By Joe Byerly

As a military leadership blogger and avid reader, I enjoy receiving monthly editions of Military Officer magazine with my PREMIUM membership. I’ll be honest, though, I didn’t realize how much legislation gets argued on Capitol Hill that affects pay and benefits for servicemembers. Not only have I been able to learn more about these efforts, but I’ve also discovered benefits that I didn’t know the U.S. government provided to servicemembers and families.

For those who follow my website, From the Green Notebook, you know that I’m always looking for new books for professional development. Since becoming a PREMIUM member, I’ve been able to stay on top of the great library of books published by fellow MOAA members. For example, I learned about two great books that came out in 2020. One is Keith Nightingale’s Another Day in Vietnam, which is part memoir and part military strategy book. The second is Craig Whiteside’s ISIS Reader that is a great translation of key ISIS documents that help us better understand the terrorist organization. I appreciate having this connection through MOAA to get access to resources I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Lastly, I was surprised at the number of discounts that come with a PREMIUM membership. For example, I found discounts of up to 60% available in the Perks Marketplace. So far, my favorite discount is the one provided by UPS. They offer a flat 50% off express shipping and a flat 30% off ground shipping for MOAA PREMIUM and LIFE members.

[RELATED: Why the First Woman Thunderbird Pilot Is a MOAA Member]

Overall, the benefits of a PREMIUM membership are more than worth the annual fee, and if you choose a 3-year membership you can save 25% the annual rate! I get great reading material, stay up-to-date on the issues that affect me, and get great savings through discounts they offer.

I encourage you to take advantage of all that MOAA has to offer at the PREMIUM membership level–you will be surprised at the tremendous value, just like I was.

Go ahead and upgrade now!