Wisconsin Post 279 conducting Coffee with the Commander Nov. 12 to reach out to community veterans and their families.
After becoming a member of Luther-Hamshire-Pearsall American Legion Post 279 in Marshall, Wis., this year – and as a relative newcomer to the organization – Cindy Brosig started researching American Legion programs and came across Buddy Checks.
But in her experiences, she’s also found that some veterans who carry emotional baggage with them from their military service can become stressed when visiting somewhere that reminds them of that service – such as an American Legion post.
So, she came up with a compromise in order to provide Buddy Checks on veterans in her community: Coffee with the Commander, which will take place Nov. 12 at Cottage Rose Coffee. For two hours, Brosig will be available to talk with veterans and show how they can receive support from the Legion. Information on potential veterans benefits also will be available.
“Some veterans, and even some family members, have expressed that going to a facility that represents a military establishment, like going to the actual post, can sometimes bring some stressors,” Brosig said. “It maybe reminds them of their time when they served, and they don’t have that great of memories. Sometimes putting a foot inside somewhere that represents a military institution can be aversive to them.
“So, we’re not forcing them to do that. And we’re supporting a local business. I really like that.”
Brosig, a former U.S. Air Force nurse, said by hosting a Buddy Check session, rather than reaching out to each veteran, allows those veterans to move at their own pace.
“I just felt that sometimes for veterans, it’s good to give them the opportunity to approach us, instead of us kind of hounding them,” she said. “It kind of gives them the feeling of not being pressured. And also, I’ve found in my experiences just talking with people … that veterans sometimes want to stay out of the public eye. So, if I can just be there and let them choose to approach, it might be a less-pressure way.”
Coffee with the Commander is open to the public, and Brosig is encouraging veterans’ family members to attend. “I want to reach family members, because they are the folks that are firsthand,” she said. “I feel like they are offered support … but sometimes they are afraid to express any concern because that could impede upon the servicemember … still being deployable or fit for duty.”
Brosig is hoping to conduct two Coffee with the Commander events a year and move the next one to another local business. But she said that Buddy Checks need to be ongoing.
“I think it helps remind us back to our service days when you automatically checked in,” she said. “But then when you’re not in that establishment in any kind of formal manner, you tend to get lost. That’s just my personal opinion.
“But I feel like every day is a Buddy Check day. And it has to get out there to the public. But for starters, it’s just to get people to understand what it is. We’re all in this together.”
- Buddy Check