A disturbing trend is showing younger military veterans falling away from Veteran Service Organizations. It's time to address this issue at the local level.
I recently read an article “Why are the younger Veterans avoiding the Veteran Service Organizations (VSO),” written by Les Davis, a National Recruiter for AMVETS.
Before I get to the specifics of the article, I want to give my background. I am a 37-year-old veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2004), that is very actively involved in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). I am also a very busy husband and father, who works as a web designer.
The above-mentioned article basically criticizes all Veteran Service Organizations, like the VFW, American Legion, and AMVETS for failing to do enough to attract younger veterans. My first reaction was “yes…they don’t do enough” and I agreed with most of the suggestions for improvement. I shared it with a group of fellow veteran leaders. One of them said, “I am so sick of this crap.” This caught me off guard and I was rather confused at first, but he further explained that he was tired of hearing the negatives; the why veterans are not joining instead of the why they are or why they should. His feedback got me thinking about it, and I decided to write this counter article. I’ll be honest, I point the finger at my fellow younger veteran, not the VSO.
So why are my fellow young Veterans avoiding VSOs?
The top excuses I have heard are:
• “I am too busy. I just don’t have the time right now.”
• “I don’t have the money right now.”
• “I don’t see what I get for joining.”
• “I don’t want to be the only female.”
• “I didn’t feel welcome there.”
• “I don’t like long meetings.”
• “I don’t need help with VA stuff.”
When did we as veterans start thinking like this? When did we become so entitled, to the point that “what’s in it for me” is most important? Why do VSOs feel they have to give you a free gift to get you to care about helping our fellow veterans?
It’s not just Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that are avoiding the VSOs. Vietnam veterans are staying away too. I won’t pretend to act like I know what it felt like when they came home. My homecoming was a celebration, that hasn’t stopped. But how is avoiding other Vietnam veterans and younger veterans helping?
We need you, frankly you understand the hell some of us experienced better than anyone.
Instead of dwelling on why my fellow young veterans are not joining or why they seem to have chosen not to continue to serve, I will attempt to express why you need to join a VSO now, not later.
Reason 1:
Duty… the required amount of time needed to be a member of a VSO is exactly zero minutes. When you join and do nothing but pay your approximately $30 per year, you still help the organization. When the VFW goes to Washington to fight for your benefits, the number of members is our strength. The more members the organization has, the more our elected know they better listen. You can honestly be as active or inactive as you choose. You can come and go as your life allows, but we need you to join plain and simple, if for no other reason than to protect veteran benefits.
Reason 2:
Selfless Service… Most veterans joined the military because they felt a calling to serve and during your years in uniform that grows. By joining a VSO, you are helping your fellow veterans and continuing your service. I have survivor’s guilt and actively participating helps me honor them.
Reason 3:
Loyalty… There is something amazing about the bond between veterans. By joining a VSO, you are honoring your elder veterans that started them. You are connecting and being there for your fellow veterans, and you are making things better for future veterans.
Reason 4:
Fun… You get to surround yourself with people that like to cuss, make fun of each other’s branch of service, slam challenge coins down, harass the medics, talk trash of today’s soldiers, and laugh really hard like you did with “your guys”.
So I ask you today, have you forgotten your Soldiers Creed? You are “a warrior and a member of a team.” Your team needs you, and you probably may not know it but you need them. I love my post, from the WWII veterans that opened it, to the Korea veteran that works every Bingo night, to the Vietnam guys, to the younger veterans and their families.
As a young veteran, you have the “key to the city” to make the post your own. The older veterans want to make it work for you. They want their beloved group to continue. If you don’t like something about the post, then work to make it better. Don’t expect it to be perfect, make it perfect.
You once stood tall and said “I will never accept defeat. I will never quit.” Have you quit serving? Do you really not have the time to help your fellow veteran? It is important and necessary, and joining a VSO is something every veteran should do today, not eventually. VSOs don’t need a better marketing strategy to get our generation to join; you just need to remember how it felt to serve something bigger than yourself and to be a part of something great.
Keith Lucas is the Post Surgeon for VFW Post 5923 in Camdenton, MO. Learn more about the VFW at VFW.org.
