VFW leader urges soldiers to join

Idaho has a rich tradition of military service and this week it will be honored by a visit from a high-standing member of Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Leanne Lemley, president of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, is in Rexburg to talk about some of the biggest issues facing returning troops.

She’s concerned with the number of troops who are not joining VFW.

The new wave of soldiers coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq seem to be sticking to themselves more than other groups who have returned home from war.

It’s a difficult transition, shown recently in all it’s gritty glory in documentaries like “To Hell and Back Again”.

Returning from war can be the most difficult thing a soldier will face.

The battle to fit back in with their families is sometimes more emotional than any overseas battle.

That’s why groups like the VFW have all kinds of resources and programs set up specifically for these veterans and their families.

Leanne Lemley wishes more young men and women would join up. In fact, that’s the auxiliary’s mission this year.

“We desperately need their young ideas,” said Lemley.

They’re focusing on bringing this new influx of vets together by using technology.

“We’re trying to get our post homes more technically savvy, maybe even do meetings on the computer,” said Lemley.

She said young families today are so busy, it can take a lot of time for a soldier to find his place again.

So they try to speed up the process a little bit.

“We’ve got to find a way to get them involved. Make it friendly, so the children can come and have a play area,” said Lemley.

Sherry Boettcher-Camphouse works with the VFW in Rexburg. She once had seven family members actively serving in the military.

“This is my way to serve them for what they do for me,” said Camphouse.

That underlying theme continues through Lemley’s national theme for this year, which is “serving from the heart for our veterans”.

Women make up nearly 20 percent of the military right now. Those returning soldiers are able to join both the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary arm.