MOAA’s core mission is to improve the lives of those who serve and their families’ lives, largely through tireless advocacy in our nation’s capital. MOAA’s experts are in Washington to support legislation that benefits the military community and are equally vigilant when fighting legislation that threatens our livelihood. The larger our numbers, the greater your voice.

Now 35,000 strong, the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is the country’s leading organization protecting the rights of military service members and their families. Those who belong to MOAA not only lend their voices to a greater cause, but they also gain access to extensive benefits tailored to the needs and lifestyles of military officers and their surviving spouses. MOAA members proudly hail from every branch of the uniformed services. To them, we make the same promise that they have made to their country: Never Stop Serving.

Or to speak with a MOAA membership associate call (800) 234-MOAA (6622)

You can join at one of three levels and upgrade at any time:

Basic Membership is your introduction to MOAA membership and it’s free. You’ll receive discounts on retail, travel, and insurance; electronic access to MOAA news updates; and support of critical advocacy efforts to protect military benefits for you and your family. Plus, you will be eligible to become a member of one of our local chapters or affiliates.

Premium Membership allows you to take advantage of an extensive suite of tools and resources, including:

Expert one-on-one consultations regarding your pay and benefits

Career transition resources such as personalized resume and LinkedIn critiques

Financial planning and investment tools

Scholarships, interest-free loans, and grants for dependents

Military Officer magazine (12 issues per year)

Discounts on retail, travel, and insurance

Support of MOAA’s ongoing advocacy efforts

Life Membership offers you the greatest value at any stage of life and career. Sign up for LIFE membership and you’ll receive all of MOAA’s Premium benefits and more – for life. Additional benefits include an invitation to the Army and Navy Club of Washington D.C., with no initiation fee; special recognition; unlimited access to career resources; direct access to MOAA staff experts on the dedicated LIFE Member Hotline. Plus, once MOAA members sign up for LIFE, benefits will be made available to their spouses for their lives as well.

1. Make yourself heard. MOAA’s chapters provide critical grassroots support for MOAA’s national legislative agenda. Our benefits are under attack, and MOAA is in the fight to preserve them. Chapter members let their legislators know what’s on their minds and open doors for MOAA’s legislative team in Washington, D.C. In these difficult times, MOAA members need to stick together, and our chapters are the best way we know to do that.

2. Give back to the community. Chapter members are MOAA’s ambassadors in their communities, supporting countless programs that make a difference in the lives of others. These members continue their “officership” service and are giving back in the truest sense.

3. Value added to chapter members’ lives. MOAA chapters sponsor interesting programs and opportunities to interact with civic, political, military, and business leaders on issues important to members.

4. Networking with fellow officers. Chapters include second-career members in the work force and retired servicemembers who have contacts in their communities that can be valuable to transitioning officers.

5. Stay informed. Chapter newsletters, websites, and meetings provide you with the latest information on local, state, and national issues and changes to military benefits.

6. Influencing state legislation. Most states have a council of chapters that unites chapters in the state. These councils, and independent chapters in states without a council, often lobby for and pass state level legislation that affects military members and their families, such as exempting military retired pay from state income tax or increasing funding for state veterans’ programs.

7. Camaraderie with a purpose. MOAA chapters unite active duty, former, and retired officers from every branch of service, including National Guard and Reserve, as well as surviving spouses. These centers of camaraderie not only give you a chance to connect with other members with similar backgrounds and interest, but to also develop close and lasting friendships.

Welcome to your website …..wnc-moaa.org. And I want to emphasize that this is YOUR website. Your suggestions, ideas, and contributions are solicited and welcomed. The website is ALWAYS under development, trying to continuously improve it. So YOUR suggestions are needed... webmaster or wncmoaawebmaster@gmail.com (mainly for pictures) .

Let's take a little tour...

First you'll notice the background picture, with the new logo of WNC-MOAA up top above the logos of the services. The picture was in the background of the previous website, and highlighted the "smoky" nature of the Smokies. But that picture can be changed...more on that later...

