Commander hits on three key topics at Fall Meetings

American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett opened the Fall Meetings on Wednesday by focusing on three key topics: veterans walks, VA and membership.

Barnett has challenged all Legion departments to conduct a Walk for Veterans event to raise awareness about veterans and the Legion’s positive impact on communities nationwide. Since the beginning of September, awareness walks have been held in New Hampshire, Missouri, Connecticut and Indiana.

“I want to thank you for the awareness walks. What a great opportunity for us to share our message to our communities on what we do in The American Legion,” Barnett said. “I’m overwhelmed by the responses I’ve had from various departments who are going out and walking with veterans to tell our story.”

Barnett shared that two 92-year-old World War II veterans made the entire 2.5-mile walk in New Hampshire with encouragement from passersby honking their horns. And members of the Auxiliary sang “God Bless America.”

“Thanks for stepping up. I hope we can do awareness walks in as many places as we can, and it doesn’t have to be with me,” he said, encouraging departments, districts or posts to hold walks whether or not they coincide with a visit from the national commander.

On Oct. 21, Barnett will be attending a House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing in Washington, D.C., regarding an examination of the VA Office of Inspector General’s final report on the “inappropriate use of position and misuse of relocation program and incentives.” And he encouraged Legionnaires to join him.

The report states VA staff are being relocated, due to not fulfilling their job requirements, to other VA positons with higher pay. An example in the report states one relocation cost taxpayers $274,000.

“I will be at the hearing. And I want you to join me because I want them to see The American Legion to let them know that we’re going to hold the VA accountable,” Barnett said. “It’s a system worth saving, but it’s not a system worth protecting senior executive officers who take advantage of the situation. We owe it to our taxpayers, and we owe it to our veterans.

“I hope many of you will be able to join me as we continue to fight for veterans benefits in our nation’s capital.”

As for Legion membership, six departments are ahead of where they were last year at this time. “That’s not the direction I want to go with membership. That’s not the direction we need to go,” Barnett said. “I know it’s difficult; I know it’s hard. But I know that you want to be on a winning team, and we’ve go to turn membership around.”

With the $5 membership dues increase starting in 2016, Barnett said the next 60 days should be an incentive for Legionnaires to “work membership to be above where we were last year.”

“We need to shoot for the stars,” he said. “I need your help. We need to do it for the organization; we need to do it as we approach our 100th anniversary. We’ve got to stop talking, and we’ve got to start acting.”