Should all veterans be allowed to join the American Legion not just those who served within certain time periods?

PV2 Jon Anderson — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 12:02:27 -0400

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 12:04 PM

1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 12:04:38 -0400

That would defeat the purpose of the legion, would it not?

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 1:15 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 13:15:06 -0400

PV2 Jon Anderson Membership has been open since August 2, 1990 until present. You served in 1993, so you are eligible to join. What is the problem?

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Response by CDR Terry Boles made Jun 7 at 2016 6:07 PM

CDR Terry Boles — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 18:07:09 -0400

There are a lot of veteran organizations that are congressionally chartered and out of touch with today. Some organizations recognize they are out of step with today and fudge a little bit to include those vets and then there are organizations that are pretty rigid based on their charter.

I would like to think that all veterans are welcome to the American Legion. I do remember the application had defined dates of conflict and there are those vets whose service may fall outside of those dates. I enjoy mu local post of the American Legion, and I would welcome and support a broadening definition of membership to include all honorably discharged veterans. I am sure it is quite a process to change the congressional charter, but I am equally sure it can be done with the support of the veteran community.

Response by SSgt David Tedrow made Jun 8 at 2016 4:01 AM

SSgt David Tedrow — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 04:01:32 -0400

Simple question with a not so simple answer. Since it is a Congressionally chartered organization it would take a lot of work, and red tape to change the rules. Not saying it could not be done but it would take a lot of arm twisting from the the hard core members.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jun 8 at 2016 7:14 AM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 07:14:21 -0400

Rules are rules and traditions are that! There are many organizations that one can join for serving in the military.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Jun 8 at 2016 2:07 PM

SFC J Fullerton — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 14:07:26 -0400

I say yes. But there is going to be resistance to changing the by-laws to open up previous periods because its a congressional charter. I think the AL recognized this issue which is why they never closed the eligibility dates after Desert Storm. Aug 1990 to the present represents the longest eligibility period ever in the AL, but has the lowest representation in membership per eligible population. Opening up the late 70's and the 80's is probably not going to reverse the decline in membership.

Response by SGT James Colwell made Dec 13 at 2016 10:02 AM

SGT James Colwell — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 10:02:40 -0500

Very interesting question. I was able to join the Legion only because I served during the Grenada time period. I did not serve IN Grenada, although my unit was put on alert. When I saw Grenada vets come into my unit sporting CIB's, it was offensive, especially to the Vietnam vets I was serving with, as none of the Grenada vets met the requirements for a CIB. My time in service was also during the latter stages of the Cold War. I take more pride in THAT service than the service that entitles me to be a member of the Legion. Lots of Cold War vets who don't meet the requirements for either VFW or the Legion.

Response by PO3 Jay Keaty made Sep 7 at 2018 7:49 PM

PO3 Jay Keaty — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 19:49:16 -0400

I am one of those guys that are in the unique position where I am technically not eligible for the American Legion, because I did not serve during a specific wartime era, however, I am eligible for to join the Veterans of Foreign War, due to the type of job that I had. (SSBN Deterrent Patrol Pin qualifies as a 'combat veteran', one of the only solely cold war specific combat theaters) Many Legion posts may fudge the numbers, and they expect the change to eventually let all vets in because there are very few of us in comparison to when the Draft was in place.