Posted on Nov 16, 2015
Do you think someone who has never been in a combat has the right to call themselves a veteran?
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Let me apologize in advance to the people who find this question insulting... I'm just wondering what other people who served viewpoint is.
I personally went many years before I broke down and got "Desert Storm" Veteran tags, and the "Veteran" identifier on my driver's license... I'm still not entirely convinced that I deserve the 101st patch on my right sleeve, for the most part all I did was fix helicopter engines in the sand.
I have a great friend that served in the Air Force, and never left CONUS.
I have a relative that served on Aircraft carriers before Vietnam.
Both proudly stand up when "Veteran's" are asked to at public gatherings, but I always feel strange standing up.
Legal definition of "veteran" aside (someone who served at least six months and received an honorable discharge). I'm wondering more about how those of us that served feel about the term.
When a civilian hears "Veteran" I get the impression that they think we all stormed the beaches at Normandy, and for the most part I was really bored, played Spades and Tetris on my Gameboy during Desert Storm.
Should someone who was in the military during the Vietnam conflict (but never in theater) be allowed "Vietnam Veteran" license plates?
SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4", TSgt Hunter Logan , CH (MAJ) William Beaver , COL Ted Mc
I personally went many years before I broke down and got "Desert Storm" Veteran tags, and the "Veteran" identifier on my driver's license... I'm still not entirely convinced that I deserve the 101st patch on my right sleeve, for the most part all I did was fix helicopter engines in the sand.
I have a great friend that served in the Air Force, and never left CONUS.
I have a relative that served on Aircraft carriers before Vietnam.
Both proudly stand up when "Veteran's" are asked to at public gatherings, but I always feel strange standing up.
Legal definition of "veteran" aside (someone who served at least six months and received an honorable discharge). I'm wondering more about how those of us that served feel about the term.
When a civilian hears "Veteran" I get the impression that they think we all stormed the beaches at Normandy, and for the most part I was really bored, played Spades and Tetris on my Gameboy during Desert Storm.
Should someone who was in the military during the Vietnam conflict (but never in theater) be allowed "Vietnam Veteran" license plates?
SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4", TSgt Hunter Logan , CH (MAJ) William Beaver , COL Ted Mc
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Responses: 358
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Little known tidbit of information and one that you will not be able to track down but those of us on recruiting duty during Desert Storm saw it.
Normally you wouldn't think of Military Recruiters being in harms way in their cushy little offices in downtown America but... During Desert Storm I, between all the military services, we had more military recruiters get killed or murdered as a result of being a recruiter than the number of military that we lost in in the Desert. This is not stated to demean or lessen those who fought or were lost in the desert but to bring out the idea that even though an individual may not be in a combat zone doesn't mean that they are necessarily in a position that is safe from repercussions from that conflict. To this day you still hear an occasional news tidbit about a recruiting station getting hit or targeted and they don't get the berms, guards or even the opportunity to be armed. Here is a recent example
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/07/four-us-marines-killed-in-attacks-on-military-recruitment-offices/398786/
Normally you wouldn't think of Military Recruiters being in harms way in their cushy little offices in downtown America but... During Desert Storm I, between all the military services, we had more military recruiters get killed or murdered as a result of being a recruiter than the number of military that we lost in in the Desert. This is not stated to demean or lessen those who fought or were lost in the desert but to bring out the idea that even though an individual may not be in a combat zone doesn't mean that they are necessarily in a position that is safe from repercussions from that conflict. To this day you still hear an occasional news tidbit about a recruiting station getting hit or targeted and they don't get the berms, guards or even the opportunity to be armed. Here is a recent example
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/07/four-us-marines-killed-in-attacks-on-military-recruitment-offices/398786/
4 U.S. Marines and One Sailor Dead in Attack on Military Recruitment Offices
After having shot and killed four U.S. Marines at a facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the gunman was killed in the attack. A sailor died of his wounds on Saturday.
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SPC Christopher Perrien
I don't think the recruiter deaths exceeded desert Storm deaths but of course time spent recruiting is still a "Vet" duty to have done . We lost 156 troops in "combat" over in Iraq in Desert Shield/Storm DEC 90-May91. And another 150 in non-battle casualties. I don't recall multiple recruitment office attacks in CONUS except for 1 in a parking lot in those 6 months. Whatever you may have heard i think was in error. 300 recruiters certainly were not killed in conus in those 6 months. The unit that lost the most was one of the Arm Div with 21. Strangely enough the second unit was a Georgia National guard unit, IIRC the 21st Inf Div or Brigade, with 14, and they lost those at Fort Irwin in training!
Anyway to your point ,being over in Iraq, Desert Storm itself with 300 losses in 6 months or so, was actually safer than training in the Army the year before in 1989 where we lost right at about 1000 in training in the Army in 1989 , no war required. Cold war training was tough with something like 700-900 lost each year though the 80's. and such figures have only been exceeded 1 or 2 year (more than 1000 deaths) since 1989 in this entire 'so-called" Great War on Terror or the claimed massive number of suicides in the media (ain't true). The cold war was bloodier, than anything since however that don't matter to the dead since then or the 3 friends I lost in Desert Storm in 90-91.
