Notes from the Adjutant's Desk

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

I’m hoping that you all have a great and safe holiday season.  The Lincoln Post 3 business office will be closed from December 19th to January 5th.  If you require help from the adjutant, please call or text 402-480-8542

I want to thank all the Post 3 members who came out to take part in the 7th Annual Lincoln Veterans Parade.  It was nice to have Jerry Landkamer, the American Legion’s National Vice Commander for the Midwest Region, come to Lincoln and march in the parade with us.  Vice-Commander Landkamer is a member of Norfolk Post 16 --- but a former member of Post 3.

The Nebraska Department of Veteran Affairs has been trying to present a special medal to all of Nebraska’s living WWII veterans.  If you know a WWII veteran who has not received this medal, please let us know.  This medal has been made specially for Nebraska’s WWII veterans.   The Post 3 Honor Guard and other post members have been able to attend a few of these presentations.

2026  Renewals:     On November 18th, Post 3 stood at 698 paid members for 2026. We need about 250 new or renewed members to meet our 2026 goal.  Department Life Members currently are down to 44 members, with 15 members who have joined the Post Everlasting during this Legion year.   

Online Renewals:  91 have renewed online (one for three years). Those who took advantage and renewed for three years should not have received a renewal notice.  Those who are regular PUFL (Paid-Up-For-Life) members, you should have received your 2026 membership card directly from the National Headquarters.  If you have not received your 2026 card, please let us know.

To date, we have four “new” members, four “transfers in,” and four “transfers out.”   Current Post 3 membership is made up of 11 WWII, 92 Korea, and 465 Vietnam veterans --- the remainder being those who served since 1975.

For those who did not renew for 2025, you were classified as expired on January 1st.  You probably stopped receiving The Legion magazine, and you could be denied entry into a Legion Club.  For those who were in the Legion Insurance program, your coverage also ended as of the 31st of December 2024.  You must be a member in good standing to be covered.  It’s not too late to renew for 2025 ---- and then for 2026. 

American Legion Insurance:   It is easy to do.  Just go to their website and enroll.   Legion Insurance covers you while you are traveling to a Legion activity

Military Service   We continue trying to update our membership roster as to branch or service and the war era that you served.  National has been printing on the back of renewal slips the data that is in the Legion database.  Please check and add or correct as needed so we can correct our database.  Thanks to all who have supplied or updated their information; it makes it so much easier to reach out to you if needed. (We’d also like to have your date of birth on file.)

VSO Websites to Visit:  Nebraska’s Department of Veterans Affairs, VFW, DAV, and AMVETS websites.  These websites are a great place to find current and helpful information on what Congress is currently working on and how it could affect you as a veteran.  The VA website has many tips on filing claims and

links to other VA services to which you are entitled.  The VFW, DAV, etc. do an excellent job of keeping track of Congressional activities that can or will affect veterans. 

VA News (veteransaffairs@messages.va.gov):   The Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs and your local County Service Office are here to serve you.  They can pull up your records of military service and help track any claims you may have filed.   If you have not visited with your service officer, now would be a great time to stop and visit with him/her.  The 2025 Nebraska Legislature may have passed legislation that affected you and your benefits.

Membership:  We need to talk with our younger troops who have served since the Gulf War.  They will become the backbone of our VSOs in a few years.  Without these younger veterans, we will no longer have a strong voice in Congress.  Without a strong voice in Congress, we will keep losing

funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the VA Health Care System.

If you are a member of this group of veterans or know a veteran from these conflicts, please ask them if they are a member of a VSO (veteran service organization) and, if not, ask them to please join.  They may not be using VA services now, but may wish to in the future --- and then find that VA

services have been cut back due to a lack of a strong voice in Congress.

We thank them all for their service and for being members of Post 3 and the American Legion. 

Ed Schnabel 

Post 3 Adjutant

Merry Christmas!

Remember --- There might be limited appointments during the Christmas and New Years holidays at the Lincoln Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) or other local clinics.

The Lincoln CBOC is now closing at 5:00 PM.  Be sure you double-check times for appointments after 5:00 PM.

Flu shots are now being given through walk-ins, or urgent care.  When you have an appointment, you will be asked if you wish a flu shot or to update any other vaccines that show up as overdue on your VA health records.

One of the most asked questions I receive is, “Where is the Finance Office?”  Sorry to say, but the Lincoln CBOC does not have a finance office on site.  If you have a billing question, you will have to call the number that is listed on the 

co-pay notice you might have received.  You should find a finance office in most of the VA Hospitals, but they may have limited hours.  This is true for the Omaha VA hospital.

Currently, there are no mask requirements at VA clinics and hospitals. 

Masks are available for those who wish to wear them at the front doors of the clinics.

Express Care, a walk-in service, is for those who wish to have a nurse check out minor items.  Times might be different at your local clinic, so give them a call and see if they offer Express Care (walk in) service. This care is available to those who might wish to see a VA nurse without an appointment during normal hours.

The Lincoln Clinic treats about 300 patients a month as walk-ins.

A Christmas tree will be up soon at the Lincoln CBOC.  If you wish to donate a gift, please stop by the clinic and pick up a tag from the tree.    Return your unwrapped donation to the clinic with the tag from the tree.  

The food drive to collect food items for our homeless veterans in the Lincoln area is still ongoing.  Items requested are shelf-ready, power bars, and easy-to-open items (pull tabs), etc.  Please do not bring in food items that are past their expiration date as they must be thrown away.   A can opener would be nice.  

Other items that our homeless veterans could use are hygiene care items.  They should be the small size that would fit easily into a backpack.

As the weather is changing from fall to winter, our homeless veterans could use warm clothing --- hats, gloves, underwear, etc.  Volunteer Services has a list of the most requested items.  In Lincoln, they can be reached by calling 402-486-7938 or texting Ty.Andrews@va. gov

The VA can use more volunteers at your local clinic or hospital. You can volunteer to help veterans in a local clinic or hospital or veterans’ home. Or, you can donate to your local clinic, hospital, or veterans’ home. They can always use a monetary donation, or you can donate activity bags for younger kids to have when they come to the clinic / hospital with a parent for their appointments. There is always a need for the younger kids who come with parents, grandparents, etc., when too young to be left at home alone.

Clinics / hospitals can always use books, magazines, etc. for patients. You would need to check with your local hospital / clinic / veterans’ home volunteer office to see what items they need or allow. This would be a great project for your church, school, or youth group.

Hours given by the volunteers are credited with saving the VA Health System at Omaha, Lincoln, and Grand Island an equivalent of 25 full-time staff employees. This is based on an hour of service being credited at the rate of $31.50 per hour.

The only animals that should be brought into a VA Health System clinic / hospital are trained service animals that qualify under DAV requirements. Other pets or comfort animals do not qualify and should be left at home.

With the signing of the PACT Act, more veterans have become eligible for services, not only for those who served “boots on the ground,” but anyone who has served since the Gulf War.  If you have any questions, call your local service officer, VSO, county, or state. It only takes a few minutes to see if you might qualify for an increased rating or a new VA disability rating.

The Veterans Affairs website is a great place to visit. You can find out the latest information affecting veterans. You can track claim status, file for travel pay, view your VA account, payments received, or copay owed. You can make the co-pay payments online.

Thanks for your service to your fellow veterans and thanks for your service

to this great country.

Ed Schnabel

American Legion Representative (Lincoln CBOC)