[Gojubrian]

Technically, I'm a veteran, but I don't consider myself a veteran.

I've never been to war or even overseas. I was in the Army National Guard for 9yrs. During hat time I was deployed to do force proection (MP duties) at Ft.Sill and Ft.Polk for Operation Noble Eagle II. Technically, that makes me a veteran, but ?I just don't feel that people who ever left the U.S. deserve that because it is thrown around so loosely anymore.

During 2005, my unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq. At that time I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and could not deploy. Shortly after that I was given a medical discharge from service. All the guys I had been training with all those years went and did their duty without me. A couple of them did not make it back. These guys are veterans.

I think there should be a distinguishable difference between a veteran and a war veteran. Those guys are my heroes with my full support.

Thoughts?

[Yunus]

When you take an attitude as you have, it just goes to prove that you are a veteran. If you had deployed to Iraq but had not seen gunfire, you would probably be thinking the same thing "I deployed but that doesn't make me a veteran because others had it worse." (I personally went to Afghanistan twice but never have been in real "combat")

You served your nation honorably and due to circumstances outside of your control you were unable to continue serving in the military. That doesn't take anything away from you or your status as a veteran.

Veterans are those who sign up to defend their country and do as their country asks, which you did. Enough of this I'm not really a veteran talk its BS, you are a veteran. Your just humbled by those who gave their lives in service, which all of us should be.

[IGETEVEN]

Sir, in my eyes, you are and will always be a veteran and a lifelong brother in arms. You did not have to see combat to deserve the respect and gratitude from your fellow peers. The very fact that you served your country and upheld its Constitution, here or abroad is all that matters.

What Is A Veteran?

A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, honorably discharged, retired, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.'
That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact!!


What is the definition of a veteran?

A veteran (from Latin vetus, meaning "old") is a person who is experienced in a particular area, and is particularly used in Russia and the United States to refer to people with experience in the armed forces or law enforcement.

The most common usage is for former armed services personnel. A veteran is one who has served in the armed forces, but usually not to someone who had a dishonorable discharge. It is especially applied to those who served for an entire career, usually of 20 years or more, but may be applied for someone who has only served one tour of duty.

A common misconception is that one had to have either been in combat and/or has retired from active duty to be called a military veteran. Because of this widely held misconception, women have often been excluded from this equation. Each state (of the United States) sets specific criteria for state-specific veterans benefits. For federal medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, prior to Sept. 7, 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. However, if the veteran was medically discharged and receives a VA service-connected disability stipend, the time limits are not applicable.

NOT EVERY MAN WAS BORN TO BE A SOLDIER. GOD KNEW WHO WOULD BE MAN ENOUGH TO DO THIS JOB.

Jack

[spittinfire]

Originally Posted by Gojubrian

Technically, I'm a veteran, but I don't consider myself a veteran.

I've never been to war or even overseas. I was in the Army National Guard for 9yrs. During hat time I was deployed to do force proection (MP duties) at Ft.Sill and Ft.Polk for Operation Noble Eagle II. Technically, that makes me a veteran, but ?I just don't feel that people who ever left the U.S. deserve that because it is thrown around so loosely anymore.

During 2005, my unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq. At that time I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and could not deploy. Shortly after that I was given a medical discharge from service. All the guys I had been training with all those years went and did their duty without me. A couple of them did not make it back. These guys are veterans.

I think there should be a distinguishable difference between a veteran and a war veteran. Those guys are my heroes with my full support.

Thoughts?

I feel the exact same way as you. I did 3 years in the USMC Reserve while I was finishing college. I volunteered to go to Iraq and the Horn of Africa, both deployments were cancelled at the last minute. Then I started developing knee problems, had surgery and about a year later they decided they didn't need me anymore. One of my biggest regrets is that I never got a chance to go overseas.
With my job I work with eldery, some have served in WW2, Vietnam, etc...These men get my greatest attention and respect because they have earned it. Sometime I wonder if there are men and women left in this country as great as the generations past and it concerns me.

[Benning Boy]

I've given this some thought.

A hero is always the guy who does something heroic, and then says "I just did what anybody would have done".

What is a warrior? It used to mean something, now the term is lent to anything. I saw a tennis match where the participants were referred to as "tennis warriors".

Then there's the vet. Is the cook who did an overseas tour a vet? What if it was in a combat zone?

Is he less of a vet than the infantryman who didn't deploy anywhere? More of one?

Don't place too much of your self worth in a title. We've both seen blackbelts who got the title, and decided with that piece of cloth that they were somehow imbued with magical powers. Those are the guys who generally aren't that good. I choose to remain the perpetual student.

A title has different value to different people, and in the end, you have to determine what it's worth to you.

[CA357]

I volunteered for Vietnam and wound up in Germany TDY instead. The rest of my hitch was Stateside. My best friend was killed on his second tour in Nam. I lost other friends there as well.

I felt guilty for years because I didn't go, even though it was through no fault of my own. I served where I was ordered and did my best and that is good enough. I have come to terms with my losses and my service and am very proud to be a Veteran.

I support the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund out of a sense of duty to those who gave all.

[Gojubrian]

Thanks Guys, glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way. Glad to see the respect given to our servicemen and women that they deserve!

I work with a guy who I THOUGHT was a veteran in the heroic sense from what he told me. Over the last few months his mouth has given him away as much less than I care to go in to.

A good friend of mine was deployed to Iraq last year and just returned. This guy is a real man. He started training in goju at about 9 or 10yrs old (I was 20). He turned out to be a heck of a guy. Glad he's my friend and back safely.

God bless our men and women doing what they must do, voluntarily.

Why is it that the real heroes don't spout off or brag, but the ones that did basically nothing like to?

[Yunus]

Originally Posted by Gojubrian

Why is it that the real heroes don't spout off or brag, but the ones that did basically nothing like to?

The ones who have done something know its nothing to brag about its just something that needed to be done and they did it. I've never met anyone who has received a medal from real war(I'm talking SHTF lives lost) who was anything but humble and respectful about it. Cocky is not even in their vocabulary.

[markerdown]

I entered the military in early '75. The US government "officially" ended the Vietnam conflict later that year. I am classified as a Vietnam era vet. I don't even remotely consider myself one. Desert Shield/Storm vet, yes. I don't feel I did anything spectacular to earn the medals I recieved. Me and my troops just did the job we were trained to do, and we did it well.

It doesn't matter if you deploy or not. It's Service to this country that counts; knowing fully well you may be put in harms way on a global scale and give your life. Not everyone is willing to do this. .............markerdown

[1861]

You only control whether you serve or not . The military decides where and what you do .