Am I a Vet?

[Maille Man]

This has kinda been eating at me all day.

I enlisted in the army in 1984, when I was seventeen, and stayed in the delayed entry program for eight months, before going off to basic training.
 
After basic, I was sent to DLI (Defense Language Institute) to learn Korean, and before I left, I tested out of German as well, after a little studying and having had four years in high school.

After DLI, I went to Goodfellow AFB for my AIT – 98C, Signals Intelligence Analyst.  And then on to permanent party with the 732nd MI battalion at Field Station Kunia (the Tunnel), Hawaii.
 
It was ‘peace-time’, but our mission was a live one - Kunia being manned 24/ 7.  What was happening was really happening.  Maybe I was being an ignorant kid, but I took my job seriously.  While I might not have had to ever use a weapon against another person, the information I disseminated would get sent out the guys (like my older brother) that were in those positions.  They needed to able to trust that the information was accurate.  Maybe it would even save a life?  Or was I just being silly?

That said, it really was a cushy assignment.  The powers that were, decided that our jobs were incredibly stressful, so our barracks had all the amenities – big rooms, private bathrooms, heat/ ac, cable, phones.  We only had to do PT once per week.  Other than officers and Top, rank didn’t matter for anything but pay purposes, as our job description were the same.

Well, this morning I stopped at the donut shop on my way into work.  Figured, being a vet, I’d get me a free Krispy Kreme.  There were a number of other vets in the store, and everyone’s trading stories of their time in service – I was, too.  A man, a couple people behind me in line heard my little story and got a little bent out of shape.
 
Apparently, I should be ashamed of myself and my choices regarding my military service.  I shouldn’t be allowed to wield the ‘veteran’ moniker.  I wasn’t in the real military, I was in Club-Med.  I never saw combat, never had to deal with the kinds of conditions he experienced in Vietnam.  Never had to trust another with my life, etc, etc.

All of it was, pretty much, true.  I didn’t do any of those things.  Maybe I wasn’t ‘lucky’ enough to have served during a conflict, never had the 'opportunity' to point and fire a weapon at another, never had to endure inhumane living conditions – and I thank God and every service member before me for that.  But I did serve.

Am I a vet?

[VirginiaJim]

As far as I'm concerned you are and thank you!

[CigarSki®]

You are a Vet.

Whether it was wartime or peacetime, you served your country.

I did 4 years in the USCG. Boot camp at TRACEN Cape May, NJ, Engineering school in Yorktown, VA, 2.5 years on the USCGC Dallas as a Machinery Tech, several months in Haiti working drug interdiction, while my ship went down to S.A. for that little Granada thing, spent my last year back at TRACEN Cape May, teaching new recruits small boat handling and navigation. I've been above the Arctic Circle, over to Europe, the Carribian and down to South America.

[Outback_Jon]

Am I a vet?

Absolutely.  Thank you for your service.

[Maille Man]

I always thought I was.  I mean, I've got a piece of paper and everything.  Until today, I also thought I was part of a brotherhood, of sorts.  This guy got me thinking, for the first time, that maybe there are subgroups, ie ex-military, combat vets, lifers... 

He left me dumbfounded.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Guys like the one you dealt with are bitter about something besides what you did while serving our great nation.  I have dealt with people like that before, I was talking to a friend (another MP) about how our jobs were very similar to what the infantry did since they trained the Iraqi army and we trained Iraqi police.  I know exactly what infantry did since I was imbedded with two seperate scout platoons and we worked hand in hand for several months. And some arrogant guy that said he was SF said I didn't know anything about being a grunt, I only know how to run radar and give tickets.  I just shrugged my shoulders and said "I don't need to lie to people about what I do to feel good about what I have done."  He walked away and my buddy said "thank God he wasn't actually SF or he would have whupped both our asses."  I wasn't worried. 

Don't worry about what somebody else says about your service, if you served it doesn't matter what you did or where you did it. 

[Excavator]

Yes you are a vet. I served 12 years in a signal unit (army national guard), active for 3 months during desert storm but never left the states, I don't feel as though I slighted the citizens of the USA and you should'nt either. I think we both would have hit the ground running with M16 in hand if needed, afterall we were all grunts first and foremost.

Happy veterans day sir and thank you for your service.

[redzgrider]

I enlisted in the Air Force in '78, and served until 82, a standard (for the time) four years of active duty, followed by two years of inactive reserve, all during peace time. I spent my time maintaining F-111 aircraft in multiple places around the world. In my time we never fired a shot, and never suffered a serious risk -- but I never once doubted that what we did help keep the world a safer place, and that my efforts were a significant part of that.
The people on the front line may take the biggest risks, but they aren't the only ones who serve. The pilots can't fly jets if the engines don't run and the avionics don't work. The army needs tanks that run, and planes, tanks, and boats all need fuel delivered. Every link in the chain is necessary for the chain to be strong.

[jim snyder]

He** yes you're a vet. I have also run into guys like the one you described. There are those who figure if you weren't in WW2 or Korea, or Vietnam, or Iraq, that you weren't in the "real" service. If you have an honorable discharge then by God you are a veteran of the armed services. I have the piece of paper and a few medals, and I didn't fire a shot either, but that don't keep me from being counted. And thank you for your service. 

[MIST]

You served. Therefore you deserve the title and the gratitude of this Nation. Thank you.

[Centex]

Hey, Maille Man -

Wow, someone that worked in the Tunnel!

I was with the 652nd Engr BN (Army)(Topo) stationed on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, 1972-74.  We were making topographic maps of Cambodia and the (then classified) aerial photos and other "source documents" used for our work were kept secure at the Tunnel!  I made a number of trips up there to do research from "source documents" for our work.  A different place for sure.

FYI, I was drafted and went straight from basic at Fort Polk to the unit on Ford Island with my 'civilian acquired skill' as a cartographer trained by the Texas Highway Department.  Our Army unit was stationed at the Navy base on Ford Island and we had no barracks - all in the unit from E-0 up had off-post living allowance and lived in civilian housing in Honolulu or wherever we wanted.  We had an 8-5 weekday job, drove in and took the Ford Island Ferry or a Navy launch to work.  We partied a lot when off-duty.  Probably even more 'club med' than your unit.  But we made the best damned maps in the Army.  You've got a DD-214, you are a vet.

[sherob]

Vet... that said, my Dad was stationed at Kunia from 1974-1977, Navy E9.  They had a Family Day Picnic, so we got to go take a tour of the place when I was a Sophmore in HS, Mililani HS... saw the Christmas Tree(bomb ground sensors), saw the mainfames he wrote code for.  Pretty neat facility... one of the cooler ones anyway.