Fellow Psywarriors,

POVA's 18th Biennial Reunion in Fayetteville, NC, will be here sooner than we think....less than 90 days! Much planning has been done, but more is needed. For the second consecutive reunion, we will share part of our Agenda with one of our sister PSYOP organizations. This year, the PSYOP Regimental Association (PRA) will make a presentation on the Regimental Award System to our Business meeting; and will organize a special memorial activity in honor of our fellow Psywarriors at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville.

POVA continues its dialog with both PRA and the PSYOP Association (POA) on how the three associations can collaborate and partner for the benefit of our PSYOP Regiment and our community. We have formed an "umbrella" organization solely for the purpose of conversation and planning; known as the "National Psychological Operations Organizations Council (NPOOC)," this informal organization is the vehicle for our structured conversations and planning.

Many Psywarriors are members of all three associations, and one of our goals is to reduce confusion about the activities of our organized community. We have begun identifying projects and activities in which we can partner. To date, relationships have been created that are very collegial and professional. It is clear to me that we are all working toward the same end....the benefit of our Regiment and our fellow Psywarriors.

Some people in the three organizations have commented that they are opposed to a merger of POVA-POA-PRA. While that may happen someday in the future, it simply cannot happen in the near future. There are too many issues that must be evaluated and resolved.....such things as our separate constitutions, legal and tax status issues, financial management, etc. In the meantime, finding common ground with fellow Psywarriors who are as committed to our Regiment and our fellows as we are in POVA is a worthy effort and one that can only be good for us all.

More to follow...........

Chad Spawr
President
Lest we Forget.......
 
Please remember that American men and women are deployed in many places around the world and are in constant danger. Please save a thought and prayer for our fellow Americans deployed. They are our Brothers and Sisters!
New POVA Life Members

POVA is very pleased to welcome our new Life Member who joined with us:

Aaron Taricska
Mike Rogers
Jacob Peck

You can view our entire Life Member roster on POVA’s website at

www.usapova.org/pova-life-members
Welcome A New POVA Ambassador

POVA is pleased to announce the addition of a new member of our POVA Ambassadors. Please welcome new Life Member Mike Rogers to the ranks of our POVA leaders who work with our soldiers in both active duty and reserve units.

The range of activities in which Ambassadors can (and are encouraged to) participate is affected only by the mutual goals and interests of the unit involved and the individual Ambassador. These will normally entail
 
  • Attending unit meetings and meeting as many of the unit leaders and soldiers as possible
  • giving a “standard” presentation on our PSYOP Regiment and its history
  • supplementing the presentation with personal experiences and vignettes
  • introducing POVA and its membership benefits to the soldiers in attendance.

Mike is a veteran of the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion, and will be an excellent representative for POVA with our Reserve PSYOP company in South Carolina. Here is a short bio Mike provided:

I went thru Basic at Ft. Jackson 2/80; Ft.Gordon- AIT. Combat Signal wireman 36k; Ft.Benning- Jump School 42 company; Ft.Bragg- 4th Gp 6th Bn Psyops 1980-1981 (Commo); 3rd ID 2/41st FA 1981-1983; 1st Cav 15th S&T Bn 1983-1984; 32AADCOM B 3/59 Hawk 1984-1987; 24th Signal Bn A.Co 1987-1990

While attached to PSYOP, I worked in commo. Setting up loud speakers checking radio's. I spent a lot of time at Camp MacKall for additional training, back then we didn't have a PSYOP MOS. We were a collective of different mos's. We had commo, illustrators, MI, journalism writers, both airborne and non airborne and we work as a unit.

Now I enjoy fishing and solitude, I worked as a private Investigator for 8 years and am Currently working as a Security Supervisor for a Company in South Carolina.
POVA's Gateway Chapter has been busy!

Here is a summary of the ongoing activities of our fellow Psywarriors in the POVA Gateway Chapter located in St. Louis, MO. Chapter President Brett Cox sends along this report:

  • The Gateway Chapter presented 10th PSYOP BN retirees with plaques to thank them for their service at the last Chapter meeting in St. Louis. Recent retirees such as 1SG (R) Danny Reiter (37 years), SSG Carl Haiser (26 years) and those who had not received proper recognition when they retired were also honored such as SFC (R) Jerry Smith (24 years). 
  • 10th PSYOP BN leadership hosted the Q1 joint R2PC (Reserve Recruiting Partnership Council) lead by the Kansas City and Indianapolis Recruiting Battalions at the Jefferson Barracks Reserve Center to improve communications and mutual partnerships between the Recruiting Battalions and Army Reserve units.

