Responsibilities of the Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars

The VFW aims to honor and serve American military veterans.US flag image by Eishier from Fotolia.com

Veterans of Foreign Wars is a service organization that aims to honor deceased American military veterans by providing services and support to living veterans, serving the community and supporting the American national defense, according to the organization's website. Each chapter, or post, has a specific leadership structure. At the top of a VFW post's leadership is its commander, who has specific responsibilities to carry out.

Preside Over Meetings

One of the most important responsibilities of a VFW post commander is to preside over all post meetings. The commander must follow the rituals prescribed in the VFW Manual of Procedure for conducting meeting opening ceremonies, discussing business and conducting meeting closing ceremonies. The commander must also ensure that all business during meetings is conducted in accordance with VFW bylaws and procedures.

Appointing VFW post committees and post officers is a responsibility that falls to the post commander. The commander appoints committees, committee chairs and any post officer positions that are not elected by the membership.

Any proposed spending of VFW post funds must be approved by the post commander beforehand. The commander counter-signs all checks made out from the VFW post fund. He also makes sure that the post quartermaster, or treasurer, provides a monthly written record of all spending and revenue.

Participating in membership recruitment and retention efforts is part of the VFW post commander's responsibilities. Each post commander must encourage eligible veterans to join their local VFW post, and he must also help maintain post membership.

Each VFW post commander must ensure that any reports the post files to district or national VFW offices are completed and submitted in a timely manner. The commander should also make sure that the reports filed are accurate and have been properly filled out.

The commander is also required to attend district VFW meetings. Veterans of Foreign Wars post commanders must perform all of the responsibilities prescribed to them to maintain their role as post commander. If they do not complete their responsibilities, they could be removed from office.