Why do some Vets, so quickly, affiliate their status with everything?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 May 2015 10:55:45 -0400

Why do some Vets, so quickly, affiliate their status with everything? I'm looking at some of these groups and wonder to myself how they would be viewed by the majority-general public. We will or are labeled as a group, but yet we have a few attaching "Vet" to somethings it shouldn't be. The main ones I take issue with are personnel conquest that request monies from the population around them. Many of the donors are probably people that have served or people that could put that money to better use, such as sustainment of their family. So how do you feel about this, and do you feel it's ethical to attach a "Veteran" status to all or any of your causes?
http://veteransagainstisis.com/
http://vetpaw.org/
http://nvsf.org/Home.html

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made May 19 at 2015 10:59 AM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Tue, 19 May 2015 10:59:22 -0400

A lot of rip offs out there. You need to be diligent and make sure that these groups are real

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made May 19 at 2015 10:59 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Tue, 19 May 2015 10:59:59 -0400

It's market "branding".

Response by SPC Jack Hunt, JR made May 19 at 2015 11:03 AM

SPC Jack Hunt, JR — Tue, 19 May 2015 11:03:02 -0400

I have seen lots of "vets" misuse the title. People have been doing it for years publicly. I often wonder just how many of the panhandlers seen on street corners holding sings claiming their Veterans actually are Veterans.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2015 11:03 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 May 2015 11:03:38 -0400

Sometimes it is a scam to get attention to the cause and collect funds that aren't even going to Vets. But with the nation being at war for so long people will donate cause they think they are helping out. I do not agree with the organizations that are doing this.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2015 11:14 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 May 2015 11:14:09 -0400

I've noticed the risk with donating time or money to these types. I've recently separated myself from a new BIG one because of their concern for national dollars versus measurable success of their mission.
My question is how do you think the American people view veterans as a whole, when these situations come up of fraud or affiliating a status of "veteran" with everything under the sun. Is this part of issue of why we're being boxed as a group of "lose cannons" and "lost causes"? Is this an ethical state for "veterans" to be in, as I've recently been told by a large employer that he didn't care to hire veterans, and was tired of having veteran tags on so many things.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made May 19 at 2015 11:55 AM

CPT Pedro Meza — Tue, 19 May 2015 11:55:18 -0400

Service members are conditioned to being a part of a selected group MOS and a unit, once a service member leaves the service he becomes a Veteran, but that is a general label that causes an internal drive to belong to once again belong to a unit. So Doc you comprende?

Response by SGT Ben Keen made May 19 at 2015 12:12 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Tue, 19 May 2015 12:12:22 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member -

While the initial question you offer confused me when I looked at your content, please allow me to offer my point of view on a few a things.

As a Veteran who works within the nonprofit area, I can tell you that a lot of it has to do with the marketing of the organization. Good or bad, people use images and words to draw attention to their cause. These images aren't always 100% truthful while some are truthful but do not paint a proper image of the Veteran population as a whole. Rather these images focus on a small sub-section of Veterans. I am by no means trying to take away anything from our brothers and sisters-in-arms that are having to live and deal with coming home from combat with some terrible injuries. These service members deserve everything they get and then some. Yet, some organizations try to pull at the heart strings of their donors and the easiest way to do this is to focus on the more negative side of things. Just look at those cat and dog commercials that air on TV showing a dog out in cold and snow. We know that not every person that owns an animal treats their pet like that. Heck, some days, I swear my family dog ate better than I did.

As far as the three examples you gave. The first one did not resolve to a website, but after looking through both the websites for VETPAW and NVSF, I would be careful when donating funds to them. People want to know where their money is going, how it is being used, and it's overall impact on the targeted group you are trying to help.

I am often asked what the nonprofit I run does and how we are making an impact. While we are still fairly new, just reaching the 5 year mark we have connected hundreds of Veterans from the area, assisted in employing a few, getting others help with their resumes and getting the community out to the change the conversation from this image of the "poor broken Veteran" to an image of a strong, mission capable Veteran who just may need help in a few areas. Sure, this works requires money and yes we ask for funds from the general public but we have never tried to do so at the expense of showing a Veteran and picturing them as "weak". You can use a lot of words to describe a Veteran but I think we can all agree that "weak" is not one of them.

Response by Sgt Robert Hassinger made May 19 at 2015 12:22 PM

Sgt Robert Hassinger — Tue, 19 May 2015 12:22:43 -0400

I have seen this a few times and I share the concern. I know of one person who is attaching his military service to gain donations for continued European travel, lodging and recreation, under the guise of attending college. I don't feel it is ethical if the purpose is for personal enrichment.