What would make American Legions and Veteran of Foreign War posts more appealing to join for you?

I’ve had a mix. Leadership of the VFW was very welcoming and encouraged joining. I remember meeting dozens of guys who were excited to see a young guy there. “(I was 23, next young was easily late 30’s at best) then I met a few that said stuff that was basically if you aren’t WW2, Korean, or Nam then youre not as much of a vet as them. And I can’t remember all the good people, but I sure can remember the bad. I’ve still visited a few times, but I’m waiting for those jokers to die off as bad as that sounds.

They blew it with me in the 70s when I was on active duty, back from 2 B-52 tours in Vietnam and told I wasn't a veteran of a foreign war. Sorry, you didn't want me then, I don't want you now!

Why would newer service members want to? "The older members are often not welcoming either", for all the talk about how we're a military family, etc etc, there's more than a few Vets that don't actually believe it.

I deployed, did my job, still doing my job. I'm more interested in taking care of my guys and staying in touch with people in my era than salty old Joe.

At the rate I see it, the VFW and similar organizations are going to either crumble or restructure as their members keep dying. Is that all older Vets? No. I've met more than a few that are accommodating and trying to learn just as much as they try to teach. You know where a bunch of those guys hang out though? Not at the local VFW, at least that's my experience.

Maybe I'll join an organization one day, but as it stands right now, they have little to offer me other than bad stories from Vets from my generation that tried to get involved.

Being a female in both VFW and American Legion (post side not auxiliary) is a pain. Talk about being shunned! Tired of battling

Leadership needs to recognize that there are female veterans
Recognize that many vets weren't war vets, many were support or rear echelon types at best. Some even did odd deployments and non stereotypical work.
I also don't want to sit around and drink all the time. I think that health and mental health is something that many of us look past.
As many others have said, I don't qualify as a "real vet" to many.
I also don't relate to many other "watch football and drink" types. I have a different set of tastes that are off putting to others.

Because my combat tours where Desert Storm and Somalia, the only things I ever got was silence and open hostility in both places. I haven’t returned and never will. This old Sergeant Major refuses to be made to feel less than. Both organizations National Leadership have known this fact for years but have done nothing to make the post Vietnam combat vets feel any more welcome.

i was in Korea 1963 and joined life membership VFW came back to the states of course and after a few years went to VFW . they ask the normal questions and i answered but since i was not given a membership card in korea i could not prove i was lifetime member and they couldnt find anything on national registry so i stopped trying to go. any how i am a card carrying Life Member of the DAV. so i really have no use for VFW any more . never tried the American Legion. good luck if you want to try one of those but if you are disabled the DAV will help .

When I got out in 93 I joined the VFW in my hometown. It was ok, but I'm not a smoker and I rarely drink. So going into a smoked filled room to get drunk was not on my "to-do" list, In fact it was the reasons I rarely went. I couple of years later I moved to a new city and while a friend tried to get me to join the Legion I declined since I was working the afternoon shift and I had to get home quickly afterward since the wife worked midnights.

But in the last 4 years I missed the comradery and wanted to talk and BS with others like me. I also am a disabled veteran and wanted to try to raise my rate. So I looked into the VFW, AL, and DAV to see who would be best for me. I decided it was the local DAV over the other two. With the help of the Vet Rep in filling out and filing my paperwork, I've gone from 10% to 80%, We also submitted a claim that he is sure will raise me to 100%. Our local DAV chapter 102 is always having fundraisers, family outings and other events to bring in the families, kids and grandkids to make it more enjoyable. I rarely ever see the VFW or AL doing events like DAV.

To answer your question better I would say its what a person wants the most from them. If you were like me needing help in getting my my DAV status raised> I feel I choose correctly. If you never got injured then it's your choice. Like you I did run into the older WWII/Vietnam vets who looked down on me since my wars were Just Cause in 89-90 and Desert Storm in 90-91. Both really short.
Between the atmosphere of the place and the non welcoming feelings I got I feel I made the right choice.

Tell them to bite you. I would say, just because you fought in a jungle doesn't make my life easier. i fought house to house in Iraq and Afghanistan..you fought in 1 country. You experience isn't any worse or better than mine. I was called a baby killer also....I was a Corpsman so try again.

The biggest problem that I have found was, new veterans come into a post and they are hit with a cloud of smoke and than just turn around and walk out. We have tried to make our American Legion post smoke free, but it got shot down by the smokers.