Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information

How To Perform A Buddy Check

Buddy Check: Now More Than Ever

With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that is affecting us all, the Buddy Check program is perhaps more important now than ever before. The idea is to connect with veterans who may need assistance but don’t know where to go or who to ask.

Information on meeting or program changes are being posted on the:

Calendar Pages

Please send any information about district, area or department meeting or program changes to webteam@calegion.org.

Please carefully consider the information provided on this page to make prudent and healthy decisions at your level to diminish the impact of the Coronavirus on our Legion Family, our veterans, and our community/state/nation.

• • • 03-31-2020 National Commander’s Coronavirus Update
    • Veterans Health Administration – Office of Emergency Management COVID-19 Response Plan
    • The American Legion – Coronavirus Updates
    • Veterans have multiple resources available for the latest COVID-19, or coronavirus, information.
    • Coronavirus: Resources, Updates, and What You Should Know. – Treasury Department
    • 03-19-2020 – California United Ways COVID-19 Relief Fund
    • 03-19-2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California
    • 03-19-2020 – Coronavirus: What Veterans Need to Know
    • 03-16-2020 – National – Coronavirus Update: 3-16-2020
    • National Commander Urgent Message about Coronavirus
    • CA Governor Newsom Asking Home Isolation of those over 65 years old and asking all bars to suspend operations and restaurants to socially distance patrons
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Information
    • Questions and Answers about Coronavirus

Department Coronavirus Information – PDF

American Legion Leaders:

Due to recent concerns regarding the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on our organization, I am sending you this communication on behalf of Department Commander, Ed Grimsley, and the department leadership. At the bottom of this email are links to the most recent communications from the CDC, CA Governor, American Legion, and American Legion National Commander. Please go to the links to best inform yourself.

The information in this email regarding the Coronavirus outbreak is broken down into the following categories:

Post Operations

• • • Lounge Operations
    • Buddy Checks

District/Area Operations

• • • Meetings/Gatherings

Department of California

Program Operations

• • • Boys State
    • American Legion Baseball
    • Department American Legion College – Postponed – the new date will be posted when selected
    • Department Convention

Office Operations

• • • Headquarters – Sanger
    • Regional Veteran Service Offices – Oakland; Los Angeles; San Diego

Please review the information provided and make appropriate decisions.

Post Operations

According to our Constitution and Bylaws, post operational decisions are made by the post.

Meetings/Gatherings

Decisions regarding timing and manner in which meetings are held are directly the responsibility of post leadership. If you choose to reschedule or cancel a member meeting due to Coronavirus concerns, the department is not concerned and will not pursue such rescheduling and cancellations as an issue to pursue in regards to the requirement of each post to hold a minimum of ten meetings a year. Please go to the links provided below and make conscientious decisions regarding holding activities/gatherings/meetings. Many of your active members are over sixty-five and therefor a member of the demographic being asked to conduct home isolation. If meetings are conducted, please exercise reasonable consideration in planning the event in order to follow the best practices outlined in links below.

Lounge Operations

The Governor is asking for bars/lounges to close. Please review the impact of continuing this aspect of your post operation and make reasonable decisions which accommodate the impact of your decisions on your post, patrons, and your community at large.

Buddy Checks

Now more than ever, calling your members by phone to check on them is a great practice to implement and use.

District/Area Operations

Meetings/Gatherings

Same concerns regarding post meetings apply to district and area events. Please contact your district leadership https://calegion.org/contacts/district-contacts/  or area leadership https://calegion.org/contacts/area-leaders/ to determine status of meetings and possible cancellations and rescheduling. We are asking district and area leaders to submit amended schedules as they occur at https://calegion.org/contacts/area-leaders/ in order for these changes to be noted on the department website www.calegion.org.

Department of California Program Operations

Boy’s State
No decision regarding whether to cancel Boy’s State (held in late June) will be made until late April – Mid-May. If a decision gets made to cancel Boy’s State, an email will be sent to all selectees, their families, and to all posts. 

The District Boy’s State Orientations
are cancelled until further notice.

Currently, information is being developed to replace the need for district Boy’s State parent/attendee orientation meetings. This information will be available on our website and attendee families will be provided the link in order for them to get the information previously provided in the physical briefing.

American Legion Baseball

No decision regarding whether to cancel the American Legion Baseball tournament will be made until May. If a decision gets made to cancel the tournament, an email will be sent to all posts.

 Department American Legion College – Postponed, the new date will be posted when selected.

California American Legion College is scheduled to occur March 27-29 in Fairfield. While the number of attendees falls under the number of attendees recommended to cancel events, leadership will be assessing impact and making a decision regarding conducting the event now or rescheduling later in the calendar year. Attendees and facilitators will be notified by Friday.

 Department Convention

No decision regarding Department Convention (held in late June) will be made until late April – Mid-May. Please continue to pay deposits and fees as scheduled until new information becomes available regarding the event.

Department of California Office Operations

Headquarters – Sanger

Until further notice, headquarters operations will continue as scheduled with the exception that visitors are discouraged to physically visit the building. Deliveries can be made, but with few exceptions, all business with department headquarters should be conducted by phone, mail, and email.

Regional Veteran Service Offices – Oakland; Los Angeles; San Diego; VA Hospital Offices

Staff will be following the protocol outlined by the building they operate out of. If Service Officer office locations are closed, the closure will be communicated on our website and in the weekly leadership email. If a closure occurs, staff will continue to get paid, and are directed to isolate themselves in order to remain healthy and be able to return to work as soon as their offices re-open.

Thank you for your patience to the length of this communication. Please consider the information provided and make effective and productive decision at your level to diminish the impact of the Coronavirus on our organization, our veterans, and our community/state/nation.

• • • National Commander Urgent Message about Coronavirus
    • CA Governor Newsom Asking Home Isolation of those over 65 years old and asking all bars to suspend operations and restaurants to socially distance patrons
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Information
    • Questions and Answers about Coronavirus

Keeping California Unique & UNITED

Paul M. Brown
Department Adjutant

Author: Web Team

Rick is a veteran of the Marine Corps and served during the Vietnam War era. He serves as a Technical Advisor to the Media and Communications Commission. He is a member of the Department Web Team. Rick received the Otto Hasse Legionnaire of the Year Award in 2016, Department of California Award for work on the department website in 2019, and in 2023 Rick received The American Legion Medal of Merit from the Department of California.