POULSBO — Spenser Haley, a U.S. Army veteran who served for five months in Afghanistan, is the first member of Veterans Life’s Advisory Board.

Haley and others will meet once a month for lunch with the publisher and editor to critique the publication and recommend stories and issues the publication should cover. Board members will serve for one year. (To apply for appointment, write Richard Walker, editor, P.O. Box 278, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Or email rwalker@soundpublishing.com.)

Haley, 27, is off to a good start as a board member. Asked to look at some recent editions and tell us what he thinks, we received a marked up copy with several recommendations: More stories about veterans helping veterans. More information about veterans benefits and where to find them. More information about local veterans events, programs and services. More information about businesses that are hiring veterans.

For our January edition, Haley will write a column proposing that combat veterans be allowed access to base services, and will outline the beneficial results of such a policy.

Haley joined the Army through the Delayed Entry Program in December 2006 and began active duty three days after graduating from North Kitsap High School in June 2007. He received basic training and military police training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He served five months as an MP in Afghanistan. He served three years in the Army.

Haley now works at Ross department store in Silverdale, and will study neurolinguistics at Olympic College with the goal of becoming a behavior analyst for a law enforcement agency. He has two daughters, ages 8 and 2; and a son, 6.

Veterans Life is published monthly by Sound Publishing. It has a circulation of 35,096.