A future of promise.

I am deeply humbled and honored that you have chosen me to represent you as your National Commander in the year ahead.

Thank you for the confidence you have placed in me, and I will do my absolute best to be worthy of this truly great honor.

I particularly want to acknowledge the great work by National Commander Bradley S. Barton. Brad's dedication to our mission will be a tough act to follow. I know that he will remain active in the DAV, and we will have the benefit of his experience and wise counsel.

As I have come to learn over the years, the DAV is an amazing group of Americans. Our diverse membership really is a reflection of our nation as a whole. And in spite of the things that make every one of us different and unique, we all share a very strong common bond.

We are all dedicated to the DAV's mission of service and hope. And when our membership is focused on our collective goals, nobody does it better than the DAV.

After I was injured when my parachute collapsed on that night jump 20 years ago, I realized that I would have to start my life over again.

And one thing that really helped me put it all back together was becoming involved in the DAV. But I never would have guessed that it would eventually lead to this day. And I had no idea that I would meet and work with so many wonderful and inspiring people in the DAV. Each of you and them truly are dedicated to our mission.

One of the things I would like the DAV to focus on in the coming year is an active program to reach out to the new generation of disabled veterans. Bring them into the fold, show them what it means to be a part of a real veterans service organization.

When I was first introduced to the DAV, I quickly learned the importance of membership in the organization. Not only in terms of what it could offer for my own personal rehabilitation and development, but for what I could give back to the DAV in return.

Leaders like the men and women I met in the DAV gave me the benefit of their real-world experience in living with a disability. And they showed me that I could help make a difference in the lives of my fellow disabled veterans.

I can't tell you how much it has meant for me to be a part of such an outstanding organization of people like you. I can only hope to give back some of what you have given me.

As I look ahead to the future of the DAV, I see many opportunities to be a positive influence on our fellow disabled veterans. One of them is to mentor current members and prepare them for leadership in the organization. Another is to encourage others to join us in fulfilling our mission, especially the new generation of disabled veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, because building better lives means building a future of promise towards making a difference for America's disabled veterans and their families and for the DAV.

It is a future with a VA benefits delivery system that delivers the benefits that disabled veterans have earned and a VA medical system that provides ready access to a full range of top-quality care for sick and disabled veterans. And that includes mental health treatment and traumatic brain injury care that recognizes not only the veterans' needs but the needs of their families as well.

And to help reach those goals, we have ramped up our ongoing public policy advocacy program. A key element in this plan is a sustained efforts throughout the two years of the 110th Congress seeking federal legislation to make sure that disabled veterans get the full rehabilitation and recovery they need to rebuild their lives.

Of course, we want to make our long-time legislative priority of guaranteed, full funding for veterans health care a reality.

And I am pleased to tell you that the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee finally held a congressional hearing on options for the way veterans health care is funded. And the DAV was chosen to provide the lead testimony on behalf of all the other veterans organizations in our budget reform partnership.

We also continue to offer lawmakers the benefit of our expertise and experience in crafting solid legislation to ensure accountability for identifying and meeting the mental health needs of veterans making the transition to VA care.

We also are seeking legislation requiring the VA to move forward on research into mild and moderate traumatic brain injury, including a comprehensive screening and treatment program.

And we are working to enact new comprehensive programs for the caregivers and families of severely disabled veterans to assist them in dealing with the physical and psychological wounds of war.

While your legislative staff is hard at work, each of you has an important role in our ongoing efforts. I know you are ready to answer the call to action and urge your lawmakers to support the kind of legislative and policy initiatives that we believe are right and necessary.

Like I said, nobody does it better than the DAV when it comes to building a future of promise for today's and tomorrow's disabled veterans and their families.

Members like Brad Barton and my fellow line officers and the great leaders of our past have given us a tremendous legacy. It is up to us to build upon their legacy and ensure that the DAV will continue to be the unquestioned leader in service and advocacy for our nation's disabled veterans.

And right there making sure everything we do is squarely aimed at that goal is National Adjutant Arthur H. Wilson and the very exceptional staff in Cold Spring and Washington.

Over the past several years, the DAVs National Service Program has been bolstered and fine-tuned to meet the needs of this nation's service-connected disabled veterans like never before.

Our ongoing outreach efforts have expanded as our Mobile Service Offices bring DAV's top-notch service to veterans all across the country. They also provide on-the-spot assistance to disabled veterans who have been affected by natural disasters. A recent example is the relief effort in Greensburg, Kansas, which was devastated by a tornado earlier this year.

Our Transition Service Program is providing unmatched benefits counseling and claims assistance to the men and women leaving active duty at military separation centers nationwide. And we are doing everything we can to help make the transition to veteran status as smooth as possible.

And our Homeless Veterans Initiative continues its ongoing mission of helping homeless veterans break the cycle of poverty and isolation and move from the streets to self-sufficiency. I know that many of our Chapters and Departments are actively involved in projects in your communities. So keep up the good work.

This year, the DAV's membership has climbed to 1.3 million, including more than a million fully paid life members.

A strong membership base is vital to our continued success.

Our work in protecting the rights and benefits of disabled veterans and their families also means building support and awareness of veterans issues in communities and throughout the nation.

A healthy DAV is vital to our success in Washington--today and tomorrow. The DAVs 1.3 million members all across the country give us unmatched grassroots strength.

Ours is a voice of strength and resolve that cuts across state and political lines. We are regarded in Washington as the most authoritative voice for disabled veterans, and our input and wise counsel are constantly sought by decision-makers.

We have a full-time and highly qualified professional staff that advocates on behalf of our members--and all disabled veterans--on the full spectrum of vital issues before Congress and the administration.

Our grassroots strength, coupled with our unmatched reputation for service and integrity, make the DAV the undisputed leader in veterans affairs.

We have a tremendous organization and an extraordinary opportunity to build an even stronger one by reaching out to our contemporaries and to this new generation of disabled veterans, much in the same way that Judge Marx and the founders of this great organization did 87 years ago.

So, I call upon each of you to make the commitment to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve ... to build a future of promise for today's veterans and tomorrow's.

We have an extraordinary mission of service and hope for our fellow disabled veterans. And I pledge to you that I will do my level best to represent the DAV in a manner befitting the legacy that has been passed on to me so that we can continue to fulfill our mission.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your National Commander. Thank you again for the confidence you have placed in me. I look forward to serving you in the year ahead.

May God bless each of you and the DAV, May God bless our Men and Women who remain in harm's way, and May God Bless America. Thank you.

Robert T. Reynolds of Virginia, a service-connected disabled veteran of the U.S. Army, was elected National Commander on August 14, 2007, by a unanimous vote of the delegates to the 86th National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following are highlights of his acceptance remarks, which were received with enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation at its conclusion.