Paula Pedene holds Certificate of Appreciation and MOAA Challenge Coin presented by Col. McMillen.
Former Lt. William Myers, CEC, USN
The Catalina Mountain Chapter (CMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held a meeting on April 19 at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The meeting began with a business session presided over by CMC’s President, retired Col. Kurt McMillen, U.S. Army, during which members were updated on the chapter’s current activities.
Our speaker was Paula Pedene, one of the primary Phoenix VA Scandal whistleblowers. In 2014, Paula became front-page news when she helped a doctor at the hospital expose the deceptive bookkeeping practices that were used to cover up how long veterans were waiting to receive medical care. She is also the co-author with novelist Doug Williams of the 2022 book on this scandal called A Sacred Duty.
We heard “the rest of the story” that started as early as 2010! According to Congressman Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (Oversight and Investigations), “Paula Pedene is the invisible hero whose whistleblowing pioneered exposure of a national medical care breakdown for our nation’s veterans. She speaks from the heart about the anguish, frustration, and stress from relentless retaliation as a whistleblower. Anyone who wants to know what price you have to put on the line as an ethical public servant fighting the bureaucracy must read her book.”
Paula is a nationally recognized and award-winning public relations professional. She is nationally Accredited in Public Relations (APR) and is a prestigious Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows member. Paula is also the founder of two nonprofits supporting our nation’s military veterans, and is an inductee into the Defense Information School Hall of Fame and the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame.
CMC has started its summer luncheon meeting hiatus. Our membership meetings will resume on Oct. 18 at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Our speaker will be retired Col. Tim Tarris, U.S. Air Force, who will discuss his 2024 planned 35-day around the world flight with Canon Bleeker in his Cessna 210 Centurion. The flight was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Army Air Service’s first circumnavigation of the globe, accomplished over the course of six months in 1924.
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 dontimian@hotmail.com or by telephone 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 nonprofit, 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.