{"id":58902,"date":"2018-09-16T22:22:45","date_gmt":"2018-09-16T22:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/16\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:29:24","slug":"female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2018\/09\/16\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\/","title":{"rendered":"Female veterans push for eligibility for spouses to join American Legion Auxiliary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The veterans of American Legion Post 204 \u2015 the \u201cService Girls\u201d \u2015 as they\u2019re known in their Pacific Northwest home, are speaking out about the American Legion\u2019s membership policies, which currently exclude the spouses of female veterans in every branch of their organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former commander of Post 204 and 35-year Army veteran Carrol Stripling is getting ready to file a third resolution with the American Legion since 2015. Her first two resolutions were denied. Stripling said the denials were representative of a culture that hasn\u2019t always respected the needs of female vets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t want our service undervalued any longer,\u201d Stripling said at a June 23 meeting in Bothell, Wash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 1946, Post 204 is one of the few all-female American Legion posts across the country. Located in Washington state, the post is open to any female service members who\u2019d like to join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe call ourselves Post two-zero-four \u2015 never two-oh-four \u2015 because it makes [people] remember our name and who we are,\u201d said Sandy Cooper, a retired Air Force veteran and the first female USAF fire chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a woman veteran, you can\u2019t be average. You have to be better than the men to get respect,\u201d Cooper continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Respect is why Post 204 came into being. Born out of what the women said was a need for sharing in a way only female vets can understand, the service members said they support each other in and out of meetings without judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But they said they also have a looming concern about the organization that has come to offer them so much comradery: they want the same benefits their male counterparts are offered. They want their husbands to have a place within the American Legion organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elizabeth Bissett, Air Force veteran, echoes the concerns of the other members. \u201cI want to be able to have a male auxiliary \u2026 all of us are in the same boat and we don\u2019t have an official auxiliary,\u201d Bissett said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The American Legion history<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since it was chartered by Congress in 1919, the American Legion, or The Legion, is the largest wartime veterans\u2019 nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to The Legion\u2019s website, it was developed by \u201cwar-weary vets from World War I\u201d and it quickly grew into a unique reprieve for service members to connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The organization offers a network for vets to grow friendships, bonding over volunteering events and activities, as well as unifying members through shared experiences. The Legion prides itself on patriotism and support for its 2.4 million members across the nation, according to its mission statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Legion Auxiliary (ALA), developed the same year as The Legion, is a club for spouses of male veterans, as well as daughters of veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Essentially, it\u2019s a place for women to lend support for each other and their service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ALA offers similar kinship and events, offering \u201csupport to The American Legion and to honor the sacrifice of those who serve\u2026\u201d according to the ALA mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likewise, The Sons of the American Legion (SAL) is an organization that offers membership to sons of veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While these organizations have independent rules and statutes which dictate membership eligibility, all are inclusive to most relatives of veterans. But none offer memberships to spouses of female veterans, despite a growing concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Female membership in the military<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1948, the Women\u2019s Armed Services Integration Act was passed by Congress, allowing women to have a permanent place in the military. But long before it was a law, women have inserted themselves in military efforts dating back to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.history.org\/history\/teaching\/enewsletter\/volume7\/images\/nov\/women_military_timeline.pdf\" target=_blank>late 18th century<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/article\/demographics-us-military\" target=_blank>women represent<\/a> 16 percent of all enlisted service members and 18 percent of officers. These numbers are up from 1973, when women represented 2 percent and 8 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The influx of female armed service members over the last 40 years are not reflected in the American Legion\u2019s membership policies, which haven\u2019t changed since it began in 1919, despite The Legion\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/news\/index.ssf\/2013\/07\/local_american_legion_posts_re.html\" target=_blank>declining membership numbers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there are more active female Legion members today, there\u2019s still no place for their spouses to gather in support of their service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know, my husband has said to me, \u2018if there were other husbands here that I had a way to network with, we could go out and have a golf outing or we could do this or that,&#8217; so there is a need and an interest in networking,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Membership eligibility and the American Legion Auxiliary<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The complicated issue of changing policy to include male spouses of female vets in the ALA is determined by different factors. These factors dictate how and if the constitution of the American Legion Auxiliary can be amended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ALA National Secretary and Executive Director Mary \u201cDubbie\u201d Buckler <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amlegionauxwi.org\/Membership\/2015-2016\/ALA%20MembershipEligibiityLimitations-Explanation_NS7-31-15%20(2).pdf\" target=_blank>released a statement<\/a> in 2015 on the subject: \u201cThe American Legion Auxiliary is a separate corporation, incorporated as an all-female organization with our own Tax Identification and our own IRS Group Exemption independent from The American Legion. As such, we cannot amend our American Legion Auxiliary bylaws to change membership eligibility because our Articles of Incorporation filed with the government already prohibits it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She went on to say: \u201cThe American Legion Auxiliary is both incorporated and constituted as an all-female organization and our national governing documents cannot