RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia National Guard Association announced earlier this week that for the first time the Fall Membership Drive will not include any membership fees for currently serving Company Grade Officers, Field Grade Officers (O4 and below) and Warrant Officers of the Virginia National Guard. Free annual memberships will count towards the 2022 and 2023 membership year as part of the “Fall In Love with the Guard” Membership Drive. Officers and Warrant Officers who sign-up receive full annual membership benefits for both the VNGA and the National Guard Association of the United States. The drive began October 15, 2022, and will end December 15, 2022.
The zero-cost membership drive is a gamble, explains Andrew J. Czaplicki, president of the VNGA.
“Our Officers and Warrant Officers need the tools and resources that only good advocacy can provide,” Czaplicki said. “We have a number of significant pieces of legislation being proposed in both the General Assembly here in Virginia and in Congress up the road. While offering to cover both the association’s membership fees and the [National Guard Association of the United States’] membership fee is costly, we all feel that this is the year to take big risks.”
Officers and Warrant Officers can join– for free– by opening this link.
Membership benefits include access to exclusive professional development opportunities, opportunities to apply for scholarship grants, insurance supplements designed for members of the National Guard, a monthly subscription to NATIONAL GUARD magazine, access to articles and legislative analysis, and most importantly representation in both Richmond and Washington, D.C.
“I think the biggest barriers to membership have been awareness and cost,” said Czaplicki. “We’ve eliminated one of them.”
The zero-cost drive began October 15, 2022, and will end December 15, 2022. Currently serving Officers in the grades of O-1 through O-4 and Warrant Officers in the grades of WO1 through CW3 can join by opening this link.