Legion National Commander visits Thermopolis

The American Legion National Commander Vincent J. “Jim” Troiola paid a visit to Thermopolis to meet with local Legion members during a lunch meeting on May 23. Troiola explained his purpose in coming to meet local Legion Post 18 members. He said, “I’ve been visiting small Legion posts in small communities since September last year. That’s a goal that I had because I felt that the smaller Legion posts did so much work in the community and they didn’t get national recognition for it. Come and talk to the members and see what they’re doing.”

One of the significant National Legion programs is called “Be the One.” Troiola explained, “We started “Be the One” about four years ago. We started initially as what we call the buddy check. So buddy check is pretty simple: contact the veteran and check on their well-being. And that evolved into Be the One. Be the One basically is to remove the stigma of a veteran stepping forward looking for help. A lot of them won’t step forward… They’re afraid of repercussions, maybe because if they own firearms they would have to give them up or their families may leave them. It’s things like that. If we get them to step forward from a Legion Post standpoint, we have 12,000 in the United States and make them into resource centers in their local communities. We can get them help in their community before they even get to go to the V.A. Some places they’re short-staffed. They may have to wait five, six, seven weeks to see a mental health therapist. All these communities have local help. You know, suicide is not just constrained to veterans, it’s everybody. We’re trying to get the community involvement in this program. It’s not just the American Legion. It’s everybody. And we feel that if we do that, we can start saving veterans’ lives one at a time.”

Troiola went further to explain how they are raising awareness of Be the One and the National Legion through their sports sponsorship by sponsoring an Indy race car. Troiola said, “This year is tremendous.” The racing is broadcast on NBC and each race gathers about six million viewers. Troiola said, “We want the nation also to be aware of their suicide awareness programs because without the help, we can’t get it done.” Recently at the Indianapolis racetrack during the Grand Prix race, their driver won. Troiola added that corporations and nonprofits are trying to get involved with their cause. 

Regarding national legislation, Troiola said that they have been working on the Pay the Coast Guard Act so that the Coast Guard members will be paid in case there is a government shutdown. In 2019, there was a government shutdown for 31 days and the Coast Guard did not receive pay because they fall under Homeland Security, not the Department of Defense. Troiola said Homeland Security never appropriates funds to pay them in the event of a shutdown. Their proposed legislation will incorporate the Coast Guard to receive funds. 

Another series of causes Troiola mentioned is how the American Legion has many programs that reach out to the youth. One is the National American Legion Oratorical contest where students give speeches and another is Boys State, in which thousands of boys across the country come out and they run a mock government for a week. There is also American Legion Baseball, American Legion Junior Shooting sports, Girls State, and they also sponsor scouting.

Troiola said, “It makes you feel really good when you see them standing up on the stage speaking about the Constitution from memory, for 10 minutes, which is a pretty long time. And how they do it and how expert they are, you realize we’re in good shape. We’re going forward with these kids and they’re gonna become leaders.”