The adjutant has the same position in the post as the secretary of any other organized body, and a bit more. Like the first sergeant of a company, post activities revolve around the adjutant. Most posts find it wise to retain a good adjutant in office over a period of years. The adjutant may well provide continuity in the post. While the commander’s duties are largely inspirational and executive, an adjutant’s duties are administrative. The commander navigates the ship, but the adjutant is the engineer who runs the ship’s machinery. The adjutant is the personnel officer and personal point of contact for individual members of the post. He or she maintains membership records and minutes of meetings, checks up and assists the work of the other officers and committees, and publishes official orders, announcements and instructions. Because all post records should be in the adjutant’s custody, for easy access, it is to his or her interest to develop a comprehensive filing system. The adjutant is primarily concerned with ways and means and, by virtue of a key position, can add effectiveness to all post activities. The office involves a great deal of work, and it is strongly recommended that some degree of compensation be paid the adjutant, particularly in large posts.
Suggestions for the Adjutant
The only indispensable qualifications for the job of adjutant are honesty and willingness. The adjutant should purchase a set of post account books from Emblem Sales. They require no special knowledge of bookkeeping. He or she should go through all the post records at the first opportunity. The constitution, minutes of meetings, and reports of officers and committees will give insight into the post’s policies and traditions. Communications from department headquarters will bring the adjutant up to date on instructions. The Post Adjutant’s Manual has full instructions on the handling and processing of the automated membership card system and other duties. Every adjutant should have a copy