Election Day came and went, the votes were cast and we have a new President-elect.

Although the Electoral College still has to cement the results in December, the inflection point has occurred, and the country is on the path to a Republican White House and Congress.

Whether your choice for president won or lost, it is now time to look forward.

Our elected representatives will need to get down to business and figure out how to lead our nation.

One of the major tasks ahead is funding the government, part of which is the Department of Defense.

We will see whether that task is accomplished before the end of the calendar year, or whether Congress will delay until the new president is in office.

Likewise, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was still in the House/Senate conference as of this writing, with many military policy provisions still undecided.

And, even though Fiscal Year (FY) 2017’s business is unfinished, the new administration will need to prepare and present its budget for FY 2018 soon after it takes office.

At AUSA, while we continue to fight for the Army and our members’ interests for FY17, we are also looking ahead to FY18.

The AUSA Resolutions Committee is getting underway, and needs your input for its work. Between now and when the FY18 budget is presented to Congress, the committee will receive your input, and formulate the 2017 AUSA Resolutions.

They are looking for actionable items that can improve our Total Army and the lives of our soldiers, Army civilians, families, veterans, retirees, and survivors.

Resolutions can address the Army budget, personnel issues, training, the reserve components, facilities, education, readiness, acquisition, contracting, force structure, retirement, you name it.

A proposed resolution should be boiled down to one sentence.

However, you can also include an explanation of why you think it is important for the committee’s consideration.

Also, it should be an issue that affects many people. Niche issues or issues that are in the weeds probably won’t make the cut, because the Resolutions Committee has to boil it down to the highest priorities.

The AUSA resolutions process is your chance to have input into what our association fights for on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon.

The 2017 AUSA legislative objectives will be based on the resolutions, on the Army budget, and on the Army posture statement.

Your AUSA chapter, state and region presidents have been asked to send their input to AUSA national headquarters by Dec. 7, 2016. The closer you can get to making that deadline, the better the chance your resolution will be considered by the committee.

As the Director of Government Affairs, I am the AUSA national liaison to the Resolutions Committee, so you can send your input to me, or to your chapter.

Please arm me for my battles on Capitol Hill with your best effort at crafting a resolution.

My email is jgifford@ausa.org, and I look forward to hearing from you.

See you on the high ground.