A Message from the President

As President of the Wolfpack Association, I want to be the first to invite you all to our organization. For you to fully understand what the Wolfpack Association represents and does, I need to give you some background on how and why our organization exits.

It was back in 2010, when a group of 3rd LAI/LAR veterans who served together in the early 1990’s gathered for a fishing trip at Lake Texoma on the Texas and Oklahoma border. As they were fishing and discussing “the old days”, it occurred to them that not only were they having a good time fishing, but they were also having a good time just being together. Due to that fishing trip, the group decided to create the 3rd LAI/LAR Wolfpack Association in 2014, which is commonly referred to as “The Wolfpack Association.”

In the weeks, and months following the Lake Texoma trip, the concept of the Wolfpack Association began to grow. The vision of the Wolfpack Association was to create opportunities for Veterans of all eras to meet and reinforce the bonds forged in training and combat by periodically coming together to engage one another as Family.

I remember attending my first Reunion back in 2019 in Las Vegas. The ability to get to see my brothers I served with immediately made me want to become a member of the Wolfpack Association. In 2021, I was offered the role of being the Sergeant of Arms to the Wolfpack Association. It was an opportunity I could not pass up. Since being a member of the Wolfpack Association, I have gotten the ability to help put on two of the reunions. I have also gotten to meet new people and realized we’re all alike, regardless of the time frame we served. We’re truly a unique brotherhood, which I would love to see grow. I have gotten to see the Wolfpack Association grow over the years, and I look forward to continuing to serve the members of the association.

You may be asking yourself, why is this organization important and why is this important to me? It is important because as Marine Veterans- Wolfpack Veterans (all eras) (Brothers)- we share a common bond that the average person and even non-Wolfpack Marines cannot understand. By becoming engaged with the Wolfpack Association, you are allowing yourself to, once again, do something bigger than yourself. Although you may not understand it right away, just your presence as a Wolfpack Association Alumni gives you the power to possibly make a difference in another Alumni’s life. We’re a brotherhood and we owe it to ourselves to make sure all of us never fight our struggles alone. 

From the words of our late great President Ronald Reagan “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. The Marines don’t have that problem.” Remember you served in a battalion that has already gone down in the books of history.

So, what are my expectations of our Alumni? It’s simple- I expect all Wolfpack Alumni aligned with the Wolfpack Association to remember that we are here to support one another and understand that support can come in many forms. From one-on-one communication, group communication, local, state, and nationwide networking are just a few suggestions. We need to make a promise to ourselves that we will never leave a brother behind. 

The Wolfpack Association is designed to serve as the functional hub for the support effort on a very broad scale. That may be getting your brother you served with to join The Wolfpack Association, get them to attend a reunion, help with fundraising, help with donations, or help with innovative new ideas on how we can get The Wolfpack Association to grow. I am asking for your individual involvement which is the key element to our collective success-you can decide how that best fits you.

What is most important is that all engagement roads lead to our Biennial (every two years) Reunion that we call, The Gathering of the Pack. This event brings all Marine Veterans, FMF Sailors, Active-Duty Marines, and Gold Star Family members together to bond over their individual experiences. These reunions are a continuation of the events that started on Lake Texoma in 2010.

Again, I welcome you to the Wolfpack Association and I look forward to serving you as the President of the Wolfpack Association. You have my word that I will due what is best for the association for it to continue to grow and bringing the Marines together every two years. The Strength of the Pack is the Wolf, the Strength of the Wolf is the Pack. It is this motto that will give up the strength to continue to grow.

Semper Fidelis,

Matthew West

President

Wolfpack Association