Over the last few years I have run up against a wall of prejudice against me. Yes, it’s true. I am a white, male adult, so by some people’s rationalization, it is not possible to discriminate against me. This politically correct assumption aside, I am discriminated against, and it is not based upon by race, gender, ethnicity, or any of the typically protected classes. What is being held against me is my time in the United States Army. It is not that I am discriminated against for being a veteran, it is worse; I am denied the title of veteran. Because of the dates of my active duty, I have been dropped from the roles of veterans and dumped into the pile of Prior Service. My time serving my country has been deemed less than worthy. You see I served in the Army from June of 1978 until June of 1981, after the era of the Vietnam War and before the era of Panama. Events such as the Iranian Hostage crisis that was modern America’s first brush against Islamic fundamentalism were not deemed on par with the invasion of Panama. So how did I get to this conclusion?

This first started while I was still in the Army. The GI Bill had been retired in 1976 and replaced by the Veteran’s Education Assistance Program (VEAP). For those who don’t know, the GI Bill supplied veterans with grants to pay for college or vocational schooling, among other benefits. VEAP required service members to contribute to an educational fund, while in the service, that the government would match, 2 to 1. Of course being under 21 I was not looking to the future, and in the late 1970’s the world had not started to require college degrees for occupations such as law enforcement. Since I had my sights set on becoming a police officer (I was a Military Policeman in the Army), I never gave it a second thought. I did start to regret the decision when I ended my time in service, honorably, in 1981, and every police department I talked to asked for college credits and did not acknowledge my time in the Military Police as legitimate experience.

Now flash forward several decades. I was working with a man who was attending college that was being paid for by the federal government. He was a disabled vet. He had permanently injured his back, moving furniture for the Army while serving in the Army reserves. We became good friends and one day he told me about an insurance company that specialized in low rates and was only available to active service members and veterans. This company, USAA, was started by 25 Army officers to help active duty and veterans with the high cost of insurance. Of course I was interested in saving some money on my auto insurance so I went to their website to see about changing my insurance to USAA. Unfortunately, I quickly found out that I was not qualified to be insured by them. Only active duty, disabled veterans, retirees, and veterans who had served during times of war (or police actions deemed worthy such as Korea and Vietnam) and their dependents were accepted by USAA. Oh well, it was not a major loss as it only prevented me from saving a few bucks a month on my auto insurance. The matter was quickly pushed to the back of my mind.

A while later, I was pondering on how to network better to improve my professional life when I came upon the idea of joining the American Legion. I knew I could not join the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as I had not served in a foreign country, at peace or war. I was not aware, however, that the American Legion is reserved for veterans who have served during times of war, whether or not they were actually in the war’s theater. So of course, my service to my country was not sufficient to qualify me to join. This time I was a bit more upset at not being able to join with my brethren and in doing so possibly create some positive social networks. Oh well, not a major blow in life, just an irritating one. Once again this was mentally pushed to the back burner.

The final straw came when I was perusing the federal job database, USAJobs.gov. While creating a profile in the system to enable me to apply for a federal position, I came across the section for veterans. I used the supplied wizard to find out how many points my time in service was worth in the federal hiring process. Any guesses? That’s right, zero points. I was not a veteran, but classified as prior service. Prior service? I thought that was the very definition of a veteran! 

This issue has come up several times since, usually involving government employment. So why does it bother me enough to write about it? It bothers me because of the inherent unjustness of it all. I offered up my life to the alter of freedom as President Lincoln so eloquently put it. Is it my fault that Mars was not accepting sacrifices at the time? Worse, I joined the Army just three years after our pull out of Viet Nam. This was a time that the country did not look favorably upon its military. It was not “cool” to be in the military at the time. In point of fact, the Army was under staffed the entire time I was in. In 1979 the Army missed it recruitment goals by 17,000. So I had the chutzpah to join when it was not en vogue.   Add to that the fact that I spent my time protecting our nation’s nuclear arsenal from terrorist threats. Yes Virginia, there were terrorist before the 1990s. Finally, and the part that bothers me the most, is that there are soldiers, as you read this, that are doing the same thing I did, in the same location, that will be considered veterans. Why? It is because there are wars (or police actions) ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

And please don’t think for a moment that I think the job they are doing is any less important that the fighting that is going on. In the military there are at least a dozen soldiers behind the lines for every soldier actually fighting. This means that only about 8 % of war-time veterans are ever in a position to be shot at. The majority are driving, moving, guarding, and cleaning so that the combat troops can carry the fight without impediment. This is what I did when I was in.  It just so happens that the war I served during was a cold one.

So I ask of you the reader, is this fair? There are thousands of us that served our country honorably in a time that just happened to be relatively peaceful. Is it right that those of my ilk are delegated to being less than veterans? Prior service indeed!