On 23 September, ROA National President held a Zoom Call with Department Presidents, Secretaries, and National Councilmen.

President Layne R. Wroblewski, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (Ret), proposed amendments to both the association’s federal charter and constitution changes were initially approved during the 2021 National Convention in Memphis to facilitate ballot voting and simplify the charter.

In December 2023, the ROA National Executive Committee voted to implement ballot voting for the 2024 Annual Meeting. However, additional modifications to the governing documents would be required to enact this change.

There are three key points regarding these amendments:

1. Timing of Distribution: You are receiving this outside of the standard 90-day requirement, which has been waived by the ExCom. We have collaborated extensively with Jim Sweeney on these changes and received the final revisions last week. Article A-14 Section 4 mandates that these changes be reviewed by the judge advocate before submission to the departments. None of these amendments deviate from the changes approved in 2021, except for the simplification of the charter.

2. Charter Risks: There are concerns about potential risks to the charter due to the necessity of Congressional approval. The 2021 National Convention approved many changes to the charter to include the name change, so it will be necessary to go to Congress to request these changes. These proposed changes – if approved – will be included in the same request to Congress to update our charter.

While it is uncommon, it is possible to amend federal charters, as demonstrated by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) when they changed their name and simplified their charter in 2009. Furthermore, it would be simple to have a member of Congress present this and have it approved with little (if any) debate.

3. Inconsistencies in Amendments: You will notice an inconsistency between Article A-7 Section 1(a) and Article A-8 Section 1. The ExCom will vote on Friday, October 4, 2024, to remove the change to Article A-7 Section 1(a) to ensure both sections reflect the correct numbers.

President Wroblewski stated on the Zoom Call that ROA needed a quorum, which is a minimum of 18 departments present. Then, once a quorum will have been achieved, ROA Departments would need three-quarters of total votes allowed (among those present) to approve these changes. These four proposed amendments to policy will be debated and voted on at the Annual Meeting during the General Assembly session on 6 October.