As we watched the somber commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, you, your fellow AAFMAA Members, and your families likely reflected on where you were that fateful day and how the attacks have changed our lives and our Nation. For me, those events led to several deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and influenced my son and my son-in-law, who were in elementary school on 9/11, to join the Army. I am proud of their service and the hundreds of thousands of men and women whose service over the past 20 years has contributed to the protection of our Nation and the advancement of American values. To all of you, know that your service truly mattered. 

The past 20 years has also been significant for AAFMAA. We saw our greatest growth in Membership in the decade immediately following 9/11 and we continue to serve nearly 100,000 members of the American Armed Forces community with exceptional life insurance and other benefits — now including wealth management, financial planning, trusts, and mortgages. Everything we do is focused on helping ensure the financial independence and security of our Members. None of our insurance policies have any war restrictions; in fact many servicemembers obtained their policies as they were in the process of deploying to combat, which is exactly why AAFMAA exists. 

We also pride ourselves in being there for the families of our Members in their most challenging times. Over the past two decades, AAFMAA has paid more than $1 billion in death benefits to the families of our Members who have died, and we have helped secure millions more in government entitlements for them as well. These results reflect our history and formation as a mutual aid association — founded so that military members could take care of each other’s families, especially when one passes away. We are very proud of the work that AAFMAA has done over the past 20 of its 142 years in service, and that we will continue to do for you and other military families long into the future.

Proudly serving our Members,
Michael J. Meese, Ph.D., FMLI, BG, USA, Ret.
President, AAFMAA