Retiree Appreciation Day held at Fort Bliss

FORT BLISS, TX – A two-day Retiree Appreciation Day event, presented by the Fort Bliss Soldier for Life, Retirement Services Office, and the Retired Soldier Council, was held at Fort Bliss, Oct. 10-11.

The event consisted of breakfast for the retirees on both days, a golf tournament, and an informational block of time where retirees received retiree related information from various Fort Bliss, Veterans Affairs, local, regional, and national personnel representing various organizations.

The golf tournament, held at the Underwood Golf Complex, had maximum participation with all 12 available, four-person teams filled up. Participants said the event was great and they wished events such as this one, would be held more often.

“We heard of this event and immediately decided that we were participating,” said Fernando Arias, with both Antonio Andrews, and Samuel Byrd agreeing, during the golf tournament.

“We met at the park in our neighborhood, we all have dogs, and we met while walking our dogs. We’re all veterans and we understand what each of us has been through and since we all live in the same neighborhood, we have become very good friends and we often get together with our families for cookouts and to just spend time together,” said Byrd.

At the end of the tournament, organizers presented prizes to the winners and to people who had the longest drive and to those who had the closest to the pin approach. Additionally, there were several drawings for various prizes for those lucky ones who had winning tickets.

Also present at the golf tournament venue were some of the sponsors of the event such as, the Armed Services YMCA, and others.

“This Retirement Appreciation Day event is for our local area retirees, in appreciation for their military service to this country,” said Harlyn Chandler, a Retirement Services Officer at Fort Bliss.

“When they come out here, they’re going to see a bunch of motivated people who want to get the word out about all the resources available to retirees and veterans, but they will also experience the camaraderie and brotherhood of being amongst people like them, veterans,” said Chandler.

The second day began with a breakfast held at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center. Retirees then, heard from Col. Brendan Gallagher, the Fort Bliss Garrison Commander, who provided them an update concerning on-going projects at Fort Bliss such as, soon to be available Electric Vehicle charging stations, something that the overall post population has been asking for.

There were various other presenters including the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, the Directorate of Plans, Training & Mobilization, Aviation and Security, the El Paso Veterans Affairs Hospital, and even a Recruiting command representative, who asked all retirees to continue relaying their stories throughout their communities to help the overall Army recruiting mission.

Over 50 organizations had informational booths with representatives available for the retirees to receive information at the Centennial.

At the end, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Maria Bentinck, Director, Army Retirement Services, the guest speaker for the event delivered a message of gratitude and appreciation for the retirees’ service to the nation. Bentinck traveled from her office in Washington D.C. to serve as key speaker for this event.

Bentinck is a native of Columbia, South Carolina, and became the Director, Army Retirement Services in April 2024.

"The title of Soldier doesn’t disappear when you retire,” said Bentinck. “There are many ways to continue serving and one of those is to get out in your community sharing your service story and volunteering. By sharing your story, you will inspire the next generations to serve in uniform. Another way to continue serving is to consider joining local veterans’ groups and even the Army Chief of Staff Retiree Council. This council serves as a forum to express your concerns as veterans and have them addressed at the national level," said Bentinck.

In closing, Walter Basil, a Retirement Services Officer with the Soldier for Life Program at Fort Bliss, who served as the master of ceremonies, thanked all the retirees and their families for taking part in the events and reminded them of all the services available to them both at Fort Bliss and in the community.