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Conatser
Calling all citizens
Legion commander meets vets, addresses all Americans
by Madeline Masters,
Press And Journal Staff
: 3/26/2008
Being the leader of 2.7 million veterans is a lot to handle.
“I consider them all friends,” Martin ‘Marty’ F. Conatser, the National Commander of the American Legion claims.
Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Conatser was the guest speaker at a meeting of the American Legion Post Number 594 in Middletown on Tuesday, March 18.
Conatser, a Vietnam era veteran, came to Middletown to share issues being discussed on the national level and in the community with his legionnaires. He made remarks on new funding for veterans, scholarships for children of fallen veterans, and the state of the Iraq war.
Serving one’s fellow citizens seems natural to Conatser. “I think commitment to what I believed in has always been important to me; I guess you can call that activism. I call it being a citizen,” he said.
Pennsylvania’s Legion Department divides the state into three regions: West, Central, and East. Out of the entire Central region, Middletown Post 594 was chosen for Conatser’s visit. “It is a reward to the post to have the national commander spend some time there,” said Conatser, “I’m sure you’ll hear all about things that this post does for its community. ... It has supported a lot of issues,” he added.
One of the Legion’s initiatives is to give loans to small business owners whose enterprise has floundered or closed because the owner was called to active duty. “We’re lobbying the Small Business Association for loans specially designed for veterans,” Conatser explained.
The Legion also plans to divide up $20 million to dependent children of service men and women who have died since Sept. 11, 2001. The money will be used to provide those children a college education.
Conatser recognizes the importance of education to young people and the advancement of their careers. “The real truth of the success, of my success, I believe, is education,” he said, “It’s preparing me to be the national commander of the American Legion.”
For the national commander, the war in Iraq is one of the most important issues Conatser discusses with his legionnaires. When asked about his predictions for Iraq in the future, Conatser said, “I believe there will be a major troop withdrawal within 12 to 24 months. I think that the stabilization has started; I think that the progress has started. Do I think there will be some military presence there for the foreseeable future? Yes. Now, is that [a] combat presence? I don’t think so.”
Conatser also said, “I had the opportunity to talk to some local Iraqis, and I learned more about Iraq in general, and my conversations with people, than I got from the newspaper, and [than] I got from all the reading I had done before I got there.”
He added that visiting Iraq allowed him to see where progress is and is not being made. “I came back with some different attitudes than when I left,” he said.
Conatser plans to make another trip to Iraq in April. “I want to go talk to ... the young soldiers, and they’ve got no reason to tell you anything but the truth,” he said. “I never ran into a soldier in Iraq that felt we should be out of there that day.
And that says a lot,” said Conatser, “Many, many of the soldiers see the good work they’re doing, ... and I have to stand with my soldiers,” he added.
Visiting Iraq was just one trip of many Conatser has made since he was elected national commander last August.
“We try to make a stop in every state of the country, and we do some foreign travel,” Conatser explained. As for foreign countries, he has been to Japan, Korea, Germany, the Philippines, and others. “We’ve got veterans all over the world,” and Conatser wants to reach out to all of them.
But the most important part of Conatser’s job is to represent the ideals of the American Legion. “To be able to take our platform and move forward with it is the most demanding part of this job,” he said, “The American Legion is working on a multitude of issues right now.” Conatser’s advocacy has brought him to the White House six times since last August, he claims.
Despite extensive political involvement, the American Legion does not support a particular political party or candidate. Conatser, representing the Legion’s position, urges Americans: “Become an informed voter, not an emotional voter.”
He recommends that citizens look at candidates’ voting records and see how they have voted on key issues.
“Anyone can say anything,” notes Conatser, adding, “Don’t listen necessarily to all that is said, because all of these candidates have a voting record.”
In some ways, becoming national commander is like running for political office; Conatser is responsible for representing his legionnaires
“On a daily basis, I’m the spokesman for the American Legion, 2.7 million veterans. ... It’s my job as the commander of the organization to represent those positions. ... So, that is a responsibility, to make sure that I know what our position is on a certain situation, and that I fairly represent them and understand them as the national figure. It’s very important to do the right things.”
The role of national commander of the American Legion is in many ways different from other posts of power.
First of all, the national commander may only serve one term, and that term is only one year long.
But the reason for this limitation is understandable: Being the national commander can sometimes be grueling.
“The demands are so much, and this year, I will be home to sleep in my own bed probably 12 to 16 nights of the year,” Conatser said. “There’s a lot of things that – it’s almost comical if you say them out loud – that you have to deal with everyday,” he said. Those included, he noted, trying to have enough clothing packed for 50 days or so.
When asked why he joined the American Legion and decided to campaign for the post as national commander, Conatser explained, “As I grew up ... there were two organizations that ever did anything good that I saw in my community ... and that was the American Legion and the Masonic Lodge. Those were our active organizations. So, it was just natural, as I grew up, to become part of the American Legion, and help my community through the American Legion. And the more I got involved, the more I saw the great things we did.”
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