National Constitutional Officers | The American Legion

In addition to the national commander and vice commanders, six national constitutional officers are appointed annually by vote of the National Executive Committee. They are the adjutant, treasurer, judge advocate, historian, chaplain and sergeant-at-arms. Officers elected by the national convention take office upon adjournment and serve until the end of the next convention.

Responsibilities of national officers:

Rodney K. Rolland, National Adjutant

The administrative head of the organization, the adjutant oversees National Headquarters and all other national offices. He is charged in the Legion by-laws with administering the policies and mandates of the national convention and the National Executive Committee.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rodney K. Rolland was appointed National Adjutant of The American Legion May 9, 2024.

He served as Assistant National Adjutant from May 1, 2022, until his appointment as chief operating officer for the nation’s largest organization of U.S. military veterans. He previously led and worked in the Human Resources Division at National Headquarters for more than 17 years.

He is a member of American Legion Post 333 in Columbus, Ga.

As Assistant National Adjutant, he performed multiple leadership responsibilities in the areas of staffing, policy, strategic planning, national resolution fulfillment, technology, budget, communications, event management and others. He has also worked closely with national commanders and other constitutional officers of the organization, as well as commission leadership, staff executive directors and division directors. He continued to simultaneously serve as Director of Human Resources at National Headquarters, a position he held from 2013 to 2024.

In a variety of earlier Human Resources Division leadership roles, he oversaw staff compensation and benefits for operations in Washington D.C. and Indianapolis, employee training, evaluations, recruitment, hiring and personnel relations. He also was a frequent presenter at national American Legion military and veteran career events, focusing largely on the skills needed for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to make successful transitions into civilian careers.

Rolland earned a masters of business administration degree in 2007 from Indiana Wesleyan University, where in 2005 he also received a bachelors degree in business.

He is married to his wife Sandy, who served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a non-commissioned officer. They live in Indianapolis.

Shawn T. Long, CPA, National Treasurer

Shawn T. Long, Certified Public Accountant, was appointed national treasurer of The American Legion on Oct. 16, 2019, during the annual Fall Meetings at National Headquarters in Indianapolis. The national treasurer serves as the chief financial officer of The American Legion, and is responsible for the custody and management of the assets of the organization.

Long had served as American Legion finance director since October 2008, and had additionally undertaken the supervision of the Purchasing Department and the Information Technology Division.

Long is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and a member of University Veterans Post 360 in Fishers, Ind. He earned a BS in accounting from Indiana State University in 1995; an MBA from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, in 2007; and a CPA license in 2000.

Mark Seavey, National Judge Advocate

Mark Seavey was appointed national judge advocate of The American Legion on Oct. 7, 2021. A member of Mathews American Legion Post 83 in Virginia, Seavey began his career with the national organization 27 years ago. In The American Legion's Washington, D.C., office he served as an appeals representative where he represented veterans with claims pending before the Board of Veterans Appeals, and as an assistant director and grassroots coordinator in the Legislative Division. Upon his return home from a deployment in Afghanistan, Seavey moved to the National Headquarters office in Indianapolis where he served as a war reporter and military blogger in the Media & Communications Division.

Seavey served on active duty in the U.S. Army, the Army Reserve, and the Virginia Army National Guard. As an infantry squad leader with the Virginia Army National Guard, he was activated for service in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997 as part of the first callup of National Guard combat arms units since the Vietnam War. In 2004, he deployed to Afghanistan for one year where he performed a variety of tasks. He served as squad leader on combat patrols, monitored presidential elections, and provided security for Afghans. Seavey is a recipient of the Combat Infantryman's Badge, two Armed Forces Expeditionary medals, the NATO medal, two Army Achievement Medals, and other medals from his military service.

Seavey is a graduate of The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina, and a graduate of George Mason University of Law where he received a Juris doctorate degree. He has been a member of the Indiana State Bar Association for 12 years, and lives with his wife and three young children in Brownsburg, Ind.

