Jim Kellogg of Adams elected national vice commander

Convention featured ‘Be the One,’ Space Force, Katrina’s general, Army-Navy game, Taiwan

NEW ORLEANS — James C. “Jim” Kellogg of Adams Post 146 was elected a national vice commander at the 105th American Legion National Convention.

He shared the stage with Gary Leach of California, Charles Robbins of New Jersey, Joe Lysaght of South Carolina and Roger Mathison of Wisconsin. They raised their hands and took an oath.

Past National Sergeant-at-Arms Tom Schottenbauer of St. Louis Park Post 282 nominated Kellogg. He described how his friend was a past commander for the 1st District and the Department of Minnesota and a past department vice commander, historian and sergeant-at-arms.

Schottenbauer said Jim and his wife, Brenda, have four children and 12 grandchildren, all members of the Legion Family.

Kellogg is the chairman of the Department National Security/Foreign Relations Committee. Nationally, he serves on the National Security Council.

He has served in numerous chairmanships and committee assignments and even has been gambling manager at his post.

He served as an aircraft radio repairman in the Air Force from 1969 to 1973 and today makes his living as a farmer.

National vice commanders may preside over meetings of the National Executive Committee or the National Convention, and perform other duties for the commander, including speaking in various states about reasons to join the Legion.

 

Space Force

The convention’s first speaker was Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of operations for the U.S. Space Force.

He began with: “This is what a Space Force uniform looks like.”

He praised The American Legion for its dedication to the cause of liberty, which, in turn, aids the military in its lagging recruitment efforts. He asked the Legion to continue talking to young people about how military service is a great opportunity.

“It’s not about choosing a job. It’s a calling,” Saltzman said.

Space, he said, is more congested than ever.

In 2011, there were 1,000 active satellites and 17,000 manmade objects, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

In 2019, there were 2,000 active satellites and 25,000 manmade objects, and now, he said, there are 9,000 active satellites and 45,000 manmade objects.

“In 2022 and 2023, the world launched more satellites than all the previous years combined. Most are in low-earth orbit,” Saltzman said.

After a pause, he added, “Space is not just congested. It is also contested.”

With China and Russia advancing swiftly in their space programs, a new space race has formed, and standing up Space Force, he said, was needed to defend U.S. interests in space.

He bid farewell by saying “Semper Supra,” which is the Space Force motto. It means “Always Above.” It is also the name of the Space Force song.

 

Medal of Honor recipient

The convention always features Medal of Honor recipients who stand in the photos with the youth programs and military honorees. They say a few words, too.

This year, one man standing in photos was from the Upper Midwest. When given the microphone, he had little to say.

He was Michael John Fitzmaurice of Post 7 in Huron, S.D. He joined the Army from his hometown in Jamestown, N.D., and was a specialist-4 in the 101st Airborne Division on March 23, 1971.

Knowing his story, one asks, “How is this man alive standing here today?”

That day, Fitzmaurice was part of a firefight in Khe Sanh, Vietnam, in a bunker with three other soldiers, with North Vietnamese sappers infiltrating their AO. He noticed three explosive charges had been thrown into the bunker. He hurled two out of the bunker and threw his flak vest and himself over the remaining one. Seriously wounded and with partial loss of sight, he continued to fight the enemy. He charged out of the bunker until his rifle was damaged by a hand grenade. He overcame an enemy sapper in hand-to-hand combat to obtain the man’s rifle, then returned to his fighting position and inflicted additional casualties on the attackers. He refused medical evacuation.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1973.

 

National Commander’s Report

National Commander Dan Seehafer, whose term ended at the end of the 105th National Convention reported that, nationally, The American Legion achieved 100 percent membership.

“This is what happens when you have purpose and relevance,” he said. “Imagine what a more powerful American Legion could do for this country.”

He said 38,000 people took advantage of the three-year membership plan.

He joined the Legion back in Horicon, Wis., after someone in his congregation asked him to join. The reverend thought it would be good to have a place to relax, away from the church life.

At the post meeting, no one wanted to be adjutant.

“I thought I’m good at taking notes,” he said to laughter. “I then learned what it was all about.”

Seehafer praised posts who perform Buddy Checks, and he said the VA now is copying the Legion’s model for doing them.

“This is what I mean when I say The American Legion is changing lives and saving lives,” he said.

He spoke against claim sharks and scammers. He called on Congress to fund the Coast Guard during government shutdowns.

The PACT Act gave a long overdue means for many veterans to have their claims recognized, he said. Now, he understands there is a funding shortage.

“My message to Congress is: Thanks for passing it. Now pay for it,” he said.

He encouraged Legionnaires to tell their lawmakers to take action on funding the VA. He encouraged members to visit legion.org/action and tell Congress to fund the VA shortfall. He was worried veterans might not receive their VA disability payments in October.

Seehafer thanked everyone for coming to New Orleans.

“The American Legion is blessed with people like you. All of you.”

 

Gen. Russel Honoré

Being born free is an accident. To live free is a privilege. To die free is a responsibility.

This was the message of the general President George W. Bush sent to command the military relief efforts across the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

A Creole from Louisiana by birth, he also is known as the Rajin Cajun. His message was fiery and well-received by the convention audience.

After a poor performance by state and local agencies, as well as FEMA, Honoré and his military response was praised for taking humanitarian action and getting the work done after Katrina, including pushing New Orleans police to change their approach toward civilians.

 

Be the One

Auxiliary President Lisa Williamson said the more veterans are willing to talk about the issue of suicides, the more lives are saved.

“It’s OK to not be OK,” she said.

