WILMINGTON – When Wilmington resident Bryan O’Brien told the Crier about meeting President Bush, presidential contenders Clinton, Obama, McCain and Thompson, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, newsman Tim Russert and an assortment of actors, musicians and politicians, it was not a boastful tale of ‘who’s who’; instead he was describing the fascinating duties of his newly appointed position as National Sergeant at Arms for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
O’Brien received notice of his appointment as National Sergeant at Arms of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States with its 2.3 million members and auxiliary early in April of 2007. He was appointed at the National Council of Administration meeting on April 23, 2007 and was sworn in during the August National Convention. He will serve under new Commander-in-Chief George Lisicki for 2007-2008.
O’Brien is no stranger to the National Sergeant at Arms position. Each National Sergeant at Arms has seven National Assistant Sergeant at Arms who serve under him. These Assistants represent conferences across the United States. O’Brien served as one of the National Assistant Sergeant at Arms, the only one from the East conference, for the last seven years. He has also served as State Sergeant at Arms (Massachusetts) for 11 of the last 12 years.
A Vietnam Era Sgt. in the Air Force from 1965 – 69, O’Brien’s eligibility for the VFW occurred when he was sent to Korea 3 days after the USS Pueblo was seized by the North Koreans and the crew held hostage. He describes it, “Korea, with it's demilitarized zone along the 32nd parallel is still an on going hot spot to this day. I was there for six and a half months from Feb. 68 to Sept. 68. I was an Intercept Control Technician that was trained to assist in intercepting un-friendly aircraft to either destroy them or turn them around out of un-authorized air space, via radar control and to help flight follow friendly aircraft by giving them radar vectors to their home base or an airbase for landing.”
In 1978 when O’Brien was the elected as Commander of Post no. 2394 in Melrose at age 31, he was the youngest Commander ever elected to the Post. In the 76-year history of the Post, O’Brien still holds that record. He is also a Past All-State Post Commander, Past Middlesex District 18 Commander and Past Middlesex County Council Commander. In 1982 he was named National Young Veteran of the Year.
As National Sergeant at Arms, O’Brien is the man of protocol for the convention. This year there were 10,272 people in attendance at the August convention. O’Brien said he and his team often say that their job entails being up to greet those people in the morning and ends after they put them to bed at night.
Everything between waking in the morning and bed at night is a carefully orchestrated series of events that O’Brien keeps moving like clockwork throughout each day of the conference. He and his team spend three days before each conference meeting with every possible committee to ensure that they know the logistics and security for every event. He keeps with him a schedule of the timing and seating/logistics for each day of the conference.
This year’s convention presented the unique challenge of appearances by current sitting President George Bush and four of the contenders for the next presidency. O’Brien said they consider the convention to be the “home” of the VFW and these politicians are guests in their home. It is the responsibility of the National Sergeant at Arms team to be first in line to address any disturbances in the hall.
VFW members were told up front that these political guests were there to be heard and respected and that if members did not want to hear a particular speaker that they should go sight seeing or shopping instead of ruining the experience for the other members who want to hear the speeches. As usual, the events this year went off without disturbances.
On Monday of the Convention, Clinton and McCain addressed the crowd with their differing views on Troop withdrawal in Iraq. On Tuesday, Obama presented his five- point counter-terrorism strategy and Thompson emphasized the need for unity and winning in Iraq. President Bush addressed the group on Wednesday.
It is important to note a disclaimer from the VFW website, “The appearance of these presidential candidates is not an endorsement, implied or otherwise. The VFW does not make a presidential endorsement because it is important that they be able to work effectively with that president and administration.”
The annual National Convention is but one of the many responsibilities of the National Sergeant at Arms. O’Brien already has out of state meetings scheduled in each of the next three months and has a master list of the big conferences for the next five years. Although his position has a one-year term, the Commander-in-Chief, which changes annually, decides upon each appointment. Therefore, future commanders (who are frequently identified 5 years ahead of their election) are often consulted in the appointment of a new National Sergeant at Arms because it is hope there will be continuity in the position.
O'Brien's position as National Sergeant at Arms gives him high visibility within the organization. He travels with the Commander, assists when the VFW addresses the House and Senate in Washington D.C. in March of each year, and greets and escorts guest speakers, performers and award winners. When President Bush was at the Conference, O’Brien escorted him to the green room, escorted him to the stage to speak, stood in front of him as he spoke (see photo), and flanked one side of him as he walked the line greeting members after the speech.
At other times, the position enables him to meet and greet people from many walks of life. The VFW presents gold medals to people who have performed outstanding service for veterans or current troops, such as the traveling shows put on by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders or the work of Miss America and Miss Massachusetts. Musician Tony Orlando received the Gold Medal for a patriotic show that he performs every Memorial Day for Veterans. They also present news awards. One such recipient that O’Brien greeted was newsman Tim Russert. But then there are also awards presented to people who have done something extremely courageous, like the child that saved another from dying, and other local heroes.
O’Brien reminds us that the VFW is not just a group of veterans getting together to talk about war stories and old times. Actually, there is very little of that. They are an extremely civic-minded organization that works to take care of veterans, provide scholarships for students, and many other services to local communities.
According to the VFW website, “Its mission is to “honor the dead by helping the living” through veterans’ service, community service, national security and a strong national defense.” Annually, VFW members and its Auxiliary contribute more than 13 million hours of volunteerism.
Of his many years of service to the VFW, O’Brien says, “This is my chance to give back because I’m in a position to do so.”
“I’m so proud that I can take part in this community,” he added.
He has resided in the town of Wilmington, MA for the past 9 years and is a graduate of Somerville High School in 1965 and Newbury Jr. College for business management in Boston. O’Brien is presently employed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority as a Senior Controller where he has been employed for the past 20 years.
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