Today’s front-page news of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9954’s plans to expand its building is quite welcome.

This is not merely because of the basic good news of any organization’s ability to expand, but for the reasons the post wants to add a second meeting hall: To more integrally join forces with its auxiliary, but also to attract younger veterans to the post.

This sentiment is what makes the plan so important. Not just younger veterans, but female vets have for many decades seen military organizations like the VFW and American Legion as “old men clubs.” Depending on where you travel, posts can face dwindling memberships as World War II, Korean War and even Vietnam War veterans pass away.

Luckily, Post 9954, and others like it, recognizes that the two Gulf wars, operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom and the ongoing War on Terrorism have produced veterans who also need its support.

Veterans — male and female — of these operations have faced physical, mental and emotional trauma. In many cases, these traumas come after repeated deployment overseas.

If these younger veterans, and their spouses, can count on the VFW to help them seek out and obtain their benefits, that would be wonderful. If they can also show them that they belong among the greatest generations before them, that is, perhaps, a gift without measure.

We await word of the project’s completion. We also hope the labor bears the fruit it seeks: an even brighter future for all veterans.