My local VFW has turned into more of a bar for non-veterans than a fraternal organization. Anyone else experience this?

I joined - and then stopped going because all it was was a place for male vets to get away from Mama for a few hours and to get spit-faced drunk. Corporate does a good job fighting for us, so I bought a life-time membership. I've been to Posts all over the country, and they've all been the same.

I tried the American Legion... got a membership... and it's been the same.

Go to the American Legion.

I am currently fighting against this VFW-Bar mentality at the Chloride AZ Post. Alcoholics run this and Alcoholics control everything. I have a complaint against one of the co-commanders, that District and State are trying to dismiss. It's a sad commentary that the VFW condones this for the money$$$ Veterans. . .what that?

Some Posts do allow a "social membership" locally, and these typically only grant privileges to the Canteen or "Bar." We do this as an alternative to charging cover $s on nights where there is entertainment, plus - our status as a non-profit is predicated on "membership" and this is an allowable practice, generally.
I agree with some of the other posts on the feed though - it does NOT have to detract from the experience of being a VFW member! If anything - it should advance our mission, which is in part to educate. Anything we can do to connect our Veterans to the rest of our Community, even those who did not serve, helps to further the necessary bonds between the military and civilian in our society, and, likely helps more of our citizens understand, and support, our Veterans!

What tends to happen is members get old and stop volunteering and coming to meetings and many pass away. Once they lose few key members, no one steps up. The hay day of these clubs was in 50's 60's and started to decline in the 70's. VN vets didn't join for a number of reasons. The WWII and Koren vets had a ock. They didn't want to do new things to attract them. VN vets formed their own organizations. Legion and VFW members started to die, got old and with no fresh blood to replace them started to fold. Many can't even get enough to come to meetings so the same people fill the officer positions for 10 and even 20 years. They start to feel it's "their" organizations and do what they want excluding anyone they feel doesn't follow their rule. They do nothing for the members except collect dues. Why come to meetings ? The ones with the bars are controlled by the people who drink there NOT the officers or they are one of the same who vote together. with only 7-8 active members who run the bar, there isn't anyone for color guard, volunteering for fundraisers, putting on special programs. I use to get the old. "We tried that and it didn't work" when you dig deeper you find out someone gave a half ass effort 20 years ago and it became the rule of thumb. We tried to combine the VFW, Legion and AMVETS into one building for a veteran center and the fighting between the groups, who owns what, who pays what, who is doing more, who is not doing enough, etc, etc. finally it split up and all three groups are only organizations in name with no activity. At the County level they do nothing at the department level and state level, they can't do anything because each post is a it's own corporation and entity and legally,at the state organization level, it's doesn't want to be involved in legal battles. Each post has it'sown charter. I used to volunteer 20-30 hours a wek after work to cook and we'd sell the food at the bar. It contributed but I did the dishes, cooked , shopped and cleaned up while the old timers drank at the bar. Finally I said screw it and walked away. Whats needed are 4-6 new members who need to get elected as officers and commit to recruiting, putting the programs in place, form a color guard for funerals and start to use the meetings and give out the 5,10 and 20 years membership awards, recognized lo=cal establishments with certificates of appreciation or merit, get discounts from local businesses for members, support a littl league softball team, pancake breakfasts, oratory contests at schools, airgun competitions, contests, start marching in parades, . Recruiting is the lifeblood of ANY organization. You have to take over the organization and get it running. The State and National HQ have manuals, brochures and other aids to help ALL FREE.. Sorry about getting on my soapbox but it's possible to resurrect a dying or do nothing post with 40-6 dedicated members.

Can't say that I have. The one here is an all but abandoned building other than the Friday night bingo events. I frankly don't know how it stays open.

If the bar is a problem, find a post nearby without a canteen. There are 4 VFW posts within 25 miles of me; 2 have canteens and 2 are dry. But if they don't have a canteen, they have some other money maker to support their programs. We have bingo. Either tolerate the bar or be ready to work bingo every week.

I belong to the American Legion and have been a member for almost 30 years. I am seeing the same trend there as well. My philosophy is if these organizations relied only on veterans they would not be able to financially survive. The days of veterans getting together to swap war stories is a thing of the past. Unfortunately this is a financial burden for the American Legion and VFW posts. Personally I am happy to see they are "thinking outside the box" and allowing non-veterans in to enjoy a drink and possibly converse with a veteran who is happy to share his or her military experience.

MSG (Join to see) As always: lead, follow or get out of the way.

I have yet to see a VFW which wasn't at least attached to a local hangout bar. It's unfortunate that it has to be that way, as most need the bars to provide some form of income. Let's face it, we do not provide enough physical or financial support for a VFW or American Legion to stand alone.
Let's also face another reality. An appreciable percentage of former Military tend to be moderate to heavy drinkers. It is still a large part of the military culture. So, many want the bar open to go drink after the meetings.....