Gateway will have additional updates next month too as 10 th BN comes back from their NTC rotation.
Progress Continues on our POVA Reunion Activities Calendar

You can check the updated calendar of activities on POVA's website at:


Here's a little clue about a few key events that we'll enjoy:

  • 9th PSYOP Battalion parachute drop and equipment demo
  • Outstanding BBQ/picnic for all Reunion participants
  • Informative panels on current status of PSYOP in the Army; understanding the complex world of Information Management affecting our PSYOP profession;
  • An outstanding inaugural Texas Hold 'em poker tournament (see the next item below);
  • As always, an excellent banquet dinner to celebrate our great Association and all our members.

We are working hard to make this a great time for all Psywarriors, friends, and families.
POVA Reunion to Offer Inaugural "Texas Hold 'em" Poker Tournament

POVA will host its first-ever Texas Hold 'em poker tournament during the 19-23 May Biennial Reunion. Coordinated and led by VP/Chaplain John Cheney, the tournament is free and open to participation by all in attendance at our Reunion.

PSYOP Regiment T-shirts still available

POVA has created an excellent tshirt for all PSYOP Regiment members, including soldiers and veterans. They are currently available on our website for purchase.

These shirts are available in dark green and in a light grey. They are beautifully emblazoned with our PSYOP crest and the words "PSYOP REGIMENT" bannered above a below.

The price is $15 per shirt, including shipping. POVA's price covers our costs only; we don't make any money on these. Our goal is to build visible and tangible support for our Regiment, our soldiers, and our fellow veterans who have served our Regiment and our Nation so well.

Another Veteran Psywarrior Has Passed

POVA's Gateway Chapter President Brett Cox has advised that another veteran Psywarrior has passed. Here is Brett's note:

LTC (R) James (Jim)  Barrett  passed away the other night after a brief but fierce but valiant fight with ALS. Jim was a member of the 18th PSYOP CO, 10th PSYOP BN and one of the leaders of propaganda development back when it was called FA/FC. Jim was very involved in the Army community after his retirement and continued to help Soldiers and their Families as a big part of the Association of the United States Army (locally and across the country) up until his passing. Jim's obituary can be found at  https://www.dignitymemorial.com/…/sar…/james-barrett-9047106 . He will be interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in the St. Louis, MO region. Until Valhalla brother.
  ** POVA CONTACT INFORMATION **  

PRESIDENT & NEWSLETTER EDITOR 
 CHAD SPAWR              chad.spawr@usapova.com  

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
 LARRY DIETZ             lawrenceddietz@gmail.com  
 
VICE PRESIDENT/CHAPLAIN
 JOHN CHENEY            chen77jc@gmail.com

VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE
 RICH HOSIER                rich.hosier@usapova.com  
 
VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP
 MATT ROBBINS          matt.robbins@usapova.com  
 
VICE PRESIDENT AT LARGE
HOWARD PATRICK     hbpatrick43@gmail.com
CURT BOYD                 MISO.PSYOPER@GMAIL.COM 
 
VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING
ILYA NEMTSOV ILYA.NEMTSOV@GMAIL.COM

GATEWAY CHAPTER PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT EMERITUS & BOARD MEMBER
 MIKE STOECKERT         hookeye1@yahoo.com  
 
POVA HISTORIAN
  HERB FRIEDMAN         sgmbert@hotmail.com  
 
POVA ARCHIVIST
 EDWARD ROUSE        psywarrior@pipeline.com  
 
POVA TRUSTEES
MANUEL SALAZAR        many.s.salazar@gmail.com
TIM RUIZ                     timothy.e.ruiz@gmail.com
DESMOND GUDETS      desmond.j.gudets.mil@mail.mil
TIM WALLACE              dirtdart357@yahoo.com
HAMMOND SALLEY    hsalley@sbcglobal.net
ROD FRITZ                  rodfritz@rcn.com
 
POVA’s Website..... www.usapova.org
Ed Rouse’s Psywarrior Website..... www.psywarrior.com
COL-Ret. Larry Dietz PSYOP Blog..... www.psyopregiment.blogspot.com
Howard Patrick’s Blog..... www.howardpatrick.weebly.com/blog