Reserve and Guard Retirees Near to Becoming 'Vets'

On the eve of Veterans Day, the Senate passed a bill with language to grant "honorary" veteran status to as many as 200,000 Reserve and National Guard retirees — those not deemed veterans now because they did not serve a qualifying period of active service under federal orders. The House is expected to adopt similar language soon, either by passing a standalone bill from Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), the Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act (HR 1384), or by mirroring Senate action, that is, adding language to give these retirees veteran status as part of a larger catchall bill of veteran initiatives. For more details, see this Military Advantage blog post.