Readers of The Observer are very familiar with the name Lieutenant Commander Steven L. Rogers. He was, for many years, the public-information officer of the Nutley Police Department. At retirement from law enforcement, he went on to spend eight years as a Nutley Commissioner and didn’t seek a third term after a self-imposed term limit. He’s been seen on every major cable news network as a commentator on major issues — from politics to crime to so many other topics — for decades. He even ran for governor of New Jersey.
Now, several years after his elected term ended, he’s working hard as the executive director of the Association of the United States Navy, where he oversees more than 10,000 members from all states in the Union — and where he’s setting out to expand by doing more for the folks who need it most.
Rogers calls it a “Conversation With America.” But before we get to that — first, it’s important to know a little about the AUSN, a non-profit, member-supported organization.
Members are either veterans or supporters of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Anyone may join. It is the association’s goal to do good for veterans and civilians and their families, most importantly. But how is the AUSN and Rogers accomplishing all of this?
It’s starting locally, where Rogers has collaborated with Nutley Mayor John V. Kelly III for local programing.
Kelly took over the Veterans Affairs office after he was elected to the Nutley governing body. Who did he replace? Rogers. That department has offered resources to veterans who didn’t know what was available to them from the VA. In fact, Nutley began offering transport to the VA hospital in East Orange years ago and through the AUSN, Rogers hope to see more communities following suit.
“Our drivers don’t just drop veterans off,” Rogers said. “We bring the veterans and the sit with them. We don’t just leave them there.”
Rogers is also reaching out to towns, like Nutley, civil organizations, chambers of commerce and other groups. He is working to partner with businesses willing to be of service and support to the Navy and the needs of employees with a Naval connection.
And the reason why Rogers is doing this now, and engaging in that Conversation With America?
“People are worried war will soon start,” Rogers said during a sit-down discussion with The Observer. “This is especially so for family members of people in the Navy and other branches of the military.”
Because of this fear — Rogers believes it is very possible the United States will one day soon be at war with China, based on the volatility in Taiwan — he’s setting up meet-and-greets both in person and online for those who need information and guidance. He also believe youngsters aren’t learning enough about the military in public schools and so he wants to see that expand.
“I was stunned to find out most youngsters didn’t know what Iwo Jima was,” Rogers said. “So little was known about World War II. All they knew was the good guys won and the bad guys lost.”
To begin to change this, Rogers recently visited US Navy Sea Cadets in the Bronx. This is a semi-military organization that involves training young people to live more character-filled lives and to be prepared to be of service to others. A program will soon begin in Harlem.
And Rogers says he would love to see something similar come to a town like Nutley. And, perhaps most importantly, he wants young people to see there is more to life than just careers in academia.
“We want to tap young talent, people who could man subs, fly jets,” Rogers said. “Focus has been placed on higher education, but there is so much more out there.”
Lastly, Rogers says he doesn’t just want to cut bureaucratic red tape. He wants to eliminate it. In recent times, the AUSN has helped veterans recover more than $500K in untapped benefits. And to assist him, Rogers plans to send a personal letter to each US senator to enlist the Senate’s help.
“I hope to meet with every senator whether it’s in Washington, D.C., or virtually,” Rogers said. “There’s a lot of work still to be done.”
Find out more about the AUSN, its goals, benefits, etc., by visiting www.ausn.org.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.