What is the definition of a veteran?

Answer 1

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.

Except http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veteran See earlier question, "http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_veterans "