Who Is A Veteran

I find it quite interesting that as I posed my question a couple posts ago about who actually qualifies as a veteran, the Legion Magazine just publishes in their July-August 2009 magazine with a quotation of exactly who qualifies as a veteran.

To quote the magazine . . .

Quote

"So who is a veteran? Successive generations of Legionnaires have debated who is a veteran, sometimes to the chagrin of many who have served Canada both in wartime and in peacetime.

In the year 2000, The Royal Canadian Legion at its Dominion Convention in Halifax took an extraordinary step and debated the question. By the end of the discussion, a definition of who is a veteran was accepted and it is:

""A veteran is any person who is serving or who has honourably served in the Armed Forces of Canada, the Commonwealth or its wartime allies; or who has served in the Merchant Navy or Ferry Command during wartime.""

In contrast, the definition of a veteran later approved by Veterans Affairs Canada and the the Department of National Defence is:

""A veteran is a former member of the Canadian Forces or Reserve Force who has met the military's occupational classification requirements and has been honourably discharged from the Canadian Forces.""

The primary difference between the two definitions is that the Legion recognizes those who are currently serving as veterans. In keeping with The Legion's mission "to serve veterans and their dependants" and in concert with our Purposes and Objects, the Legion definition permits us to advocate as an independent voice on behalf of all veterans including those currently serving in the CF.

Canadians who volunteer to serve in the Canadian Forces understand that they have an unlimited liability to serve. We, as Legionnaires, understand that we have an unlimited obligation to advocate on their behalf, to recognize every one of them as veteran, and to support them."

Unquote . . .

It is very apparent from the above that all ex-members of the CAF are classed as veterans and derserve the assistance from the local Legions. The local Branches should not be able to pick and choose who they feel are veterans and deserving of their help and disregarding others that are just as deserving of assistance.