The logo was designed by our web designer, Ric Kolseth, and includes a more compact version (see upper right here) designed to be more suitable for coffee cups or polo shirts...future ideas...

The service logos are "live" (clickable links) that take you straight to the service home page...in case you forgot what the active forces were up to these days...

Next is the ticker. This will normally contain 2-3 notices of particular interest or urgency. If it's "blue" it's a link...clicking on the ticker in that case it will take you to the detailed notice on the website.

I'd like to emphasize this is a mobile device ready site. Some things are a little more compact on the mobile site (obviously) but all the functionality is there.

Below that, on the left, is the smaller version of the logo. Clicking on that will take you "home" (the main home page) from anywhere in the site. Centered on the page is a blue box with the short phrases "About Us...Pages...Contact Us" in it. "About Us" takes you to a short para telling the visitor about WNCMOAA. "Pages" takes you to a listing of the sections of the website. It's the same as the listing on the left side, in the "treeline," of the front page on the desktop site. Some call those "tabs", in web parlance they are "Channels."Just another way to navigate the site. The third phrase, "Contact Us" is an email form that goes to the President and Secretary of WNCMOAA.

On the far right side you'll see a tiny date with a gear. That gear is the access point into the "back side" (passworded) of the website. Currently, that's for the webmaster to access and update the site. In the future, secured items will be stored in a similar password-protected portion for members to access.

Next down, starting from the left again, is the main menu (in the "treeline"), found only on the desktop site. Each of these will open a section in the website. More on this below.

Next over from that is your President's message.

Further to the right is a slideshow...and I want to talk about this for a minute. Currently, this is a collection of pictures from the old website with a few random mountain nature shots thrown in. If you "click" on a picture, it blows up and a written description appears. I'd like to see this become a "showplace" for your pictures of Western NC. Mountains, flowers, attractions (GSMRR, Biltmore, Nantahala Outdoor Center, and so forth) that really highlight the beauty, history, and wonder of this place that we are so fortunate to call HOME. Send those pictures (as attachments) to wncmoawebmaster, with a short description (tied to a pic identification) and who took it/how you got it...and we'll put YOUR pictures and that description in there. If you have hardcopy pics, send them to the chapter, we'll scan them and get them back to you.

Now back to the menu items in the "treeline" on the left side of the desktop site, or the page menu from the mobile site. There's some sections for About us, FAQs, and so forth. LInks is mainly links to the services now but will eventually include other useful links. Note there are some new menu items since we launched a month ago. There is one for Legislative Affairs, discussing where MOAA is applying pressure to support legislative items that affect active duty members, veterans, retirees and their families and how YOU can and should get involved; COVID-19 Info, that provides useful information about the ongoing pandemic, items of general interest and some specifically affecting our military community; and last, a channel for Chapter Satellites, a place for items from our two satellites, the one in Maggie Valley and the one in Weaverville. These menu items can be adjusted, added to or subtracted from. Remember, I said this is YOUR website. The section "Photo album" is also supported by your photos. Send those pictures (as attachments) to wncmoawebmaster , with a short description (tied to a pic identification) and who took it/how you got it. This longer description will be visible on the site. Explore the menu items and give us your feedback!

"The purposes of the Chapter shall be to promote the purposes and objectives of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA); foster fraternal relations among retired, active duty, and former officers of the uniformed services and their reserve components; protect the rights and interests of active duty, retired, and reserve component personnel of the uniformed services and their dependents and survivors; provide useful services for members and their dependents and survivors; and serve the community and the nation.”

Article II, Section 1: WNC-MOAA Bylaws 20 November 2021

The easiest and fastest way to join/renew your membership is online. You may accomplish this in the few easy steps listed below.

A downloadable form specifically for WNC-MOAA that you can fill out on your computer and email can be found using the link to the right.

A "Join/Renew Your Local Chapter" page is located on the MOAA site at the link below. Follow the prompts to Join or renew your membership entirely online.