The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans.

Hundreds of local American Legion programs and activities strengthen the nation one community at a time. American Legion Baseball is one of the nation’s most successful amateur athletic programs, educating young people about the importance of sportsmanship, citizenship and fitness. The Heroes to Hometowns program connects local Legionnaires with recovering wounded warriors and their families, providing a variety of support activities. The Legion raises millions of dollars in donations at the local, state and national levels to help veterans and their families and to provide college scholarship opportunities.

The American Legion is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization with great political influence perpetuated by its grass-roots involvement in the legislation process from local districts to Capitol Hill. Legionnaires’ sense of obligation to community, state and nation drives an honest advocacy for veterans in Washington. The Legion stands behind the issues most important to the nation's veterans community, backed by resolutions passed by volunteer leadership.

The American Legion’s success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.

Find out more information about our organization on https://legion.org.

Jeff Wisley was born in Sacramento, California, and grew up in the Northern California area until he graduated high school on his 18th birthday in June 1983.

In October 1983, Jeff signed a contract to join the United States Air Force Reserve as a Loadmaster on the largest aircraft in the US inventory, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. Jeff flew as a Loadmaster in the 312th Military Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB, California, for just over 3 years when he decided to go active duty.

In January 1987, he started over as an Airman First Class on Active Duty at Dover AFB. Jeff was stationed in Delaware for around 7 years, becoming a SOLL II Loadmaster (Special Operations, Low Level, Low Light) and an Instructor Loadmaster. He then moved to the schoolhouse for C-5 Loadmasters in Altus, Oklahoma, where he would run the Standardization and Evaluation section in his unit. Assignments followed that led Jeff and his family back to California, Oklahoma, and a 3-year stint in Yokota, Japan, as part of the PACAF TALCE (Pacific Air Forces Tanker Airlift Control Element), where he managed airfield operations and conducted mobile command and control at designated hot spots around the world.

When MSgt. Wisley was due to retire from the Air Force in 2010, he was looking for a way to assist Veterans and found an opening in West Virginia for a Veterans Service Representative. He applied, interviewed, took a test, and was offered the job as a Veterans Service Representative in the Huntington Regional Office for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Jeff has worked for the VA for the past 14 years, where he works today as a Public Contact Outreach Specialist, assisting Veterans with benefits every day.

Jeff has held various offices in the American Legion at the Post, District, and Department levels. He is currently also a consultant to the National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission. Jeff is also a 2017 graduate of the National American Legion College.

Jeff is a life member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and the 40&8.

He and his wife, Donna, have six children and 11 grandchildren living in four states. Jeff and Donna currently call Lavalette, West Virginia, home. They also welcome you to their business in Huntington at any time, “Scratch’s Bar & Grill.”