Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Finally escaped The People's Republic of California
11,314 posts, read 8,655,857 times
Reputation: 6391
I don’t concider myself a veteran, I have DD214 and an Honerable Discharge from the Navy. I was discharged as an E-1 right after graduating boot camp. Went from boot to what they called an out going unit. Basically sitting around waiting on paperwork to go home for a month. I was allergic to wool
I don’t concider myself a veteran, I have DD214 and an Honerable Discharge from the Navy. I was discharged as an E-1 right after graduating boot camp. Went from boot to what they called an out going unit. Basically sitting around waiting on paperwork to go home for a month. I was allergic to wool
That must have been tough for you to process at the time. I'm sorry that life threw this curve at you.
I do too...it's not like I sit and argue with people. It doesn't change that fact that I feel non-deserving slightly.
Anyway, please answer the question.
My Grandfather expressed similar sentiments despite having served in active combat and being wounded. So I think its a sentiment borne of knowing others that have sacrificed a lot more than you may have; the rub is that nearly anyone that served knows others that paid much more dearly than they.
To answer your question, I always took it to mean someone that served active duty.
I don’t concider myself a veteran, I have DD214 and an Honerable Discharge from the Navy. I was discharged as an E-1 right after graduating boot camp. Went from boot to what they called an out going unit. Basically sitting around waiting on paperwork to go home for a month. I was allergic to wool
I do consider you a veteran. You completed boot camp, which in my opinion is the minimum to be one. You got discharged through no fault of your own right after.
Title 38 defines a veteran as "...a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable."
There are obviously different levels in people's minds for what they consider a veteran.
Personally, I served 6 years in the National Guard with no activation and fall into that odd grey area of being honorably discharged, yet not having enough active service to really count as anything. I get tense when people thank me for serving mostly because I don't feel I did anything.
What is your own personal definition of a veteran regardless of Title 38?
For federal medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, prior to 7 September 1980 the veteran must have served at least 180 days of active duty, after the above-mentioned date the veteran must have served at least 24 months.
So above is how I define a "veteran" (minimum requirements)
I know a person who got injured in boot camp, and he said he too was a veteran. I don't think he is.
If you qualify for VA benefits at the lowest level of eligibility... then you're a vet. Combat or otherwise. If you qualify for a military burial with Honor Guard and a VA headstone, then you're a vet. Don't worry about the armchair policy makers.
Last edited by Led Zeppelin; 10-07-2018 at 12:01 PM..
Reason: qu
Technically my ex-wife could call herself a veteran but chooses not to. She made it through Navy boot camp and was nearly finished her school when she received a hardship discharge because her dad was dying. To me one should not call themselves a veteran unless they served at least one deployment active duty and wasn’t OTH or DH discharge. Problem with that is some never serve on a deployment. Some stay stateside as a desk jockey or some other job not directly related to combat. Guess the veteran would have to have at least gotten through any schools after boot camp and arrived at their first duty station.
I do consider you a veteran. You completed boot camp, which in my opinion is the minimum to be one. You got discharged through no fault of your own right after.
But that is crazy, allergic to wool.
Worked in the engine room of a steam driven ship. One BT (boiler tech) didn’t know he was claustrophobic until he climbed into the steam drum (over an inch thick steel). He panicked and thrashed to the point of breaking his arm and knocking himself out. Discharge. In Navy Nuclear school we had a guy discharged because of a sleeping disorder. He never should have made it through boot camp. His roommates could only wake him by tossing him in a cold shower.
For federal medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, prior to 7 September 1980 the veteran must have served at least 180 days of active duty, after the above-mentioned date the veteran must have served at least 24 months.
So above is how I define a "veteran" (minimum requirements)
I know a person who got injured in boot camp, and he said he too was a veteran. I don't think he is.
Our company lost a soldier to a training accident I feel that if an injury occurred while doing your job, even before graduation from a course then yes you are a veteran.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
