{"id":22609,"date":"2018-11-19T21:19:36","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T21:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/19\/this-group-speaks-for-the-forgotten-vets-that-nobody-hears\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:18:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:18:43","slug":"this-group-speaks-for-the-forgotten-vets-that-nobody-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/newsletters\/2018\/11\/19\/this-group-speaks-for-the-forgotten-vets-that-nobody-hears\/","title":{"rendered":"This group speaks for the forgotten vets that \u2018nobody hears\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was one thing to hear members of her veterans organization use offensive language during casual conversations at the local post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after former American Legion post commander Lindsay Church<\/a> hosted a leadership meeting at her home in Seattle and heard racial slurs used offhand and in official meeting notes, she decided enough was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She resigned her position and in fall 2017 went on to co-found a new group for veterans like her, a gender-nonconforming lesbian, and others who have felt ostracized and out-of-place in more traditional, mainstream veterans groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of feeling different,\u201d said Church, who was a linguist in the Navy from 2008 to 2012. \u201cI just want to be a veteran, but I also want to recognize that other things play into my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minority Veterans of America, a new national nonprofit headquartered in Seattle, provides a safe, inclusive environment for all former service members, with a specific focus on giving a voice to LGBTQ veterans, veterans of color, religious minorities and women veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Minority Veterans of America is a burgeoning group aimed at helping veterans of all kinds have an inclusive veteran space to interact.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Church describes it as \u201ca flag for people to come together under\u201d and an organization \u201cbuilt on the ideas and the energy of the people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlone, we\u2019re getting screwed,\u201d she said. \u201cAlone, nobody hears us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization, still in its infancy, has about 550 members and is growing. With a team of leaders in Seattle and elsewhere, Church hopes to have several chapters in cities across the country up and running in 2019. These will provide innovative programming for minority veterans, including help for military-induced trauma. The chapters will also help veterans access benefits, provide volunteer opportunities and, of course, host fun events and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s perfect for Will Booth, a Gulf War-era Air Force veteran and Alaskan native, who said he\u2019s struggled to fit in veteran organizations in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the early years, when I came out (of the closet) \u2014 or accepted the reality, I should say \u2014 everything was still stereotypical old boys\u2019 club,\u201d said Booth, who helped draft the military\u2019s former policy known as \u201cDon\u2019t Ask Don\u2019t Tell\u201d while in uniform. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to fit this particular model. If you don\u2019t fit this, don\u2019t even bother walking through the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, he doesn\u2019t drink beer, which seems to be a popular activity at other vet groups’ meeting houses, he said. He has also found some organizations to be too political for his liking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Booth heard about MVA, he was on board with the concept: \u201cReally just be there for one another \u2014 not judge one another like a lot of the older organizations that are still working off of by-laws that were written in the 1920s,\u201d he said. \u201cSociety\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lindsay Church (Minority Veterans of America)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

American Legion spokesman John Raughter said his organization has always been open to people of all races, religions and genders. Women could vote for the Legion\u2019s national commander before they could vote for president of the United States, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an organization derived from the American people, we have faced many of the same challenges as society at large,\u201d then-Legion National Commander Denise Rohan said in February statement. \u201cLike all communities, we have posts that shine, and a few that have challenges. We are not perfect. … I can unequivocally state that we reject discrimination in all of its forms. It is antithetical to who we are as Legionnaires, and I expect that every one of our members treat each other with the dignity and respect they deserve as veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars, another of the largest and oldest veterans groups, said the organization has diversity within its leadership ranks at the post, district, department national levels and disrespect of any kind is not tolerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegarding (MVA), we welcome them, and we hope we can work together to make things better for even more veterans, service members and their families in the future,\u201d Davis said in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy veteran Francheska Salazar is a legislative fellow with the VFW and speaks highly of her experiences within the organization and others, such as Student Veterans of America and The Mission Continues. But still, it can be difficult to break into the \u201call-boys club\u201d at times, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even at the Veterans Affairs Department, she\u2019s been asked if she\u2019s the spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou try to break into those like, \u2018Hey guys, I know that I haven\u2019t been in the sandbox, but I still served my country, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t