The VFW has wandered off mission



Democrat lawmakers recently demanded that the Department of Veterans Affairs restore dedicated LGBTQ+ veteran care coordinators and identity-based programs, putting the fight over gender policy at the VA back in the spotlight. The VA has instead redesignated those positions simply as “care coordinators” serving all veterans and restricted the use of VA resources to promote gender ideology.

As the VA moves away from identity-based programs, the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization has taken a different path.

The VFW’s principles are broad enough to unite veterans across the political spectrum. Abortion and gender ideology do not.

A veterans’ organization should support every veteran. That does not require endorsing every political or ideological position associated with a veteran’s identity. Yet this summer, the VFW again declared “Happy Pride Month” and celebrated veterans specifically on the basis of sexual orientation and “gender identity.”

The VFW has a long and distinguished history. It traces its roots to veterans of the Spanish-American War and helped shape the modern federal veterans system. But in recent years, the organization has also embraced positions on abortion and gender policy that go well beyond its core mission.

The VFW claims it has honored LGBTQ+ veterans during Pride Month since President Bill Clinton’s first proclamation in 1999. In 2019, then-National Commander B.J. Lawrence supported additional VA resources for LGBTQ+ veterans in congressional testimony.

The shift is also visible on abortion. In 2020, the VFW argued that the VA should provide certain abortion-related care. In 2022, it testified in support of H.R. 345, legislation that would have required the VA to provide information and counseling about abortion to veterans facing unwanted pregnancies.

On gender policy, the VFW has continued publishing Pride Month statements. One VFW leader learned how contentious that issue had become after criticizing Pride Month publicly.

The organization’s advocacy deserves scrutiny because policy requests framed simply as “health care” can include deeply contested medical interventions. In past testimony, the VFW demanded expanded resources for transgender veterans. The debate over those treatments has intensified as critics point to the risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgical interventions.

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Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Detransitioners have also brought malpractice claims, including one case that reportedly ended in a $3.5 million settlement. Whatever one thinks of the broader policy debate, these developments make it harder to treat every disputed intervention as politically neutral veterans' care.

The VFW’s advocacy also now conflicts with the direction of federal policy. The VA has reinstated a ban on abortion and abortion counseling in its medical benefits package, while the Trump administration has issued executive orders directing federal agencies and the military to recognize biological sex.

That does not mean the VFW should exclude gay or transgender veterans, or deny that they served honorably. It means the organization should distinguish between serving veterans and endorsing contested ideological programs in their name.

The VFW’s own mission is to “advocate on behalf of all veterans.” Its core values include honoring military service, caring for veterans and their families, and respecting “the diversity of veteran opinions.” Those principles are broad enough to unite veterans across the political spectrum.

Abortion and gender ideology do not. When the VFW takes sides in some of the country’s most divisive moral and political disputes, it risks alienating veterans it is supposed to represent.

The better course is simpler: Fight for veterans’ benefits, health, dignity, and families. Leave woke social causes to the organizations created to fight those battles.

Veterans need a VFW that puts veterans first.

NBA legend calls on Trump to implement mandatory military service



A Hall of Fame basketball player says that mandatory service would help Americans with discipline and structure.

Compulsory service is required in many first-world countries, like South Korea, Finland, and Sweden. While duties and service time vary, many believe the requirement can foster a more responsible citizenry.

'Learn how to defend yourself. Shoot and handle guns properly.'

A former NBA player and champion, 6'10" Dwight Howard recently called upon President Trump to consider implementing a mandatory term of service for Americans.

"I honestly feel like the president should make one year of service mandatory for everyone born in America," Howard wrote on X. "A lot of other countries do it. And I think it would help with discipline and structure."

Howard then asked, "I'm curious what yall think[:] would this help America or nah[?]"

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— (@)

Howard responded to a few reader remarks, including one who suggested such service could be performed during summers while a student is in high school.

In response, Howard revealed his stance on the duration for service.

"Everyone should do a year," he wrote.

Another reader suggested mandatory customer service work for Americans, such as working in "retail, serving, bartending," or answering phones. That notion saw Howard remain steadfast in his opinion that Americans should perform military service.

"I think military service would be better," he replied. "Learn how to defend yourself. Shoot and handle guns properly. The bond and respect for each other would go up."

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Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Following his NBA career, Howard played basketball overseas in the T1 League in Taiwan, where he again became a star. Perhaps this is where his inspiration came from, as Taiwan has a mandatory 12 months of military training for males ages 18-36, according to World Population Review.

Howard has discipline and law enforcement in his family's background; an archived USA Basketball profile notes that his father, Dwight Sr., was a Georgia state trooper as of 2007.

According to Sky News, approximately 80 countries have some form of mandatory service or conscription. Some countries reportedly have mandatory service for women, as well, such as Sudan, Morocco, Mozambique, North Korea, and Sweden.

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Oklahoma governor clarifies after comments about graduates joining Army after high school go viral



Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt clarified his vision for high school graduates in his state after a news report indicated that he wanted them to join the Army if they decided against college or trade school.

As 2024 drew to a close, Stitt began touting his "Classrooms to Careers" initiative, a series of measures that have given parents a $7,500 tax credit for school choice and allowed high school students to study financial literacy, take classes that better suit their college or career ambitions, and earn credit through relevant work experience.

During an interview about "Classrooms to Careers" with KOKH, Stitt further expounded on his plans for educating kids for the future.

"I’m thinking about even making it a requirement to graduate from Oklahoma high schools — you’ve got to either be accepted to college, you have to be accepted into a CareerTech, or you have to be going into the Army," he said, according to a clip of the interview. "You have to have some kind of plan post-graduation to go get a great job."

'I mean, enjoy the lawsuit.'

When KOKH summarized Stitt's statements in an article, however, it took his remarks "out of context," his office later claimed, and implied that he would force graduates into military service if they opted out of college or CareerTech.

In the original article, KOKH said:

Stitt announced Friday that he wants to prepare every student for success in the workforce. … He has some ideas to make this happen, like requiring students to graduate from Oklahoma high schools. Stitt also wants students to have to be accepted into a college. If not college, he says kids should be accepted into a CareerTech. Otherwise, Stitt says a student would have to be going into the army.

Critics pounced on the comments, accusing Stitt of breaking the law by making military service compulsory and of being insensitive to students with special needs and others who may not be well suited for college or trade school.

"I mean, enjoy the lawsuit," commented one X user. "This is a conversation for a child and their parent. Not for the government."

"Your plan is unenforceable, where do you think you’re living ?" said another.

Others on social media even implied "Classrooms to Careers" was some backdoor means of implementing Project 2025, a collection of policy suggestions from the Heritage Foundation for President-elect Donald Trump's second term. Even left-leaning outlet the Oklahoman admitted that possibility was "unlikely."

The backlash prompted a response from Stitt's office.

"The governor would love to see every high school student graduate high school with a plan for their future, whether that be college, CareerTech, military, or workforce," communications director Abegail Cave later said in an email to StateImpact.

"He in no way suggested that kids who don’t go to college would be mandated to serve in the military. ... It was a comment given in a broader discussion about education policy and workforce that was taken out of context in a news story."

KOKH later amended the article to add that Stitt's "office states he is not suggesting mandatory military service." It also added the following sentence at the very bottom, beneath even the readers' comments section: "Governor Stitt's Office wants to clarify that, as of right now, this is just an idea - not an initiative or plan."

KOKH did not respond to a request for comment from KGOU.

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