Brad is the Department of Washington’s National Military Services Chairman and a member of Post 3617 in Wenatchee. Brad was kind enough to come over the pass and speak to us in the April meeting about the various services that VFW provides to our active duty and recently discharged service personnel. The NMS unites three successful, longstanding programs: VFW Operation Uplink, VFW Unmet Needs, and the VFW Military Assistance Program (MAP).
Operation Uplink initially began by providing free phone cards to deployed service members. It has since evolved into providing “Free Call Days”. To date, it has provided 6.4 million free connections for service members and their families.
Unmet Needs was formed to assist service members and their families who run into unexpected financial difficulties as a result of deployment or other hardships directly related to military service. Grants of up to $2,500 can be applied for under this program.
MAP is the link between VFW and the active military. Under this program, Adopt-a-Unit has been a huge success. The goal of this program is to support units before, during, and after deployment. Literally hundreds of units around the world have been supported by the VFW.