Seehafer said Legionnaires were aware of veteran suicide and now are more aware of how to talk about suicide than they were just a few years ago.

“The American Legion is moving the needle and doing something about it,” he said. “The American Legion had made it so it isn’t uncomfortable to talk about suicide.”

He said it is important for Legion members to care for one another, even when we may disagree at times.

“Your life matters,” Seehafer said.

 

Women veterans

President of the Military Women’s Memorial Phyllis Wilson, an Army veteran, asked female veterans to share their stories of service in the military at the MWM Register. The Register presently has 308,500 military women’s stories and aims to collect 2.7 million.

Visit womensmemorial.org.

The memorial exists at Arlington Cemetery. However, it is not federally funded. The American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary are among its major supporters.

 

Army-Navy football game

A big announcement was made on the second day of the convention. The American Legion has become the official veteran service organization of the Army-Navy football game. Seehafer said this will amplify the message of “Be the One.”

The 125th meeting of the two academy teams is Dec. 14 on CBS. The American Legion is the first VSO to sponsor the game. Read the national story about it.

 

Student Veterans of America

Jared S. Lyon, president of Student Veterans of America, praised The American Legion for its work with SVA. The first SVA headquarters was in the Legion’s D.C. office. The new SVA office in D.C. has the desk that the first G.I. Bill was drafted on, reminding them of the link between the two organizations.

He said the Legion was a place where he found a group of veterans, giving him the inclusion and camaraderie he had in the military. SVA now exists at 600 colleges.

 

Louisiana governor

An Army veteran, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he feels the military today is setting the entrance bar too high. It hurts recruitment and the military might lose out on talented recruits.

He said he isn’t a fan of aimless wars.

“We should never engage in a military conflict unless we intend to win,” Landry said.

The American Legion’s mission of energizing citizens keeps the country strong, he said.

“Patriotism is the very essence of our national identity,” he said. “Never apologize for love of country.”

 

POW/MIA

There are 5,300 MIA remaining in North Korea, reported Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). It’s a federal agency The American Legion is responsible for fighting for its continued existence.

The DPAA budget received a boost in FY2024 from $150 million to $190 million, he said.

The agency, he said, receives strong cooperation from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and it works with partner organizations including the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

In 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes of remains. From those remains, 93 Americans were identified. During his term, President Donald Trump got North Korea to commit to the endeavor of finding American remains.

“Now, silence,” he said.

McKeague reported that China has resumed cooperation, and it has American remains from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

 

Taiwan

Taiwan Veterans Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chen Chin-Kung thanked the veterans in attendance for the service. He said the U.S.-Taiwan alliance is the guarantor of security in the Taiwan Strait. He presented a medal to Seehafer.

 

Military recruitment

A panel of four experts was assembled to discuss the military’s lagging recruitment numbers. Of them, the comments of author and Air Force veteran Ethan Brown stood out as the most outspoken.

He said political scientist Samuel Huntington, in 1957, for his book “The Soldier & the State,” described how universal support for the military resulted in military heroes welcomed in America. Small town. Big cities. College campuses. This, in turn, increased America’s military capital.

Brown said the Global War on Terrorism spent that capital, borrowed credit and abused that resource for two decades. The No. 1 reason: politicization of the U.S. military.

To rebuild faith, the military needs to stick with tried-and-true military traditions based on merit and remain apolitical. He said the military doesn’t want to barely make goal. They ought get the best and brightest.

He also said the military suffers from the REO Speedwagon Effect.

“The young people heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another that there is wokeness in the military,” Brown said.

He said a DOD study found there isn’t an uptick of radical ideology in the U.S. military. Instead, the study found the military to be a microcosm of the USA.

“But the youth get their information from their cellphones,” he said. “If I come from a demographic that is less in touch with facts about the military, I don’t think I want to be radicalized.”

Brown said the Marines are successful in recruitment because they put a high value on being a recruiter. The Army has moved to do that. The Air Force and Navy have not.

“In the Marines, there’s not that stigma of being a recruiter,” he said.

Other panelists brought up factors like: 23 percent of eligible-age Americans cannot join the military because of the obesity epidemic; 77 percent of today’s recruits come from military bloodlines; praise for the Legion for supporting young people going into the military.

Panelist Patrick J. Murphy, former undersecretary of the Army, moderated. He said there are many positive results that can be said for veterans: Not victims, more likely to be employed, more likely to volunteer, more likely to start a small business. Major companies like FedEx, Wendy’s, Nike and Walmart were started by veterans.

“We need to tell our own story, get it out there,” he said.

 

Resolutions going nowhere

At the Minnesota Caucus on Monday, Aug. 26, many delegates talked about their frustration with resolutions being referred or even dying in place.

They said they wished all committee chairs would provide copies of resolutions beforehand (some did; some didn’t). Sometimes, they said, there was no explanation why an action took place.

One delegate said, “We wanted them to tell us why.”

Adjutant Mike Maxa said he would bring their frustrations up at the next meeting of department adjutants.

 

New national commander

On the final day, the convention elected Jim LaCoursiere national commander.

“‘Be the One’ is personal and meaningful to me and not a slogan or catchphrase. It is a mission statement,” he said.

In 2017, he was in a dark place, he said, and headed in a bad direction in life. He got arrested for drunken driving, which cost him his national chairmanship and almost cost him his job. His wife was livid, so he went into VA rehabilitation.

The American Legion members in his home state of Connecticut reached out and said they would be there to support him when he got out. LaCoursiere has not consumed a drop of alcohol since Oct. 21, 2017.

He hails from Post 91 in Moosup, Conn.