DAV had the obligation and opportunity to submit a very simple, one page, form on my behalf but failed to do so which caused me to needlessly lose VA benefits at a very daunting time when I needed them. This DAV ineptness has cost me more than $300,000 which is an amount that continues increasing.
This and all my other DAV experiences have unquestionably and overwhelmingly convinced me that DAV's primary mission is self-promotion NOT service to disabled veterans.
As a result, I have enumerable times emphatically requested that my life membership fee be refunded and my membership closed but to no avail even though they've blocked me from accessing my online account.
This pitiful entity should not be entitled to claim itself as a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) and should be prevented from falsely promoting such to active duty, reserve, separated, retired, and disabled members of the US Military.
The only truly legitimate, professional, honorable, conscientiously veteran-dedicated, and US Congress chartered Veterans Service Organization (VSO) that every military member should consider joining and supporting is AmVets.
The stark differences between DAV and AmVets is well known to government "insiders" who, unfortunately, are banned from commenting or suggesting which VSO to join. I'm not banned and intend to influence every patriot to not make the same egregious and very costly mistake that I made by joining DAV and instead join the VSO that will, indeed, serve their needs, AmVets.
Desired outcome: Given that it's DAV, I don't have any expectation for a desirable outcome.Rather, I hope everyone who is interested in joining a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) will prioritize their best interests and join AmVets.
I'm sorry and can definitely agree with your sentiments. I was a DAV member for over 4 years until I learned how the executive board acts and behaves. I am NOT renewing my membership no matter how many post cards they send to my address. I can't support an organization that is hurting other veterans and getting away with it. I'm even more sick to learn how much of the donations are paying for these lofty salaries by the board and no transparency on how much actually goes to serve veterans who need help. There are numerous internet articles showcasing this, here is one example: https://www.veteranslawblog.org/veterans-service-organization/
This article from 2021 also goes to showcase how much they pay themselves: https://paddockpost.com/2022/10/30/executive-compensation-at-disabled-american-veterans-dav-2021/