Should veteran status be reserved for those who have deployed?

Absolutely not. Anyone who has served their country on active duty orders 180 days or more is a Veteran. It does not necessarily mean you must served in a combat zone. Think about it. The entire world is a combat zone...

No if you served you served, I wrote the same check other veterans wrote and yes instead of going to Vietnam I was stationed at pearl. The Navy could have sent me anywhere they wanted. On that note I never claim to be a Vietnam veteran I say Vietnam era veteran.

So, service members who retire after serving their 20 under a MEDDAC, MI, or JAG command aren't veterans?

68E's get DD-214's just like everyone else. You get that paper and you're a veteran. Period.

Fake controversy. Everyone who serves is a veteran. Anyone in uniform can be ordered to a combat zone at anytime. Everyone in uniform has been trained at least once how to fire a weapon. Sure some people have sacrificed more than others and I salute them for that, but no one is ever going to tell me I am not a veteran because I was not shot at.

I agree with most here. If you served honorably, you're a veteran. However, there is certainly a distinction between veterans and combat veterans (those who served in a combat zone). I'll also go a step further and say there is a difference in combat veterans and combat action veterans (those who were actually involved in a firefight). I am a combat veteran but not a combat action veteran. I have the utmost respect for those who are in what I consider to be the highest class of Americans, combat action veterans. I'm proud of my service but understand others are more deserving of respect and recognition. Just my thoughts..

You have to be deployed for more than 180 days in combat to be called a veteran

I believe that everyone in the military plays a very important role and after they reach the 120 day mark then you are a veteran.
I am a combat wounded disabled vet and feel every support group that keep us going , from paperwork to food to ammo...everyone is needed..

Yes, they served their country. But there is a difference in veteran and combat veteran, you get nicer tags lol

"So, for example, should a Soldier who completed basic training, had a clean service record, excelled in their peer group, but ultimately served 10 years as a reservist with no deployment and less than 180 days on non-ADT active service be prevented from calling themselves a veteran?"

This sentence contains two glaring grammatical errors.

The rules of English grammar state that when a pronoun in a sentence (called "the referent") refers back to an earlier noun or pronoun (called "the antecedent"), both the referent and the antecedent must agree as to number -- either both must be singular, or both must be plural. The rules further state that, when the antecedent is singular and of common gender (that is, when it can be either masculine or feminine), the referent takes the masculine gender.

In the quoted sentence, the antecedent "Soldier" is singular and of common gender, but the referents "their" and "themselves" are plural.

The sentence should read either:
"So, for example, should a Soldier who completed basic training, had a clean service record, excelled in HIS peer group, but ultimately served 10 years as a reservist with no deployment and less than 180 days on non-ADT active service be prevented from calling HIMSELF a veteran?"
or:
"So, for example, should SOLDIERS who completed basic training, had clean service RECORDS, excelled in their peer GROUPS, but ultimately served 10 years as RESERVISTS with no deployment and less than 180 days on non-ADT active service be prevented from calling themselves VETERANS?"

AS I HAVE STATED " YOU SIGNED THE BLANK CHECK JUST AS ANY OTHER PERSON IN THE MILITARY DID...." YOU ARE A VETERAN AS WE ALL ARE...