Post Officer Duties
&
Responsibilities

Our Commander has many duties, the most important of which is to inspire the growth and strength of our Post. Our Commander assesses the overall Post position and figures out what needs to be worked on. Another duty for our Commander is to supervise all of the duties of the officers of our Post. It is our Commander’s responsibility to preside over the Post meetings. Our Commander sees to it that programs implemented by our Post is carried through to completion. Our Commander also familiarizes themselves with all of the policies and traditions of our Post.

• Requirements – integrity, leader, initiative

• Presides at Post meetings & controls agenda

• Supervision of Post Officers – builds a Team

• Ensures Legion Programs are moving forward

• Enforces Post Constitution & By-Law’s

• Coordinates with Auxiliary, S.A.L. & Riders

• Communicates with community leaders

• Mentors & trains replacement

Our Adjutant holds the same relative position in the Post as a secretary of any other organized group of people. The position of Adjutant serves as the “First Sergeant” of our American Legion Post.  Most Post activities revolve around our Adjutant. While the Commander’s duties are more inspirational and executive, our Adjutant’s duties are more administrative. Our Post’s Adjutant is the personnel officer, the intimate contact with our Post members. These duties include maintaining membership records of our Post, minutes of meetings, checks up and assists the work of the other officers and committees, and publishes official records, announcements and instructions. Our Adjutant keeps all of our Post records in a system in which he/she sees fit to well serve the Post’s needs.  The office requires a great deal of work but can be very rewarding in the growth of any Post.

• Requirements-Honesty, Willingness, Bondable

• Post administrator – submits remittals timely

• Handles all Post correspondence

• Maintains all Post records

• Publishes official announcements & instructions

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Assist other Officers & Committees

Our First Vice Commander’s duty is to step up if the Commander cannot perform their position for one reason or another. The First Vice Commander’s focus revolves around membership. The need for membership in any post is vital to its success and therefore the First Vice Commander works diligently to obtain as many new members as he/she can during the year. The First Vice Commander studies ceremonial procedures and protocol for regular meetings since he/she will probably have to run a meeting or two during the year.

• Requirements – positive attitude, initiative

• Responsible for all aspects of Post membership and creation of the written Membership Plan and provides a membership report at all meetings

• Chairs the Post membership committee

• Knowledgeable of Post Commanders duties

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Performs other duties as needed

The main job of our Second Vice Commander is to boost moral within the post and make sure the every member is pleased to be part of the American Legion and their post. The members  of the post are to have fun while at the same time working to improve the American Legion, the Second Vice Commander is the leader in this and it is a very important job and is always looked at closely by the post.

• Requirements – enjoys planning social events

• Contributes regular Press Releases for the Posts Social Media

• Responsibility for building an “I like my post because…” atmosphere

• Plans Post activities

– Patriotic observances

– Entertainment

– Speakers for meetings

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Performs other duties as needed

The Finance Officer holds a very important responsibility of the posts finances and must be experienced in handling financial and accounting affairs. As with any post, our post relies solely on finances and does well with the expert advice and management of its finances by the Finance Officer. The Finance Officer usually serves as the chair of the finance committee and is in charge of receiving and distributing our posts funds. Our posts Adjutant and Finance Officer work closely together to financing our post events and programs.

• Qualifications – Integrity, Experience, Bondable

• Chairs Post Finance/Budget Committee

• Receives & deposits all funds & maintains finance records

• Adheres to budget as approved by membership

• Provides written monthly finance reports

• Completes IRS and other reports as required

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Performs other duties as needed

Our Service Officer is our biggest connection to the nation and the community. Through the Service Officer, our Post can provide our community with many unique services to veterans and other community members. With our Service Officers national connection, our Post is able to keep up to date with all the services available to veterans and programs that could be implemented within our community to benefit all. Our Service Officer works closely with the veterans affairs and rehabilitation committees as well as the children and youth committee, Post employment officer, and the hospital visitation committee.

• Qualifications – availability & responsiveness

• Provides Post members with their rights & benefits they have earned

• Knowledgeable of working thru Legion channels

• Contributes regular Press Releases for the Posts Social Media

• Knowledgeable of agencies and resources available in the community

• Mentors & trains replacement

• The value of the Service Officer increases with their length of service

The Chaplain need not necessarily be a clergyman, but must be a person capable of moral and intellectual leadership and one who gives dignity and respect to the office. The chaplain should be in close touch with the commander and other post officers, and should attend all meetings of the post executive committee. The leadership in many post activities belongs by right to the chaplain, and when this office is filled by the right person, the post’s usefulness to the community greatly increases.  Our Chaplain is a huge leader in our Post and is our moral leader in ceremonial services and patriotic occasions. With the right person, the position of Chaplain greatly improves the usefulness of the Post in our community. The chaplain should work with the post historian on grave registration work and inspire the post to decorate veteran graves, especially on Memorial Day. Besides officiating at post members’ funerals when requested, the chaplain can serve their bereaved families.  Our Chaplain works with families of deceased members to see that all their wishes are taken care of.

• Requirement – Moral & Intellectual leader of the Post, brings dignity to the office

• Assists with: Patriotic Observances

  •  Dedication Ceremonies

  •  Funeral Services

  •  Visiting the sick

  •  Nursing Homes & Hospitals

• Contributes regular Press Releases for the Posts Social Media

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Performs other duties as needed

The Judge Advocate supplies professional advice in the conduct of post business or to procure proper counsel. This officer is the guardian of the constitutional form of post government. The Judge Advocate can also supply valuable assistance to other post committees and officers, and should maintain contact with local government officials.  The Judge Advocate commonly has the duty, with others, of auditing post financial accounts. This is done annually, usually before the election of officers, or more frequently at their discretion.

• Qualification – knowledge of Roberts Rules

• Chairs Post C&B-L’s committee

• Advisor for conducting Post business

• Conducts annual Post audit

• Retains professional counsel when required

• Responsible for the orderly conduct of disciplinary procedures

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Performs other duties as needed

Our office of Historian is of growing importance. It is a suitable position for a past Post Commander to serve. Our Historian works closely with the Adjutant. Our Post Historian keeps in close contact with the Department Historian to keep records up to date. It is important to our Post that all.

• Requirements – enjoys working with history & assembling scrapbooks

• Contributes regular Press Releases for the Posts Social Media

• Compiles and records Post records

• Prepares annual yearbook/scrapbook

• Attends Post functions & documents events with narrative and photographs

• Mentors & trains replacement

• Performs other duties as needed

The key to interesting post meetings is using the executive committee effectively.

Government and management of the post is entrusted to the executive committee. It should meet regularly or as often as the commander deems necessary. In some cases, the post executive committee is further charged with assisting in hiring employees, authorizing and approving all expenditures, hearing reports of post committee chairpersons, and providing business oversight over post affairs.

Delegation of these functions to the executive committee is in no way intended to usurp the powers of the membership through regular post meetings. Rather, this allows the routine business affairs of the post to be handled outside of post meetings. Committee reports and other issues of general interest to members should be handled during post meetings.

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The post meeting that becomes bogged down in arguments on petty details is interesting only to those engaged in the conflict.  This is why a post constitution should provide for a full group of post officers, as well as an executive committee.