Marine Corps League National Headquarters

[Lisa 23]

HISTORY OF THE <br />
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE <br />
<br />
The League is a veterans organization of the United States Marines. It is composed of Marines and former Marines with honorable service. It aims to perpetuate...

[MAG266165]

Thanks for the post! The Marine Corps League oath also makes excellent reading and in my opinion, should be prominently displayed in all detachments as a reminder of the ideals it contains.

[Lisa 23]

That sounds like a good idea MAG266165!
They need to be reminded about the oath that they took when they where installed to become a Detachment officer. There are some that want the position, but don't want the responsibilities that come with it.

[MAG266165]

I'd also like to see any new member's DD214 forwarded to national for verification once the local detachment has reviewed it. A "grandfather clause" would only be partially effective here because the problem of bogus 214's has become serious, especially in a situation where one of the individuals I refer to is a court-recognized expert on the forging of documents. I'm sure there are probably others, but I know of two offhand who have become detachment officers, Marine of the Year, Pedigreed Devil Dog, etc. who never earned an EGA in any capacity. This would be bad enough, but these characters do little for the detachment that doesn't involve some form of personal reward and have publicly worn fantasy rank and ribbons on dress blues at color guards. One even became a Department Commandant. Due to a lack of standardization in detachment by-laws, the membership does not get to nominate its leaders or MOY in this area. Instead, past detachment commandants (in some cases relatives) tell the members who will fill these positions. The predictable result has been an exodus of the most productive members, including nearly the entire auxiliary at one meeting. We delude ourselves if we believe that other veterans organizations don't notice these things. Among Marines, the local detachment has become their best recruiting tool.

[Lisa 23]

This was just discussed at the National Mid-Winter Conference, 7-9 Feb, held in Falls Church, VA.


The NEW MCL membership application forum....
http://www.mcleague.com/mdp/pdf/ApplicationForMembership_2013.pdf


And you can also find the NEW MCL membership form, after page 46, in the JAN/FEB issue of the Semper Fi magazine.

[MAG266165]

Were any recommendations made? Having 214's verified by national wouldn't involve much expense at all. I know a senior VA official who is able to access and verify anyone's DD214 from his laptop almost instantly.

I noticed the wording in the new application and started an informational thread on it. It's good news but the problem in this area has become so advanced that the league's cedibility has been badly damaged. Anyway, it's a leadership problem and all we peons can do is make the higher-ups aware of the situation.

[Lisa 23]

The body was in favor of the new changes to the application form.
All that was discussed is that this is the new MCL application that everyone is to use now. If a new member is going to join a Detachment and he or she doesn't want to provide a copy of their 214 to National, which by the way will be kept in a vault and the National Executive Director will be the only one to handle this, the member will become an Associate member until he or she provides the copy of the 214 to National.
You can make as many copies of the new MCL membership application as you want, but the wording is not to be altered in any way if you were going to type up one of your own.

[MAG266165]

Thanks again! It's good to know that some progress is being made and I'll get the word out.

[Lisa 23]

No problem....... glad I can help out!

[MAG266165]

Hey Softball! I talked with some buddies and none of what you've told me has come down through official channels. Thanks to this forum we have a better understanding of the efforts being made on the league's behalf.

God bless and Semper Fi!

[Lisa 23]

Glad I can help!


For more info, try checking with your Department Commandant (I'm sot sure if I met Dept of Missouri's Commandant) or your Midwest Division Vice Wendall Webb. I do know Wendell Webb.....great Marine!

[MAG266165]

Our Department Commandant is probably the reason for the tightened membership requirements so there isn't likely to be much help from that quarter. District was content to let one of our disabled combat Marines be suspended from the league for two years because he insisted on seeing proof of service for this individual, completely ignoring league rules for due process. This was overturned with prejudice by national. At a meeting with the local detachment, District threatened to revoke the detachment's charter for members requesting proof of service for this individual (to refute her own statements) and also a district officer stated that "anyone with one day's service is a Marine." Strange times, these.

[Lisa 23]

We all know that one day of service does not make one a Marine. Some people just don't get it.....

[MAG266165]

We lost a lot of members and the active participation of more after that statement. It's comforting to know that the league has taken the steps necessary to prevent the repeat of a major screw-up. The number of M-A-L's in this area has increased considerably and we have our own informal group, but all believe in the league and its mission. Better days are coming!

Semper Fi!

[Lisa 23]

If there are 20 or more M-A-L's, they can probably start a new Detachment, that is if they want to.

A lot of members think that National just sits around and does nothing, when if fact, they are working very hard to make the Marine Corps League one of the best organizations out there!

[MAG266165]

If we were to start one, it would have to be entirely separate from department and district. Given that proviso, we have an abundance of retired Marines who avoid the present situation and it's doable.

Thanks very much for the good word from national! Events of the past month have restored its credibility to a lot of us.

[Lisa 23]

You're Welcome!!!

[Rocky C]

Great Thread Lisa.

You are a credit to the " United States Marine Corps " and the " MCL " for posting this and your dedication to both.

Alot here will learn from your thread.

Job well done.

Hand Salute :flag:.

Semper Fi Sis,
Rocky

[Lisa 23]

Thank You very much Rocky!!! I appreciate that!!!
Love ya big brother!!!


I will do my best to answer any questions that anyone may have about the Marine Corps League....and if I can't answer them, I'll try and point you in the direction on who I think could help.

Semper Fidelis!!! :flag:

[MAG266165]

All that I've learned on this thread is new knowledge in our area and it has been communicated. Why the changes in policy weren't circulated from department level is anybody's guess. Fortunately, a league member noticed the change in the wording of the new membership application or we'd still be ignorant of the change in eligibility. In terms of getting out the word on new league policy in our area, this forum has been the MCL's most effective tool and a hearty "well done" is clearly in order.

God bless and Semper Fi!