Welcome to the VFW WI Judge Advocate Information
| | |
 |
Recent News Entries Quartermaster - What's required for a monthly QM Report? Post By-Laws - A Guide to Drafting WISCONSIN VFW CHARTER & BY-LAWS SHOW US WHAT YOU KNOW! THE CHAIN OF COMMAND |
|
Our Sponsors |
|
The Appearance of Political, Product or Service Advertising on this Network is for Informational Purposes Only and Should not be Construed as an Endorsement.
|
|
Become a Friend of the Department of Wisconsin
Multimedia
| | |
Veterans Resources
Veterans Coalition
News
THE CHAIN OF COMMAND
Posted at 7:51 AM on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 by State Judge Advocate in ByLaws and Procedures
I hope everyone had a great time at this year’s convention. It is always such great fun for our membership to come together for this special event. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you comrades! The State Convention delegates gave me another opportunity to serve our new State Commander Gary Erickson and his administration. This opportunity is my ninth year as your State Judge Advocate.
It is my duty to give the Department Commander, Council of Administration and Department Convention legal assistance, incident to my office, upon request, along with advising on parliamentary procedures. I want to discuss the Chain of Command in this article as we start a new year with new officers.
You might be asking yourself, why is the State Judge Advocate addressing the issue of VFW Chain of Command? Our Department has noticed an increase of individual Post members breaking the chain of command by writing directly to our National Organization on their issues.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization has a chain command built on a proven structure. The Post is the foundation of our organization; we must start at that point. . All complaints must begin at the post level and the member(s) have an obligation to submit their complaint to the Post Commander. Unresolved complaints at the post level are forwarded to the District level. If still unresolved, the complaint forwards to the Department. If Department cannot resolve, the complaint forwards to National. It is subjected to the control of the National Commander-in Chief and the National Council of Administration with final decision resting on the National Council.
What if the chain of command breaks down or the system doesn’t work? What if any one of our levels spins out of control? Do we break the chain of command?
When complaints are submitted directly to our National Headquarters, they are referred right back to the Department. Our Department Commander is asked why they don't have control of their organization at all levels. This causes embarrassment to our State Commander and the Council because they had no prior knowledge. Commanders at any level can’t act without proper knowledge of complaints.
Members may not understand the chain of command or believe that they have a right to circumvent the chain of command. They may claim justification by “opening a can of worms” in a National forum if our chain of command fails them. Others contend individuals who continuously break the chain of command are driven by altruistic goals to improve the system and should be accorded some measure of immunity and protection. None of these reasons are acceptable.
It is so important that individual complaints are handled at each level of the chain of command in the proper order. Each decision can be appealed to the next level of authority. Commanders at all levels must educate their membership on the proper use of the chain of command.
The State Judge Advocate can not intervene in specific Post issues unless so directed by the State Commander. However, he is able to provide general guidance and training in response to questions of general interest and issues.
Got a question? E-mail it to: judge@wi.vfwwebmail.com
Previous Page | Home | Next Page
