Tom Desmond at 44 has been a member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard for 17 years and has been an Executive Officer in a Medical Battalion and the S2/3 in a Maintenance Battalion. He is currently the State Safety and Occupational Health Manager. Prior to that, he served four years on Active Duty as an Ordnance Officer and was assigned overseas in the Republic of Turkey as well as at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD as a Training Analyst. Tom's wife Trisha is the Director of the public library in Hudson, MA where he resides. Tom has a Masters Degree in Library Science and is working on a second masters in Work Environment at UMASS Lowell. He enjoys reading, particularly history and science fiction. Tom has been formally wargaming for over 22 years with the Old Colony Wargamers Association. Like many wargamers, he made the transition from toy soldiers (Britains, SAE, Marx and Airfix) to boardgames (Avalon Hill, SPI etc.) to an organized wargame club. Tom's initiation in miniatures was Jack Scrubys magazine, Table Top Talk. He sent for some 25mm Colonials as part of his preview purchase plan: " I was hooked and soon painted a 30mm French Napoleonic Army. Not long after, I was contacted by Dick Bryant and formed a bond with a group of fellow gamers that has lasted to this day." Tom's primary loves are Napoleonics and Colonials but has been known to dabble in a wide variety of periods. He have been President of The Old Colony Wargame club on several occasions and runs an average of 8-10 games a year for them. He also hosts many games at Cold Wars, Historicon and local conventions. Tom is advertising manager for The Courier Magazine. PLATFORM I joined HMGS because it was not only an organization that brought together fellow wargamers but also because it was a forum for our hobby. For years wargamers were considered a fringe group, too crude for the collectors and not organized enough to challenge the fantasy organizations. How things have changed. Using our organization, we have, in a relatively short period of time, been able to draw together historical wargamers from across the country into a like-minded organization. HMGS not only had a voice but also had plans to promote our hobby and introduce it to a whole new generation of wargamers. What troubles me is that lately HMGS seems to have lost its focus. I attended the meeting at Historicon 94 and was saddened by what I saw. Gone were the plans for brochures, videos and programs to spread the word. In their place were bitter arguments, name calling and general disarray. It appeared to me that the BOD had lost touch with what the membership wanted. There is no direction, no attempt to continue improving the organization. I feel that the board must be responsive to the needs of the membership. This includes ensuring that we know who are current members, making our conventions member friendly and continuing to get the word out about Historical Miniatures. I've complained about the state of affairs as I perceive it and would like to contribute to doing something positive about it. I hope you will give me that opportunity. Tobey Barrett Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #67 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com