conflict with The American Legion\u2019s governing documents. The American Legion National Constitution Article 13, Section 2 specifically limits membership in the American Legion Auxiliary to females, as specified consistently in everything published stating membership eligibility criteria. Therefore, any changes to membership eligibility in The American Legion Auxiliary would first require a constitutional amendment to both the Legion and ALA constitutions and an amendment by the federal government to the IRS Code, which is considered very unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vets of Post 204 say the long explanation is an excuse by the American Legion and the Auxiliary so they won\u2019t lose their standing as a federal charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019re worried about losing their federal charter. If you leave [the tax code] the way it is, nobody can mess with it,\u201d Stripling said. \u201cBefore we went to Panama and Grenada, the Legion went to the IRS and said, \u2018You know, we are all dying, we will have no members \u2026 so let\u2019s let some of those Cold War veterans in\u2019 and the IRS said, \u2018Sure.\u2019 \u2026 So you can see it\u2019s a misnomer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another explanation came from the American Legion Frequently Asked Questions Guide in a 2013 document citing that the need for male spouses to have a separate auxiliary would be arbitrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In direct response to the question of why female spouses don\u2019t have a separate organization, the document read: \u201cOver the last few years, Internal Affairs has had a few resolutions on male spouses of female veterans (either to join SAL or to establish a separate male auxiliary) that were considered by various Convention Committees and all were rejected \u2026 it was unanimously decided that the American Legion is a wartime veterans\u2019 organization and not a social organization. Each of the three organizations has specific requirements for membership with specific purposes and to add spouses either male or as defined by specific states would not add value to our organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American Legion Auxiliary headquarters did not respond to further questions on the subject of membership eligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What comes next?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Master Sgt. Kacie Chiappini, a current Air Force reservist from the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, Ohio, said she joined the American Legion because it was a way to bond with her WWII veteran grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy grandfather was the last WWII [veteran] still living that was a member at our post and we would meet him there a lot before he passed away. He loved it there \u2026 but it was mostly [him] that got me going there,\u201d Chiappini said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like the women of Post 204, Chiappini shares concerns over why her husband can\u2019t join the club where she\u2019s had so many fond experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo me, it\u2019s mostly principle,\u201d Chiappini said. \u201cIt needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chiappini brought the issue up to her commanding officer Lt. Col. John Boccieri. Boccieri is a also a member of the American Legion and a former U.S. congressman in Ohio\u2019s 16th District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI, too, was startled by the fact that the American Legion will not permit spouses of female service members to join the auxiliary organization. Permitting a family to honor all veterans in such an esteemed organization as the American Legion can only strengthen the respect we pay to all veterans, whether male or female,\u201d Boccieri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The movement for change is in early stages as more female vets question the policies of The Legion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the women of Post 204 want vets like Chiappini, and every other female service member, to have the opportunity for a male auxiliary in support of their service in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stripling, Cooper and Bissett shared their frustrations over previous efforts to file resolutions and how their voices, seemingly lost before having a chance to use them, may not be enough to spark the necessary measures of change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese resolutions we filed, they go to committees, but sometimes they don\u2019t even reach the committees because the staff pulls them,\u201d Stripling said. \u201cThe committees are appointed, but you don\u2019t know which committee sees the resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the coming months, Stripling will file a third resolution with the American Legion, hoping this time it will make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI just think that changing the culture of The Legion will help change the whole culture in the military. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for,\u201d Stripling said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The women say they won\u2019t stop until The Legion recognizes the need for a male auxiliary in support of female veterans, whose service is just as valuable as their male counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna fight. And we\u2019re eventually gonna get it,\u201d Bissett said<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former commander of Post 204 in Washington state is getting ready to file a third resolution with the American Legion since 2015. Her first two resolutions were denied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":100537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,25,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2987],"class_list":["post-58902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"4A5HJX47WBDX3FIIYICXBLHEG4","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/09\/16\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Female veterans push for eligibility for spouses to join American Legion Auxiliary - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The former commander of Post 204 in Washington state is getting ready to file a third resolution with the American Legion since 2015. 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Her first two resolutions were denied.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2018\/09\/16\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-16T22:22:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T12:29:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Courtney Blackann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Courtney Blackann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Female veterans push for eligibility for spouses to join American Legion Auxiliary\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-09-16T22:22:45+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T12:29:24+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1638,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/service_girls_am_legion.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/16\\\/female-veterans-push-for-eligibility-for-spouses-to-join-american-legion-auxiliary\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Female veterans push for eligibility for spouses to join American Legion Auxiliary - 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