Who Counts as a Veteran in the District of Columbia

Read this entry first. The D.C. Code writes a new definition of veteran into nearly every program, and the tests differ on length of service, on discharge, on wartime and even on which branches count. The veterans office definition, which is the narrowest. D.C. Code 49-1001(4), in the chapter that creates the Office of Veterans Affairs, defines a veteran as someone who served on active duty in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, or as a Merchant Mariner between December 7, 1941 and August 15, 1945, was "honorably discharged or relieved from active duty", served at least two years unless released early because of a line of duty wound or injury or for the convenience of the government, and is a District resident. It was written in 2001 and names neither the Space Force nor the National Guard or reserves. It governs only that chapter, but it is the definition the Office's own statute uses, and a veteran with a general discharge or eighteen months of service does not meet it on its words. The Office in practice helps any veteran who asks. Government hiring, which has wartime and a clock. D.C. Code 1-607.03 gives preference points to a person who served on active duty for more than 180 consecutive days, excluding reserve initial training, and separated "under honorable conditions". Subsection (f) says no one who entered the armed forces after October 14, 1976 gets any preference unless they served during a time of war, subsection (e) ends the preference five years after separation except for the disabled and spousal routes, and subsection (g) excludes military retirees entirely. The personnel regulations at 6-B DCMR 214 name the same five branches as the veterans office statute, count contingency operations as wartime, and accept an honorable or general discharge. See the employment preference entry. Licence plates and the licence designation, which are the widest. D.C. Code 50-1501.02a(a) defines a veteran for the veteran plate as someone who served on active duty, or was a Guard or reserve member called to active duty by the President or the Secretary of Defense or who served 20 years, and was discharged "under conditions other than dishonorable". D.C. Code 50-1401.01(b)(3) and 50-1401.03(a)(2) give the word "veteran" on a licence or identification card for active duty service and a discharge other than dishonorable. The DMV's own pages say both require an honorable discharge. They do not, on the Code's words. Contracting, which borrows the federal definition. D.C. Code 2-218.38 certifies a veteran-owned business enterprise by reference to 38 U.S.C. 101(2): active military, naval, air or space service and a discharge or release under conditions other than dishonorable. It is the only District definition that plainly reaches the Space Force. Family law, which includes the Guard. D.C. Code 16-914.02(e)(6) defines the armed forces for custody during deployment to include the National Guard and every reserve component, and excludes from activation any "active duty within the District". What to do with this. When a District office refuses you, ask which section it relies on and read that section's own words. An other than honorable discharge qualifies you for the veteran plate, the licence designation and the contracting preference, and fails the veterans office definition, government hiring and the Call for Hire program. The Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs is where to start.