‘Sky’s the limit’ on Buddy Checks

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will conduct the first National Buddy Check Week from Oct. 16-20. VA is encouraging the participation of all American Legion members, as is National Commander Dan Seehafer, who recently issued this Commander’s Message underscoring the importance of the initiative.

In fact, The American Legion began its Buddy Check program in 2019 after its National Executive Committee passed a resolution calling for the twice-annual wellness checks on fellow veterans. Since that time, the Legion’s Buddy Checks have expanded so that posts and members can conduct them at any time. To date, at least 1 million veterans have been reached through the Legion’s Buddy Checks.

For resource material on how to conduct a Buddy Check, download this kit. And join The American Legion and VA for a kickoff webinar on Oct. 16 at this link.

Recently VA Secretary Denis McDonough spoke with The American Legion about Buddy Checks, their relationship and more.

Question: As we talk, VA’s first National Buddy Check Week is just under a month away. Tell me about what your expectations are for the week, and how American Legion post and members can be supportive in these measures.

Answer: The idea is as simple as it is profound. I'm a non-veteran, but I see this in vets all the time. In every interesting corner of the country, every interesting thing that is happening, there's a vet involved. Vets are unbelievably generous. And they're constantly looking out for each other, but sometimes they won't ask for a little help if they need it.

So what the Buddy Check says is, "You know what? I'm not going to wait for you to ask. I'm going to just check in on you." So our expectation for and our hope out of Buddy Check Week is that simple act of connectivity among veterans reminds vets of that thing that so many of our vets feel that is missing since they took off the uniform, which is their connection to a larger mission.

Question: Looking ahead after the first National Buddy Check Week, what would you like veterans to take away from it and apply in the future going forward?

Answer: VA has a program called Peer Support. That’s where vets who have come through recovery, substance use disorder, are looking out for other vets who might be in a different stage of recovery.

And that's based on a simple concept that's really powerful from all sorts of well-established precedent and clinical trials about managing substance use disorder. That connection to a mentor is a really important opportunity for truthful relationships and watching out for one another.

So what the Legion has shown us here is that from Buddy Check, there are going to be certain organic connections that continue no matter what. Because what we've seen with The American Legion doing it the last several years is that rekindles connections, and those connections are very meaningful for our vets.

But then also, I'm confident we're going to see is the follow on effect, which is the buddy who gets a call is going to think to himself then, "OK, I hadn't thought of this. I'm going to call my buddy." And so there's a virtuous cycle then that comes out of it, too.

This has been true at VA since our founding — we're watching and learning from vets. We're watching and learning from our partners like The American Legion, and just emulating what you're doing. The sky's the limit on what we're going to learn from this.