Daniel DePozo, National Chaplain

Daniel DePozo was appointed national chaplain of The American Legion on Aug. 29, 2024, at the 105th National Convention in New Orleans.

DePozo is a retired Navy chief petty officer with 22 years of service who worked as a chief inspector for the Department of Defense. Upon retirement, he moved to Henderson, Nev., in 2005.

A graduate of University of San Diego, DePozo became a deacon in the Catholic church and was ordained on June 3, 1993. He attends and officiates at many funerals at the veteran cemetery in Boulder City for veterans and their families.

DePozo is member of Post 40 in Henderson and has been the Department of Nevada chaplain for 10 years. He is married and has three daughters, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Jennifer L. Laux, National Historian

Jennifer L. Laux was appointed national historian of The American Legion on Aug. 29, 2024, at the 105th National Convention in New Orleans.

Laux is originally from Tunkhannock, a small town in the beautiful Endless Mountains region of northeastern Pennsylvania where her family still resides. She joined the U.S. Navy in 1993 as a cryptologic technician morse code operator. Her duty stations included Naval Security Group Detachment Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Md., and Naval Security Group Activity Northwest in Chesapeake, Va. She earned numerous awards during her five years of active-duty service, including two Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medals and a Navy Good Conduct Medal.

Upon her honorable discharge in 1998, Laux went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Maryland and her Master of Science in Management/Public Affairs from the University of Maryland University College. She worked as a communications coordinator for the University of Maryland’s Agricultural Nutrient Management Program for approximately 10 years. In 2010, she was hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District working as a public outreach specialist and is now a lead communications analyst with the Corps’ Levee Safety Center in Vicksburg, Miss.

Laux joined The American Legion in 2010 and is a member of Millard American Legion Post 374 in Omaha, Neb. At the post level, she served as the second vice commander and American Legion Riders treasurer. She has been the department historian since 2012 and served as the centennial chair. She is a member of Millard American Legion Auxiliary Unit 374 and the National Association of Department Historians. She is also a 2012 American Legion College graduate.

Laux currently lives in Omaha, has two stepchildren and three dogs, and enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, Eric. In addition to volunteering for many American Legion events, she is active as a Nebraska master naturalist, working to restore habitat for pollinators like the monarch butterfly.

Everett G. Shepard III, National Sergeant-at-Arms

Everett G. Shepard III was appointed national sergeant-at-arms of The American Legion on Aug. 29, 2024, at the 105th National Convention in New Orleans.

Shepard, a resident of Woodstock, Conn., was born in Putnam but raised and educated in many locations due to his father’s career as a Navy pilot. He graduated from high school in Springfield, Va., and served in the U.S. Army from June 1967 to October 1970 as a military intelligence coordinator assigned to the staff of the Army Intelligence School. In 1974, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Nichols College in Dudley, Mass.

He is an honorary life member of Benson-Flugel Post 111 in Woodstock, which he first joined in 1976. He served four terms as post commander and as 4^th District commander from 1982 to 1983. He has held many positions in the department, including department (state) commander from 1999-2000, and department adjutant from 2006-2016.

His first interest in The American Legion was the Connecticut Boys State program where he has served as a counselor since 1977. He still serves his post as adjutant and treasurer of the Tri-Town American Legion Baseball program, which is sponsored by three posts (13, 67 and 111). He continues to serve the district as judge advocate and the department as chairman of the Convention & Conferences Committee. He is also the president of the Connecticut American Legion Foundation, Inc.

At the national level, Shepard served on the former Magazine Commission from 1989 to 2006 and has been a member of the Media & Communications Commission since 2017.

Shepard worked as a computer programmer for 28 years before being hired as the Connecticut department adjutant in 2006, and now enjoys retirement. From 1983 to 2005, he served in part-time elective offices in the town of Woodstock and has been a justice of the peace since 2001. He and his wife, Patricia, have been married since February 1970 and have one son and a granddaughter. When weather and his busy schedule permit, he enjoys playing nine holes of golf at least two times a week, preferably three or four.