Through the VA's looking glass: Are you a veteran? | SOFREP

SSG Shavonde Chase wow, this is interesting: The word veteran means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Growing up, I never gave much thought to what makes an individual a veteran. As a kid, I simply thought it applied to anyone who spent time in the military. In my mid-twenties I enlisted in the U.S. Army and was privileged to serve in one of the first units to be deployed to Afghanistan. Upon returning to Fort Benning, a number of my fellow Rangers joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The VFW seemed like a natural choice given that we had just become veterans of a foreign war. Later, at the conclusion of my military service, I returned to the civilian world and naturally donned the moniker veteran, giving it no more thought than I would putting on a new jacket.

It wasn’t until years later that I discovered, at least for legal purposes with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the word veteran has a very specific meaning. The U.S. government defines the word veteran at 38 U.S.C. § 101(2). This provision states that the term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.”

Good read/share!

I guess I'm out.....I survived DCVA.....this was my combat patch from there.

By that definition it sounds as though those that serve as reserve and guard components are not vets. That doesn't seem right.