Col. McMillen (left) presents Commemorative Plaque and Gavel to Capt. Vaughan (right).
Former Lt. William Myers, CEC, USN
The Catalina Mountain Chapter (CMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its first annual Holiday Party on Dec. 21 at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The entertainment was provided by Desert Blend Barbershop Quartet.
At this event outgoing chapter president, retired Captain Charles (Chuck) Vaughan, U.S. Navy, was presented with a plaque and gavel recognizing his service. First, with the Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter of the Tucson Chapter of MOAA beginning in January 2022; and second, with the new Catalina Mountains Chapter chartered by MOAA on July 14, 2022, through December 2024.
Captain Vaughan enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July 20, 1970, as an aviation electronics technician. In 1973, he was selected for the Navy Enlisted Scientific Education Program. Chuck attended the University of Kansas graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, then being commissioned an Ensign on May 24, 1977. Chuck then completed training as a naval flight officer and was deployed aboard the USS Midway from spring 1979 to fall 1981.
Chuck then changed his designator to the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps (CEC). For the next few years, he served in CEC Billets first at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and second at Wallops Island Surface Combat Systems Center, Virginia. He was released from active duty in 1987.
He and his family moved to Maine where he continued his Navy career as a reserve CEC Officer in several Naval Mobile Construction Battalions, eventually retiring with the rank of Captain.
Chuck provided the leadership to obtain the charter from MOAA for the new chapter as well as create the chapter’s corporate entity, the Catalina Mountains Chapter MOAA, Inc., as an Arizona nonprofit corporation and Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(19) tax exempt veterans organization.
The March CMC luncheon meeting will be held at the SaddleBrooke Ranch Grill on Saturday, March 15 beginning at 11:30 a.m. The speaker will be Pinal County Assessor Douglas Wolf. Mr. Wolf was born in Minnesota and graduated from Mankato State University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. One of his accomplishments as Assessor was helping pass a real property tax exemption for disabled veterans.
Doug will discuss the functions and purposes of the Pinal County Assessor’s office and highlight some of the challenges and complications of the Arizona property tax laws. He will also show us the steps we can take to help prevent real estate fraud.
If you are a former or present officer of the uniformed services interested in joining our organization, please contact Membership Chair, retired Lt. Col. Donald Timian, U.S. Army, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 571-216-3679.
The membership of CMC encompasses the areas of Catalina, Oracle, parts of Marana and Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, San Manuel, and Sun City. For additional information, please visit our website at catalinamountainsmoaa.org.
The CMC and MOAA are non-profit, IRS Section 501(c)(19) tax exempt veterans’ organizations dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families.