I don't count?

At some point I volunteered to fill out a VET-100 form for the company I work for. I figured I’d do it because I had served 6.5 years during the Cold War, and that it would be nice to count for the company when it came to hiring veterans.

So I dutifully printed out the form and to my surprise, Cold War veterans are not counted to this purpose. The form counted the following groups –

- Special Disabled Veteran
- Veteran of the Vietnam-Era
- Other Veterans – (served between 1941-1952 OR if you served on active duty in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized)
- Newly Separated Veterans (left military within the past year)

So basically my service doesn’t count for this purpose since the Cold War was never given campaign status.

Although it has faded now, I can’t begin to tell you how tense things were at that time (I served in the 80s). During my service, the job I did saw the busiest time in its history, we actually received a Meritorious Unit Commendation because of how much we had to deal with.

I guess veteran’s groups have been trying to get the Cold War Era declared as a campaign. It will be interesting if that ever comes about. But I don’t know how well people will remember how it felt, regardless. And I’m guessing veterans of all the different wars must feel similarly about their own experiences as well. But at least they count. :)