Aug 19, 2026
One VFW member gained attention at the 2026 VFW National Convention in Reno, Nevada, with an app designed to ignite the motivation to complete tasks.
Marine veteran and VFW Post 3559 member Alex Kruger-Dobrota wanted to find an interactive way for VFW members to get involved with their Posts, engage legislatively and build new bonds.
Badger: Operation Gamify, a free to join, augmented reality web application, developed by Kruger-Dobrota, allows users to find and participate in “missions” that are found throughout the real world, created by other users.
For example, at the 2026 VFW National Convention in Reno, Nevada, one mission was for users to find and meet a member of each of the 52 VFW Departments. Through this mission, VFW members were able to build bonds with others while earning points that are accumulated on a leaderboard.
“I noticed member participation was low at my Post,” Kruger-Dobrota said. “Badger is useful because it lets me scale responsibilities. It’s like a digital command center where I can issue missions and tasks like community service events. You’re able to see which members are doing which task. Through the leaderboards, there’s a sense of friendly competition, because no one wants to be last.”
Users can upload photos and videos to the platform that can be used to complete missions or showcase their skills in a particular mission.
Through Badger, Kruger-Dobrota believes VFW members can find ideas and learn from successful fundraisers and events held by other VFW Posts across the country with the mission system.
“My own Post, Post 3559, we’re still in a ‘building phase,’” Kruger-Dobrota. “I’ve been able to gather ideas from other VFW Posts who have posted their initiatives on Badger.”
Kruger-Dobrota is credited with helping rebuild Post 3559 in Miami Beach, Fla., through novel initiatives and fundraising events while utilizing Badger.
“The name Badger comes from combining badge and identifier,” Kruger-Dobrota said. “Also, badgers are my favorite animal.”
To learn more about Badger: Operation Gamify, please visit https://badgerops.com/.