New commander looks to keep Legion vital
R.D. Kinsey sat at his new desk in the state commander’s office of the American Legion’s Arkansas headquarters for the first time last week.
It had been four days since he was installed into the role, but until a newspaper reporter and photographer arrived to interview him, he’d been too busy to take a load off.
That doesn’t surprise Kinsey’s friends. He’s not much of a sitter; he’s more of a doer, they said.
It was also the first time an African-American sat at that desk in the American Legion Department of Arkansas’ 100-year history. That significance isn’t lost on Kinsey, but it’s not his sole focus.
“For my brothers and sisters in Arkansas to have the confidence in me to lead this organization for a year, it humbles me,” he said. “I don’t see color. All of our blood runs the same.”
Arkansas legionnaires elected Kinsey, 65, to be the next state commander at their annual convention on June 24. It was the natural next step for Kinsey, who has held leadership roles at post, regional and national levels.
The Miami native moved to Arkansas four decades ago after a stint in the Air Force, where he specialized in security. He went to work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, counseling combat veterans as physicians first began understanding the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
He retired in 2000, and four years later, he became the founding commander of American Legion Post 74 in North Little Rock.
“Well over half my life has been devoted to helping and serving veterans and their families,” Kinsey said.
Kinsey leaps from one superlative to the next when discussing the ways the American Legion can serve veterans and their communities. It’s that passion and enthusiasm that his fellow legionnaires say will serve him well as state commander.
Nate Todd, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, is a member of Post 74, and similar to Kinsey, was the first African-American appointed to lead the state VA.
Kinsey’s race, Todd said, wasn’t a factor in his selection to lead the American Legion Department of Arkansas, but it is significant.
“In the military, it’s competency and merit,” Todd said. “[Kinsey] provides a great example to African-American young people that the state of Arkansas in this era recognizes competency.”
The American Legion, like other veterans organizations, has watched its membership rolls shrink locally and nationally with the dwindling population of World War II, Korean and Vietnam war veterans. Kinsey hopes to reverse that trend by attracting younger veterans, particularly those from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He plans to do so, in part, by increasing the department’s connectivity and technology.
The American Legion’s services, such as providing assistance in navigating the federal VA and suicide prevention offerings, can be immensely helpful to younger veterans and their families.
“A lot of young veterans look at us as a bunch of old guys sitting at a bar, but that not all that we’re about,” he said, noting that many posts don’t sell alcohol. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not what all posts are about.”
Todd also sees Kinsey as a possible bridge for veterans of color, who have historically been underrepresented in most veterans organizations.
“There is a history where we’ve had these posts that were probably formed based on segregated communities,” Todd said. “I think R.D. will help transition that.”
The American Legion is the largest veterans service organization locally and nationally, boasting about 14,000 members in Arkansas. The organization is made up of about 15,000 posts worldwide and nearly 2.3 million members spread across the U.S., Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.
The Department of Arkansas was the first in the U.S. to be incorporated in 1919. Membership is open to war-time veterans on active duty or with an honorable discharge.
J.W. Smith, a recent state commander, highlighted Kinsey’s honesty and integrity, adding that’s why legionnaires supported him.
“R.D. took a young post and made it one of the smaller post spotlights in the state that is well-recognized not only for community involvement but also for helping veterans,” Smith said. “That’s what the American Legion is all about.
“I doubt that there are many legionnaires that see color when they see R.D.”