Who Is a Veteran? Understanding Military Status for VTCs

Who is a Veteran? Utilized by the Veterans Administration, 38 U.S.C. 101 (2) outlines the definition of a Veteran. Contextually, a Veteran is any individual who served in the active component of the US Military and was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable. A Veteran can also be a Reservist or member of the National Guard called to Federal active duty or disabled from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty or while in training status.

The purpose of sharing the previous is to highlight the various ways one can earn Veteran status. One must be a Veteran to serve as a mentor in a Veteran Treatment Court (VTC). Thus, VTCs must remain cognizant that not all Veterans are equal, and varying levels of service must be taken into consideration. This article highlights some anomalies and possible challenges VTCs should understand and address, when it comes to Mentor Coordinator (MC) and volunteer mentor recruitment.

Different Eras of Service

According to a 2020 published US Census American Community Survey Report, the US Veteran population is shrinking. The populace of Veterans will continue to dwindle by 2.5 million annually through 2030. This coupled with the fact that membership is down systematically within traditional Veteran organizations (e.g., VFW, American Legion, etc.) will pose challenges for VTCs in search of volunteer mentors. Figure 1 illustrates this shrinking population, which consist of a mosaic of Veterans who served during very distinct eras. The era in which a Veteran serves may also directly correlate to relatability and the inducement of imposter syndrome within an idiosyncratic generation, as many Veterans tend to advocate their service period as deserving of the highest respect. Thus, having a MC from an earlier era may deter volunteerism of Veterans who served during a more recent conflict era or vice-versa. 

Not All Veterans Are Cut from The Same Cloth of Experience 

It may seem obvious, but not all Veterans serve in the same military branch, thus, their experiences and attitudes vary. Not every Veteran has served as a leader during their service, this despite many articles making inferences to such a phenomenon.  Internally to the Marine Corps the E4 (Corporal) and E5 (Sergeant) represent the first and second levels of initial leadership ranks. Due primarily to its mission, the Marine Corps needs leaders to lead and control the actions and outputs at the lowest level of the military rank structure (E1 through E3). Corporals and Sergeants work many times independently and are responsible for personnel and equipment valued at over $1M+.

The Navy does not have such needs, due to its mission, size, and proximity, which effectively requires Petty Officers (E4 through E6) to lead themselves and, for those below them (E1 through E3), to work alongside in carrying out the orders of the Chief Petty Officers (E7 through E9). Therefore, in addition to a possible vengeful disposition, the definition of leadership and how to lead could vary greatly if one were an MC in charge of mentors of a sister service.   

Another element VTCs must clearly understand, and monitor, is when the MC has drastically less military leadership than the mentors they lead. For instance, a Navy MC could be an E4 or E5 Veteran, who served four years on active duty, the average of most Veterans. This individual could be responsible for leading Veterans with almost 10 times the amount of their military experience, who have served at multiple levels as leaders, to include the executive levels, e.g., Navy E8’s & Marine E9’s, and or Officers. The MC is then tasked to lead senior Veterans on essentially how to serve as a battle buddy? As a possible response, VTCs who may have policies that require “mentors leaving their rank at the door”, is certainly a possible recipe for disaster when looking to recruit and retain elite Veteran volunteer mentors. 

Rank Structure Matters to Most Veterans

VTCs look to integrate all military services, their cultures, subcultures, and incorporate them all under one VTC mentor system. Outside of the possible conflicts with leadership experience, volunteer mentors who value their service and accomplishments deserve to be acknowledged and respected internally and externally by all looking to utilize their skillsets. It should be clear, but the military is a hierarchy. Thus, if VTCs are looking to recreate a military culture, recognizable by those within it, they must also advocate for the recognition of the military accomplishments of its mentor corps. A quick thought experiment for VTCs to consider. What if their MC was an E5 Veteran of the Navy, who then recruits a retired General or Admiral, who was also a judge or defense attorney in another court, to serve as a mentor. What if the perspective mentor was a Senior Enlisted Member (e.g., E9’s: Sergeant Major, Chief Master Sergeant, Master Gunnery Sergeant, Command Sergeant Major, or Master Chief Petty Officer, etc.), with several decades of service, advanced degrees, to include a terminal doctorate degree. Would the court team recognize these individuals both within and outside the mentor corps of its program? Equally, how would the court team treat these individuals? Would there be internal conversations to ensure all respected the person’s credentials? In a true military culture, the answer would be unequivocally, yes. Therefore, all in the mentor corps of the VTC deserves recognition of their military achievements, it is essential to the integrity of a desired forged military culture.

To conclude, Veterans consist of a wide swath of individuals. Veterans are from varied eras and do not inevitably have identical leadership abilities due to their service. Finally, rank structure and the identification of military accomplishments is fundamental to a volunteer mentor program. VTCs, seeking altruistic mentors, must adapt or risk shortages of mentors for their VTC participant programs.

More Information

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