Commissions & Committees

According to the National American Legion website,

“The commissions and committees of The American Legion are composed of volunteer Legionnaires, backed by national staff. Together they do the work of the Legion, carrying out its resolutions and programs. Over the course of a year, each commission and committee records successes and growth.”

DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA COMMISSIONS & COMMITTEES

Department Commissions and committees oversee specific areas of operations and/or specific programs of The American Legion. Commissions and committees are clearly defined in ARTICLE XI – COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES of the Department of California bylaws with a short description of the commission’s purpose and function. The amount of time a Legionnaire may serve on a Department Commission or Committee is stated in the department bylaws, it is the best resource on this topic.

The Department Commander appoints the Commissioners and committee members, the Chairman, and Vice-Chairman for each commission, they are then ratified by the DEC. Commissioners and committee members serve at the pleasure of the Department Commander.

Report Form: Commission Chair and Committee Chair

COMMISSIONS versus COMMITTEES

• COMMISSIONS: Most commissions have six commissioners, who represent the Legion Area where they reside (i.e., Area 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). There are 27 commissions in the Department of California with one commissioner appointed from each of our 6 areas.  Our American Legion Baseball Commission is the exception, with 2 commissioners from each area.
• COMMITTEES: The Department Commander appoints members of Department Committees. The number of Committee members is either specified in the Department Bylaws or by the Department Commander. Committee members traditionally serve a one-year term and may be reappointed.

COMMISSION WEB PAGES

Every California commission has a web page on the Department of California website, links to them are below. The Web page content is a commission’s responsibility, and page content specific to California is preferred.. The Department Web Team will assist the commission in getting the best possible page content posted, but it is the commission’s responsibility to provide the content.

Consider the commission web page as an opportunity to market the good work being done by our commissioners. When our Legion Family understands what our commissions do, the easier it is for them to support our commissions.

Listed below are a few commission web pages will give you an idea of the kind of content you may want to share on your commission web page:

• Constitution & Bylaws
• Media and Communications Commission
• Scouting Commission
• Veteran Affairs and Rehabilitation (VA&R) Commission