr. Gordon has donated his time serving in the 72nd Medical Group four times a week. (Air Force photo by Margo Wright)

Retiree appreciation

Military retirees Jim and Linda Vaughn, from Sparks, get answers to their TRICARE questions during the June 16th annual Tinker Military Retiree Appreciation Day. Informational booths in the base chapel fellowship hall offered retirees medical information and current advise on veterans’ benefits. (Air Force photo by Margo Wright)

Retiree appreciation

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon spoke to military retirees June 16 during the annual Tinker Military Retiree Appreciation Day at the base theater. Since retiring from military service and a civilian career at Tinker, General Aragon is now the Oklahoma Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (Air Force photo by Margo Wright)

Base holds Retiree Appreciation Day

Published June 22, 2012
By Mike W. Ray
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Several dozen veterans who visited Tinker Air Force Base last Saturday for Retiree Appreciation Day were applauded for their service and were urged to continue contributing to society and the nation.

"Thank you for the sacrifices you made and the examples you set for those of us who are serving today," Col. Steven Bleymaier, 72nd Air Base Wing commander, said in his welcome to the retirees assembled in the Base Theater. The attendees included Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force veterans.

"If you're a veteran, you've earned your benefits," said retired Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, Oklahoma's Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Ensuring that all Oklahoma veterans receive the medical and retirement benefits to which they are entitled is a key reason why General Aragon's office launched the campaign "Every Vet Counts."

"We don't know how many veterans we have in Oklahoma," Secretary Aragon, the keynote speaker, said Saturday. "We think it's more than 300,000 but we don't know for certain."

Military retirees have three obligations, the Veterans Affairs Secretary asserted:
· "Just because we finished our military services, we still have an obligation to humanity and mankind," she said. Participate in a civic or charitable organization, she suggested, "to give back to the community."

· "Make life better for ourselves." Stay healthy and exercise, she advised.

· "Take care of this nation emotionally, financially and mentally," she implored. "Investing in this nation involves more than just money." Oklahoma has lost 119 of its sons and two of its daughters since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, she said, and the families of those victims "are taken care of."

Military veterans "put our country at the forefront," the general said, and she recommended that those present Saturday "support the leaders of this nation and this state."

In a related matter, a Retiree of the Year certificate was awarded to former Master Sgt. James A. Gordon, an Air Force veteran from Midwest City who has done "an outstanding job" as a volunteer in the 72nd Medical Group pharmacy, retired Col. Donald Beitsch announced.