Am I considered a veteran or having served?
Posted on
Hello, I am in the Army Reserve, in the process of getting honorably medically discharged (non-duty related discharge). I graduated basic and AIT last year and now close to 1 year later I am in the final stages of getting discharged (mental health). My condition was definitely service connected however I claimed non duty related when they asked because my intent was to serve this great country and not take any personal benefits (and I donated 100% of the money I made in all of my military time so far). However I haven’t had to attend drills since a month after returning home from basic and AIT last year due to being on profile status. I wanted to serve this country and signed up to do that, completed all my training, and have been on profile since a month after completing basic and AIT training in a combat mos. I was top 10% of my OSUT training cycle in PT, weapons qual, tests, etc. but struggled with some mental health concerns. I am struggling to feel as if I have “served” or am a “veteran”. I would never compare myself to long time or war veterans in any way, but still feel very unsatisfied I did my best and completed all training, mos qualified, and am now getting discharged and don’t even know if I can feel as though I have served at all, feel a piece still missing from my heart. Can some of you fellow veterans weigh in on how you view me or my military status? Did I even “serve” if all I did was really complete months of training but never really spent time in my unit training or being deployed? I tied part of my identity up in serving and the current outcome is not what I had planned and am struggling to determine how to view my military status and identity (especially considering my relative quick discharge/time in service). I am not officially discharged yet but am in final stages. Thanks in advance.
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