American Legion supports increased defense spending
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.>> National Vice Commander Vincent J. Troiola talked legislation and veteran issues during Thursday’s American Legion luncheon at the Holiday Inn.
Troiola, who commands the Northeast Region of the American Legion, spoke about veterans affairs medical centers.
“The doctors are the best in the world. We call it the system worth saving, but what we want to make sure is that any employee in the VA that’s cooking the books, making veterans wait for long doctor appointments be held accountable for what they do,” said Troiola. “Right now it’s very hard if somebody is doing misconduct to take any disciplinary action and that could include termination.”
The national commander could not attend the dinner because he was in Kansas City, where he commemorated the 100-year-old anniversary of United States declaring war on Germany, entering World War I.
Every year the American Legion hosts a dinner for grass roots members, which was held
Thursday night.
“We come here and we let the grass roots level membership know so that when they visit their elected officials on Capitol Hill or the New York State Senator Assembly that they can lean on them for what we are looking for,” said Troiola.
A major talking point was America’s defense budget.
“Our troop strength right now is at pre-World War II levels and we want to make sure the United States is ready for any kind of conflict that we have,” said Troiola. “That we’re not short handed and we don’t go in there with the wrong amount of people and to make sure all of our equipment is up to date.”
Troiola said the American Legion is 100 percent behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase the defense spending budget by $54 billion.
“We have probably 200 less ships than we had 10 years ago,” said Troiola. “The troops’ strength is way down and our air craft is aging and we want to make sure everything is brought up to speed.”
The American Legion has existed for nearly 100 years.
“We were founded by the World War I veterans. At the close of World War I they were in France waiting to be shipped back home and they got together and they said ‘you know, in previous wars and conflicts the veterans had developed a camaraderie and friendship there and they didn’t want to let it go,” said Jim Casey of the American Legion. “There was a bond there that they didn’t want to break. And they thought that the best way to help them and not only help them but to help the guys who lost legs I mean world War I was horrific with injuries, legs and arms and stuff and in order to help them they didn’t want to be forgotten so they banded together and started talking about what they would do and they came back here and created the American Legion.”
Over 2.2 million veterans create the largest wartime veteran service organization in the world.
Over 51 percent of the 2.2 million members are Vietnam veterans.
The American Legion was founded on four pillars: national security, veteran’s rehabilitation, Americanism and children and youth. This year the commander’s project is called temporary financial assistance (TFA).
“Anybody that comes out of the service and they come home to find out they don’t have a job anymore, or something’s wrong with their house, what we do is provide grants for those families as long as its a wartime veteran that has minor children under the age of 17 at home,” said Troiola. “We will supply them grants to keep them going, to help them out, whether to pay their rent, or food, whatever it is.”
The American Legion supports different clubs like boys and girls state, boy scouts, junior shooting sports and American Legion baseball.
The American Legion also donates money through various grant programs such as providing scholarship money for children of those injured in combat.
Every August the group American Legion Riders rides from Indiana to wherever the yearly convention is to raise money. Right now over $10 million has been raised.
Troiola said the American Legion comes to Saratoga Springs every year to communicate to people at the grass roots level.