ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Association of the U.S. Army is offering a new no-cost membership option to soldiers, family members and anyone interested in supporting and learning more about America’s Army.

This free Basic Membership is designed to give those who haven’t yet joined the Army’s professional association a chance to become a member at no cost and see firsthand what AUSA does in support of the world’s most powerful land force.

The Board of Directors of the Association of the U.S. Army has voted to adopt revisions in the association’s bylaws.

Proposed by the Standing Bylaws Committee, the revisions include three modest changes.

First, it makes changes related to a new AUSA membership category that will be introduced in October.

Second, it increases the size of the Board of Directors to as many as 19 members, up from the current 15, and limits the board to having 11 to 19 members.

The Association of the U.S. Army has established three primary focus areas for its 2020 advocacy efforts: people, strength and growth.

Supporting soldiers from the Regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve, Department of the Army civilians, families, veterans and retirees, AUSA’s focus areas stress the importance of having on-time and sufficient budgets, providing programs and policies that support people, and continuing to grow the force while supporting soldiers and the employers of National Guard and Reserve soldiers.

After almost three years of near-continuous growth, the Association of the U.S. Army is entering the new decade with more members than at any time in its history.

As of Dec. 18, the association’s membership stood at 179,369, which is well above the historical high of 165,534 set in 1985.

The Association of the U.S. Army entered October with 155,772 members after a 27-month period of almost continuous growth.

This total is nearing AUSA’s historical high membership of 165,534 set in 1985.

“It is great to see the success of our sustained focus on increasing membership,” said retired Gen. Carter Ham, AUSA president and CEO. “We plan to do even better, especially in gaining soldiers and Army civilians as members, but this is a very positive result.”

The Association of the U.S. Army is preparing a change to industry membership categories to simplify options for businesses and organizations of all sizes

The cost of membership in the Association of the U.S. Army will increase on Jan. 1, but members can take advantage of current rates through the end of December.

AUSA members, even those whose memberships are not close to expiring, can extend membership at the 2016 rates as long as they act before the end of the calendar year. The new membership term will begin at the expiration of the current term, meaning someone whose membership doesn’t expire until March 2017, and who renewed today for two years, would be a fully paid member through March 2019.