• Officers Reports
• 1st Vice Commander
• 2nd Vice Commander
• 3rd Vice Commander
• NEC
• NECA
• Adjutant
• Assistant Adjutant
• Finance Officer
• Sgt-at-Arms
• Chaplain
• Judge Advocate
• Assistant Judge Advocate
• Historian
• Service Officer

Sgt-at-Arms

September 2023

First, I want to thank all the Posts that supported me in my bid for re-election as your Department Sergeant-at-Arms. It is greatly appreciated, and I plan on representing ALL Posts in our Department. And remember, if you want some Sgt-at-Arms training for your district, please let me know.

In the meantime, I am going to use this forum to provide some answers to some of the questions I have been asked over this past year. Here are three of them. “Can the members of the S.A.L. give the military salute? The S.A.L. is only authorized to render the military salute when wearing their official S.A.L. Cover. If they do not have their S.A.L. cover on, then they must salute with their right hand over their heart. I have been to many District and Post meetings and installations around the state and have seen members of the S.A.L. rendering the military salute with no cover on or a ballcap on.

“Being that the Riders are a program of the American Legion, can the Auxiliary members and Sons that are not dual members (see the answer to Sons above) give the military salute?” The answer is NO. Before you were a rider, you were either an Auxiliary or Sons member. You follow the rules associated with your particular unit in the American Legion.

“What is the proper order to display flags at meetings or in a display at the Post.”

Order of Displayed Flags (Peace Time)

Even though the Coast Guard is older than the Space Force and Air Force, it does not fall under the Department of Defense. It is part of Homeland Security. This is why it is displayed last.

Order of Displayed Flags (Times of War)

During a time of declared war, the Coast Guard then became part of the Department of Defense.

Displaying Flags in Your Meetings

When using the POW/MIA Chair, there is no need to display the POW/MIA flag on a stand. If you are not using the POW/MIA Chair, place the POW/MIA flag to the left of the American Legion Flag.

I hope everyone had a great summer, and if you went to the National Convention, I hope you had safe travels to and from Charlotte. Myself, Jamie Grinis and Bob Bober represented our Department as National Convention Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms.

Les Martin
Sergeant-at-Arms
sgtatarms@legionmail.org