10.3 Military Associations (AFH-1 Section 11C)

ADTC A for SSgt, B for TSgt

Section 11C — Military Associations is A (Remembering) for Staff Sergeant and B (Understanding) for Technical Sergeant. That split is the study plan. An E-5 item can be "which six activities may the Air Force endorse?" An E-6 item is a scenario: a unit wants to put the Air Force name on a fundraiser that is not on the list, or a private organization wants to solicit the whole base rather than its own members.

Section 11C is one paragraph and a numbered list. It does not name membership associations. Answer from JER Section 3-210, Fundraising and Membership Drives.

The community AFH 1 actually describes

"Being a member of the U.S. Armed Forces means being a part of one of the biggest communities in the world." The greater military community includes Regular Air Force, National Guard and Reserve, retirees, and veterans, as well as spouses and family members. AFH 1 then states there are a large number of military associations devoted to different segments of that community for lobbying efforts, fraternity, and support.

Those purposes explain why associations exist. They do not license official endorsement. Personal membership is one thing; Air Force endorsement of a fundraising or membership drive is what 11C regulates.

Section 11C is the narrow exception list. If the activity is not one of the six, the Air Force does not endorse it under JER 3-210.

The six activities the Air Force may endorse

Memorize the six in handbook order.

1. The Combined Federal Campaign. CFC is the workplace giving campaign the JER places first. It is not the Air Force Assistance Fund, and it is not a local charity that merely "does good for Airmen." On a PFE item, CFC stands alone as item one.

2. Emergency and disaster appeals approved by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The trigger is OPM approval, not a viral post or a commander's preference.

3. The Air Force Assistance Fund, and AFH 1 names exactly three components:

• Air Force Enlisted Village
• Air Force Aid Society
• General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation

Do not add a fourth Fund charity or swap in 11A partners. The American Red Cross, Army Emergency Relief, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society appear in Section 11A as Red Cross financial-assistance partners. They are not the Assistance Fund trio. The Air Force Aid Society is the overlap: it is an Assistance Fund component and a Red Cross partner. The other 11A partners are not Fund charities.

4. Other organizations composed primarily of DoD employees or their dependents when fundraising among their own members for the benefit of welfare funds for their own members or their dependents, when approved by the head of the DoD Component command or organization after consultation with the Designated Agency Ethics Official. Every clause is load-bearing. The organization is mostly DoD people or dependents. The ask is inside the membership, not a gate collection aimed at the public or at every person on the installation. The money is for those members' or dependents' welfare funds. Approval is not informal: the DoD Component head acts after consulting the DAEO. A booster club that wants to sell to the whole base under the Air Force name fails this item even if every board member wears a uniform.

5. Veterans Service Organizations (recognized by VA). The handbook's test is VA recognition, not a patriotic logo, a veterans' picnic, or a group that "helps vets." If the item does not establish VA recognition, it is not this slot.

6. Installation-recognized Private Organizations (per AFI 34-223, Private Organizations Program). Recognition is installation status under AFI 34-223, not self-description.

How a TSgt uses the list

Staff Sergeant study can stop at recalling the six headings and the three Assistance Fund names. Technical Sergeant study has to apply them.

If a first sergeant asks whether the unit can "endorse" a weekend car wash for a family in the squadron, Walk the six. It is not CFC, not an OPM disaster appeal, and not the Assistance Fund. Item 4 might apply only if the organization is composed primarily of DoD employees or dependents, the fundraising is among its own members, the proceeds are for those members' welfare funds, and the Component head consulted the DAEO. A public-facing car wash on the main drag is not "among their own members." Item 5 requires a VA-recognized VSO. Item 6 requires installation recognition under AFI 34-223. If none of the six fit, JER 3-210 does not authorize Air Force endorsement.

If the question is "which three charities make up the Air Force Assistance Fund?" the answer is Enlisted Village, Aid Society, and the General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation — not CFC, not the Red Cross, and not an unofficial roster of membership associations.

Permissive TDY in Section 11B may include attending national conventions or meetings hosted by service-connected organizations. That 11B sentence still does not name those organizations, and it is not an endorsement authorization. 11C remains the endorsement list. Keep the two rules in their own sections: PTDY attendance versus official fundraising and membership-drive endorsement.

What 11C is not

Section 11C is not a directory of groups to join, not a ranking of which association "counts" for promotion, and not a license to use the Air Force name for every worthy cause. The greater community is large; the endorsement door is small.