The Ladies Auxiliary for the Veterans of Foreign Wars is now accepting men.
Membership in the 101-year-old organization, founded to aid the venerable veterans service organization in its community outreach efforts, had been restricted to wives and female relatives of veterans, a policy that has sparked criticism in recent years from some who saw it as an anachronism from the days before large numbers women served in the armed forces.
But VFW members voted at their annual convention in July to drop "Ladies" from the auxiliary name and open the organization to male relatives. The group already boasts about 465,000 members, and expects to grow significantly with the change.
"Gender equity is the real issue here," said VFW National Commander John Biedrzycki Jr. "Right now, nearly 20 percent of those serving are women. We know their family and spouses want to be more involved, so our members overwhelmingly approved this move."
Several local and state chapters had already authorized "Men Auxiliaries" in recent years, and other traditional veterans organizations have founded "Sons of" and related subgroups in response to member requests.
But women veterans have long complained that they are assumed to be spouses or daughters of male service members when they attend events with older members, a significant slight as they lobby for better support services from the government and outside groups.
"The time has come for this change," Biedrzycki said. "And this is going to mean more hands, more capacity for the work the auxiliary is already doing."
Auxiliary program director Cara Day said the change in membership policy will not mean a corresponding update in the group's goals and mission.
"We're still here to assist the VFW," Day said. "We're just making that mission more achievable by adding more people."
Applications for new members are handled by local chapters, so officials don't know how many individuals have signed up in the first few days of the change. But Day said several VFW and Auxiliary staffers submitted their paperwork as soon as the change was formalized, and in recent days the office has seen a jump in inquiries about joining.
Last year, auxiliary officials nationwide raised $4.6 million in aid for veterans and active-duty charities and volunteered nearly 800,000 hours.
The VFW counts about 1.4 million veterans as members.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
