Auxiliary’s

[dmh1566]

I helped establish the men's auxiliary at my post and basically they operate just like the ladies auxiliary...except the organization is comprised of men. Since the don't have a department to guide them they take their guidance (or lack there of) from our post. Despite being a new organization they've already provided our post with a lot of support (maybe even more than our "well established" ladies auxiliary which tends to do its own thing due to a lack of post guidance).

I think the apprehension surrounding the men's auxiliary concept is a clear indication that the  "change is bad - keep everything the way its always been" mentality is still alive and well within our organization. This sort of thinking is a major reason why many younger veterans choose not to join the VFW. We need to start welcoming new ideas and changing with the times...our organzization was never intended to be a post-WW2 time capsul.   

"dmharvey" may have a point about "stepping on toes" and jealously may be a factor regarding Post support if the Men's Auxiliary should become more active and progressive than the Post. The lack of knowledge of what the Men's Auxiliary's defined role is, may also be a cause for why more Posts do not readily ebrace the idea and sponsor a Men's Auxiliary. 

I warmly and openly support and endorse the Ladies Auxiliary at my post.  I know what programs they have and what they do.    I know little to nothing of how the Men's Auxiliary is structured, what rituals they have, and what programs they have that are different from the Post and Ladies Auxiliary.  Without knowing the Departments By-Law changes regarding the Men's Auxiliary and it's operation, I would hessitate to make a motion to begin one at my Post.  I would find it difficult to vote for establishing a Men's Auxiliary at my post if they did not have all the needed tools; By-laws, Manual of Procedure and Ritual, etc. to work with.
 
If one does not have the tools to do the work, how can I expect them to accomplish their job.  This information may exist at my Dept in Sacramento, I do not know; but I will be requesting it. 

I believe there nothing to say or prevent Dept from taking action to amend their By-Laws and direct their districts to establish a Men's Auxiliary Chairman.   I will have to inquire about that as well.   

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[Loadtoad]

I fell that the wives of VFW members need to have a seperate organization for several reasons.  I feel that weomen are different than men and have a complely diffent take on the organization.  The have the same committment we do but go about it differently.  They look at things in a different light and have different ideas.  None of these things are bad.  The best thing about it is that it IS DIFFERENT from the way we do things.  They bring different skills, ideas, and other things to the organization that men just would not do on their own.  Also weomen that gather without interference from the men have a more organized, and efficient way of doing things.  Not trying to say that they have the perfect model for an organization, but we could learn a thing or two from them.  The best thing that we can do is keep them close, give them support, and let them do what they do best.  Don't interfere with what is going on now.  If it's not broke, don't try to fix it.

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[DoggyDaddy]

I agree. Well stated.

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[kacal]

Many of you are correct I believe. The Ladies have the history and been doing fine. If the men join together with them it will be a matter ot time before they begin getting into office. The Ladies were the main reason it did'nt get anywhere last year. You also have many men who don't take orders very well from women. I think you'll get more done with seperate groups. The toe stepping on I did not consider. An officer in Dept of Alaska put together a manual of Ritual and by-laws that was reviewed and accepted by National, I believe. It has not been distributed yet.    Doggy Daddy    it is hard to establish anything without guidance. Since it is new, we listen and take advice from our Post and the Ladies. Many of our Aux.s give everything to the post and just help and support Post and L. A. functions. Some of us have chosen a few things to contribute too. At Post 3629 Fairbanks we chose VFW National Home and now dept has decided to sponsor the new home there along with Hawaii. We also have decided on Unmet Needs. The VFW has so many affiliations there is a lot to choose from. If we had Department and/or National positions we could maybe get better focused. As far as suggesting or sponsoring one in your Post, think of it this way. You could help mold them and guide them, what they do reflects what they are taught.

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[Jarhead]

What we as an organization need to consider is whether we would like the negative publicity that would come about from a discrimination lawsuit.  We as a whole are saying that the spouse or relative of one member is less important than the spouse or relative of another member.  This is due to there not being an equitable organization for the male relatives of our membership.  We are seeing more and more women eligible for membership and national purports to desiring their allegience with us.  But, we are saying 'sorry, we don't want your husband, he's not important to us.'  That sure would make women want to join.  When are we going to wake up?  Either we establish the Men's Auxiliary at all levels, or we allow them to join the Auxiliary of the VFW of the US, without regard to sex.

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[DoggyDaddy]

The VFW Ladies Auxiliary have their own Charter.  VFW National (which includes Posts) has it's own Charter.  The Men's Auxiliary does not have it's own Charter.  The Men's Aux falls under the Charter of National.  The idea of allowing men to join the Ladies Auxiliary went before National Convention last year along with a various resolutions to establish the Men's Auxiliary with their own Charter like the Ladies.  Both failed.  The idea of their being a Discrimination lawsuit would go nowhere because National and the Ladies Auxiliary are Independent organizations.
It would be nice if the Men's Aux was independent like the ladies, but I doubt it will ever happen as there are those at National who do not want another Auxiliary that they have NO control [power] over.

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[sunshinedjs]

While I am a charter member of our post's Men's Auxiliary (5 years since our inception) I have been involved and supported our post for more than 20 years.  Oddly enough I am 53 and still considered one of the "young guys".  Our Commander (who recently passed away) got his white hat and 90% of the work was, and is (with the exception of the reporting) done by the Men's Auxiliary.

Our post is a small one and once HAD a Ladie's Auxiliary but couldn't maintin it because of low numbers.  As far as a "combined" Auxiliary is concerned I don't think that will work for those posts that already have an established Ladie's Auxiliary because many of the posts I know that have tham view the Men's Auxiliary as competitors and some have a very bad, and in some cases confrontational, attitude towards the Men's Auxiliary.

There are women at our post who are "Social or Associate" members (I know they are not supposed to exist) who would qualify as Ladie's Auxiliary members but there are not enough of them to creae a charter.  If given the option I am pretty sure they would be happy to join a "combined" auxiliary.

Since I'm posting a comment about Auxiliary matters I'm curious as to what needs to occur for the Men's Auxiliary to obtain formal recognition at both the State and National level?  There are posts in our District that are trying to establish a District level organization but I have been told by the State organization (Illinois) that their activities are flat out illegal.

I understand the financial reasons for VFW Natioanl establishing the Men's Auxiliary but view the fact that I currently pay dues to the State and subsequently the National organization as an equivalent of taxation without representation.

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