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

What is socially acceptable to Boomers doesn’t jive with new folks. If you are progressive, forget about it

Last time I went to a VFW (2015)? there were many people smoking cigarettes inside. WTF?? I left after 3 minutes.

Directed toward the VFW, where do I begin. First off, they do no active recruiting to younger Veterans leaving the service. 2nd, They do not seem to recognize Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans as war Veterans. 3rd, They lack leadership and clear direction. 4th, they are mostly a bar that plays bingo. Nice for the old folks but they have done little to recruit their new membership and future leaders. They are stale stuck in a place in time where very few people want to revisit.

I agree with you Sir. I'm member of the American Legion and it's not easy to make then join to.

Because as a female it was auxiliary only and you weren't in a real war or always rude sexist remarks.

The heck of it is I am one of those older guys, and I don't always fit in because I wasn't in Nam and I don't smoke and barely drink
To make the Legion more appealing start out by NOT making the bar the center of attention. Make the place smoke free inside. And if the person is vetted by the legion quit looking at them like they are invaders and welcome them. Last couple of posts I was in they drank like fish and were not very open and welcoming

Yes there are losing members because they are not welcoming to the new era of soldiers. I agree with Maj Hoover, make it family oriented, have sponsorship to other veterans that really, actually need assistance, like food, necessities, and a hand up. Not to be confused with helping out with their own war/social buddies that take an advantage of the system. Another thing is to have a purpose, not for a smoke or drunk fest. Times have changed, alot of military veterans from all Wars, have families and like to help out with charities. How can you help out a spouse while the service member is at WAR? Can you help out a veteran with their Disability ratings? Can you give them assistance with paying their medications, or coordinate a ride to the V.A.? Alot of things we can do instead of smoking and drinking , and telling old WAR stories in the club house. Any other thoughts or ideas?

I think that if you make it a family oriented, fun hang out spot, that is not focused on sitting at a barstool and smoking, all of the old vets that have been there for 30 years will hate it. I'm not sure you can change what is already concreted in.

It needs new leadership, new advertising, and a new agenda. It's like asking the government to change.

Hi Robert,
I think developing new traditions would help. Just like all the restaurants now giving freebies in Veterans Day, Creating a “Bring a Buddy” event where you get members to find another veteran to bring to a Veterans Day event at the Legion would be a great start. There are lots of vets who are isolated and a few calls and an invitation (maybe even picking them up too) would go a long way to building friendships. Providing a script of what to say helps too.
I’d try to get a list of veterans in the area from somewhere. Then have the legion send a bday card with several messages inside from current members. If you don’t get any on your bday, this would mean a lot.
This generation wants to belong to organizations so it’s a matter of finding out what will attract them. Gaming competitions could be a big one and conversely Gaming Support Groups could be a draw as lots of military addicted to gaming….
Free babysitting is something younger military/vets would be attracted too also while they have dinner or a drink….maybe a drop off your kids at the legion date night or find a quality baby sitter for free via the legion list of volunteers. How about hosting grief support groups or partnering up with other groups such as WWP or The Mission Continues to share members….

I just joined the legion in my area. They had a monthly breakfast that I tried out. The folks were great. Planning to get more involved.