Veteran is for anyone that served honorably.

Combat or not - doesn't matter. I volunteered for Desert Storm but ended up in Turkey. In the end our base was actually attacked with live fire and we were designated as a combat zone anyway. None of that matters though because we were serving in a designated time of war/action.

Edited - I was slightly wrong. I was using the veteran definition that allows membership into organizations like VFW or the American Legion. I updated this to fix it. My initial comment limited it to serving during a specific campaign, like WW2, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, etc. but those requirements only pertain to those memberships.

38 U.S.C. § 101(2) provides: The term "veteran" means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

Veteran is for anyone that served honorably.

Combat or not - doesn't matter. I volunteered for Desert Storm but ended up in Turkey. In the end our base was actually attacked with live fire and we were designated as a combat zone anyway. None of that matters though because we were serving in a designated time of war/action.

Edited - I was slightly wrong. I was using the veteran definition that allows membership into organizations like VFW or the American Legion. I updated this to fix it. My initial comment limited it to serving during a specific campaign, like WW2, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, etc. but those requirements only pertain to those memberships.

Veteran is for anyone that served during a specific active campaign. Like WW2, Desert Shield/Storm, Enduring Freedom, etc.

Combat or not - doesn't matter. I volunteered for Desert Storm but ended up in Turkey. In the end our base was actually attacked with live fire and we were designated as a combat zone anyway. None of that matters though because we were serving in a designated time of war/action.