Deer Ridge Correctional Institution near Madras has an American Legion post, the first at a state prison in Oregon.

Only the fourth such post nationwide at a prison, Post 131 at Deer Ridge was formally created Saturday.

In a ceremony attended by representatives of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Oregon American Legion and the Oregon Department of Corrections, the first officers of the new post were officially installed.

The American Legion is open to veterans of the United States military who served during periods of wartime, including the entire span from the 1990 start of the first Gulf War through today. The organization looks to provide a voice for veterans and veterans issues and sponsors a number of community service efforts including youth sports, scouting and programs for children with serious medical issues.

Veterans make up a substantial slice of the Oregon prison population, a little more than 2,000 of the 14,600 people currently incarcerated, according to Marissa Wilson, a spokeswoman for Deer Ridge. Wilson said at Deer Ridge, 50 to 60 inmates are eligible to join the organization.

The Department of Corrections is hopeful those who choose to join the post develop a sense of connection with the communities they will be returning to upon their release from custody and a commitment to the causes the American Legion supports.

Membership in a group like the American Legion provides a social network for recently released inmates, Wilson said, and the work involved in keeping the Deer Ridge post running can help inmates develop valuable skills.

“Being part of any organization like that, you learn different skills — Robert’s Rules of Order, how to run a meeting, how to write up minutes, budgeting skills, things that could help them find a job when they get out,” she said.

As a minimum-security facility, Deer Ridge holds inmates transitioning out of the Oregon prison system from other facilities or serving sentences of less than four years for nonviolent crimes. As a result, turnover is rapid — the average stay at Deer Ridge is around two years, she said, and four of the original 19 members of the American Legion post have already been released.

— Reporter: 541-383-0387,

shammers@bendbulletin.com