Dept. CDR's Update (February 8th)
- Todd McKinley
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
The first shoutout this week are to the Posts who are working membership, working the programs and making a difference. We're more than a month into 2026 and the cold spell will soon leave us and we'll be staring at Spring before you know it. Bear that in mind and stay warm, stay safe, but once this weather has moved on, we need to bear down and make up for lost time.
The second shoutout goes to SAL Member and Department Legislative Liason Reed Bull for making the dean's list at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). Join me in congratulating him.
Weekly Schedule
Membership
As of Friday, February 6th, we hit our 85% membership goal, 5 days ahead of schedule and now stand at 85.11% of our membership goal. We now have a little more than a month to hit the 90% mark and with your dedication and hard work, we'll make it ahead of schedule again. I believe we're 1 of 20 or 21 departments who've made every membership goal thus far, but we still have a long way to go.
Voter Voice
We did it again, we finished another month in 3rd place, thank you.
Legion Family Day on the Hill (March 12th)
The deadline to submit items for our department legislative agenda has came and went. At this point, we're putting the finishing touches on it and I've sent to the to the Department Executive Committee for their input.
To Good Not to Share Again
I've decided to leave this up for another week.
On January 29th, I made my 3rd appearance on Caravan to Midnight w/ John B. Wells. John's show is heard on thousands of Salem Radio Network stations and is streamed and downloaded the world over. I was proud to speak on behalf of myself, with my intent to promote the American Legion and given the thousands of comments across social media, I believe I did a decent job. Yes, Mr. Wells had every right to stray into partisan politics, but I didn't jeopardize the good name of the American Legion and endorse one side (left v right) in anyway. Plus, I gave a disclaimer at the beginning, and in no way did I represent the national organization. When given nearly an hour and a half of national airtime, I would be a fool to say no. I personally thank Mr. Wells and his awesome wife Brendi Wells. John first mentions me at 1:09:16 and I'm introduced and begin my part at 1:37:32.
A Few Key Times:
1:39:48 American Legion Disclaimer
1:40:00 Americanism Pillar & Illegal Immigration
1:41:00 Leaving the Service
1:43:00 Join the American Legion & Why
1:44:35 How to Be Heard
1:45:00 Nonpartisan
1:46:00 Top Issues
1:47:00 Keep the VA
1:49:00 Mandatory Retirement
1:49:40 Army ROTC
1:50:35 ETS’ing
1:51:35 PTSD
1:52:00 Mental Health & Be The One
1:53:00 Modern Warfare
1:55:00 Lack of Humanity
1:56:00 Homelessness
2:11:00 Keep Your Promise
2:12:45 Homelessness Again
2:14:00 Chemical Exposure
2:15:00 Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans
2:17:45 Called to Serve
2:21:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt
2:21:40 Purpose, Direction, and Motivation
2:22:40 Women’s Veterans
2:27:48 Desmond Doss
2:28:17 National Security
2:28:58 American Legion Disclaimer
2:29:03 End of Life Care
2:30:20 It’s the Office
2:37:35 Oaths Never Expire
2:39:00 Stop Rioting & Corruption
2:40:30 Do Your Research & Vote
2:40:45 Reach Out to Me
2:42:00 Law & Order
2:43:50 American Legion Preamble
2:44:50 Purpose, Direction & Motivation
2:45:10 Re-Purpose
2:45:30 Coherent Message
2:46:40 Be Heard
2:48:40 VSOs Can Help
2:49:00 We Stand in the Gap
2:50:00 Finances
2:52:00 We Have the Skills
2:54:00 A Commander in Chief that Cares
2:54:30 American Legion Riders
2:55:14 Join/Renew
2:55:44 Contact Me & I’ll Help
Note: The American Legion is a 501c19 Veterans Service Organization. Any opinions given by me are my own and doesn’t necessarily represent the greater national American Legion or every Member of the Department of Tennessee. In fact, the views given were my own.
Be The One
I realize this part will not make anyone want to buy a book, but every penny is being donated to support the Be The One Commission.
To help end suicide in all demographics, stop bullying in our schools, combat Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Military Sexual Assault Trauma, and more we officially launched Tennessee’s Be The One Commission to End Veteran Suicide on August 16th. To help fund the commission I wrote a book titled “Those Left Behind: Veteran Suicide and My Late Best Friend Brad Bush” and hoped I would’ve sold more copies by now, but I’m plugging along.
Read more about the commission: www.toddmckinley.com/post/betheonetn
Read more about the book: www.toddmckinley.com/book
Full disclosure!
I purchased 200 books at the author rate totaling $775 just before the Department Convention in 2025, where I sold 24 books at $15 totaling $360. Add to this $20 in donations, bumping the total for the weekend to $380, which I donated to the Department Chaplain at convention.
Mainly through online sells I can happily report I’ve recouped my up-front cost of $775, and on August 16th donated $445 and an additional $45 on August 24th from in person sells directly to the Be The One Commission. I’ve also sponsored to have Brad’s name appear on Ed Bray’s racecar the past 2 years at a total of $600.00 ($300 annually). Although Ed said he would put it on anyway, I felt Brad wouldn’t have wanted a freebie on an issue like this. I’ve also sat for several interviews on many different platforms promoting the book and the American Legion as well as our Be The One mission.
My overall goal is to sell 1K books, but to do that I need way more help.
Total Donated to the Commission: $490
Total Donated to the Chaplain: $380
Total Donated to Ed Bray: $600
Total Dollars Donated: $1,470
Total Hours Donated: Many
Sells Online: 122
Sells In-Person: 58
# of Books Donated: 26
Total: 206
Buy Now: https://a.co/d/dlXiNoF
“VOLS: Veterans Offering Lifelong Service”
Todd A. McKinley
Department Commander
American Legion Department of Tennessee