As to the topic , anyone making it past 90 days-AIT is a Vet. Anyone who served in a Combat zone is a combat vet. Past that? IDK
regards
Anyway to your point ,being over in Iraq, Desert Storm itself with 300 losses in 6 months or so, was actually safer than training in the Army the year before in 1989 where we lost right at about 1000 in training in the Army in 1989 , no war required. Cold war training was tough with something like 700-900 lost each year though the 80's. and such figures have only been exceeded 1 or 2 year (more than 1000 deaths) since 1989 in this entire 'so-called" Great War on Terror or the claimed massive number of suicides in the media (ain't true). The cold war was bloodier, than anything since however that don't matter to the dead since then or the 3 friends I lost in Desert Storm in 90-91.
As to the topic , anyone making it past 90 days-AIT is a Vet. Anyone who served in a Combat zone is a combat vet. Past that? IDK
regards
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yes anyone who served their country honorably is a veteran. Thats why there are veterans and combat veterans. To show the distinction between who saw combat and who didnt. But I will say anyone who has served whether they saw combat or not deserves respect from civilians who wouldnt even think about stepping in a pair of combat boots or even on a battlefield for that matter.
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According to;
38 U.S.C 4215(a) a veteran is one who had completed 180 or more days outside of training in any branch of the military.
38 U.S.C 4215(a) a veteran is one who had completed 180 or more days outside of training in any branch of the military.
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If one signed the dotted line and took the oath, was honorably discharged = Veteran. It don't matter if a person didn't deploy to a combat zone. Some jobs are non-deployable and tend to serve as a stateside mission (Unit).
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Servicemembers without combat experience are absolutely Veterans.
I joined in 1990, and did not get a true combat deployment until 2005. It's just how it worked out. There are millions of veterans that served their entire career, and even retired without a day of combat. As a general rule, you don't have control on when your unit deploys. Some people just miss out due to the luck or lack of luck of unit of assignment.
I joined in 1990, and did not get a true combat deployment until 2005. It's just how it worked out. There are millions of veterans that served their entire career, and even retired without a day of combat. As a general rule, you don't have control on when your unit deploys. Some people just miss out due to the luck or lack of luck of unit of assignment.
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I generally don't stand up when asked in a crowd. I generally don't discuss what I do, or have done, in the military with anybody not affiliated with the military. It seems like the folks with all the Great War stories, usually exaggerate what they truly did.
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I only spent a few years in the USAF. When I got out, I used the truck driving experience I got to become a truck driver in the civilian life. I was working for Halliburton out of Houston. Guess where I was when Desert Shield changed to Desert Storm. I was there with you guys and we went into several oil fires still getting shot at in Kuwait and put them out. So I may be a USAF veteran, but I saw several things in Desert Storm that no Civilian should ever see.
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Yes, I'd be quite pissed if someone in my face said I wasn't a real Veteran for not have combat time. In fact, it would be hard for me not to show them a little combat scenario...
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SN Greg Baylor
This is an utterly stupid question. First, every person who has served honorably has "signed on the dotted line" for a blank check for up to and including the ultimate sacrifice. Second, in my four years of active duty I was told where I would be but never sent to a combat duty assignment...in spite of volunteering twice to do so. So if the question is if I am a veteran...hell yes I'm a veteran. I also faced extreme (as in life-threatening) situations even though not directly related to combat activity. I am certain that all service members are subject to danger potentially subject to forfeiture of life in the line of duty. Yes...we ARE veterans.
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SSG Louis Walling
Obviously you have no idea what a Veteran is! There are a lot of Military individuals that served many years, trained for that deployment but it never came. Stood the line ducked the mud and remained ready to serve yet were never called on. Some were more valuable in non-combat rolls by the time combat came around. So stop worring about who claims to be a Vet and look at the ones we served. Less then 0.5% of all Americans even serve their country and you are worried about the 0.01% of us that served but we're not called apon.
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Absolutely! Less than 1% of military age males/females are willing to serve in the Armed Forces. Service Members do not get to pick and choose whether we are at war or not, that is for our politicians. Everyone who serves regardless of whether they were in direct/indirect combat or not have earned the right to be called a veteran and should be extremely proud of that. I served 7+ years on active duty during the Cold War and then 22 years in the Army Reserve. When I applied for Federal employment I learned that I was not entitled to Veteran's preference. One year after becoming a Federal employee I was finally granted Veteran's preference because I was mobilized for DS/DS. But guess what, so was everyone else who was on duty during that time period, whether they were deployed or mobilized or did nothing more than their normal peacetime duties. Some members of our society 'hate' the 1%, but they are referring to those who are successful and are well to do. Hopefully our Nation will never again hate the other 1%, those who were/are willing to Serve this great Nation to ensure it's security.
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