VFW leaders are working hard to change the organization's stodgy image among active duty troops and reservists -- and to reverse perceptions that the local VFW post is some fading relic of the past.

"The motto of the VFW is honoring the dead by helping the living," said Dick Chumbler, post commander at VFW Post 6691 in Fraser. "But the image for younger kids is some fat, old fart from World War II with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth and a beer in his hand."

Many VFWs have reached out to younger soldiers, even while they still are serving, said Ken DeBoer, 57, commander of the Bruce Post in St. Clair Shores.

"When we send care packages over there, we include applications, and if they live in our area, we actually pay their membership for the first year."

Troops whose spouses encounter household emergencies can count on help from local posts. For example, tens of thousands of troops have used telephone calling cards distributed by the VFW's Operation Uplink since 1996.

Some posts offer laptop computers, digital cameras and Web cams so soldiers and Marines can stay in touch with loved ones at home, said VFW spokesman Jerry Newberry.

Another misconception? That the group has been on a slow decline. Newberry said, the organization peaked at 2.1 million members in 1992 and still is strong with 1.8 million.

An influx of veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the Balkans campaign, as well as from ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, helps keep the numbers healthy.

And the VFW hasn't been noticeably stymied by limiting membership to those who have served in a combat zone; traditionally, only a small fraction of troops actually serve.

"If you don't look out for your rights and benefits, nobody else is going to," Chumbler said. "They love you when you're defending them, but when you come home, it's the VFW and American Legion who stand up for your rights."

"They're going to need to be in an organization like this, so they can protect their benefits," Mitchell said later. "If they aren't, they just eat it up in Congress."

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