A Message from the Department Commandant!
Members of the Department of New York,
I wish to thank each and everyone of you
for hanging in there and while still performing the duties of a member,
be it an officer, a regular/associate member or an auxiliary member.
Things have been hard during this pandemic. Too many of you were out of
work or lost your jobs altogether. Some got sick or knew someone who did
and sadly many have passed away. From what I have seen and heard, you
still acted like a Marine, adapted, overcame and adjusted to all the new
rules, the new “normal”.
Your
Department is hard at work handling issues, working with National,
processing forms and completing other tasks as requested. We have been
here for you. I personally have fielded over two dozen phone calls from
your officers, referred issues and problems to the appropriate person or
level. This is why I am here, your voice to National. I hear you; and
we work to address the issues.
We face uncertainty today that we have not
faced to this magnitude since the Spanish flu of 1918. During that time,
Marines were embroiled in battles of World War I while trying to stay
healthy. Today, we have the COVID-19 pandemic, and face the resulting
economic shutdowns and social distancing mandates because of it. Add in
the civil unrest that we are seeing, and it makes for challenging times.
Whether we agree with the reasoning or not, we have to keep in mind
that we must maintain an even demeanor and honor our oath.
We must think of that oath, strive to help our neighbors, and protect
our cities. When we raised our hands and agreed to uphold the
Constitution of the United States, it was unconditional and has no
expiration.
That being
said, this is a very heated election year. As members of the Marine
Corps League, we are prohibited from expressing an official view on
politics, yet we have an opportunity to show the community that we are
there for them. As we transition back to normal operations, we need to
focus on how we can assist the community in which we live to show them
that although we are no longer active duty, we are still here. Some of
the activities we can look at could be food collection for the food
bank, delivering meals to local emergency services (police and fire),
and handing out bottled water with notes of support. These low-cost
activities, among others, can demonstrate the impact that we can have in
our local community.
Keep up the fine work I know you are doing. I look forward to seeing you in October.
Tom Wortmann
Commandant
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