Some of the fields described in this help text may not be shown, due to your system’s configuration.

Military Campaign Badge | Transitioning Type | Veteran Status | Combat Veteran | Type of Discharge | Disabled Veteran | Homeless Veteran

Military Campaign Badge - Campaign badges are awarded to military servicemembers who participate in certain expeditions/campaigns around the world. For more information on which expeditions/campaigns are eligible for badges, visit the Office of Personnel Management's Veteran's Guide.

Two recently awarded campaign badges not listed in that guide include:

• Afghanistan Campaign Medal - Eligible servicemembers must have served in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom on or after Oct. 24, 2001, to a future date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense or the cessation of the operation. The area of eligibility encompasses all land areas of the country of Afghanistan and all air spaces above the land.
  
  
• Iraq Campaign Medal - Eligible servicemembers must have served in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on or after March 19, 2003, to a future date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense or the cessation of the operation. The area of eligibility encompasses all land area of the country of Iraq, and the contiguous water area out to 12 nautical miles, and all air spaces above the land area of Iraq and above the contiguous water area out to 12 nautical miles.

Transitioning Type - Select the time frame for your transition out of the military. If you are not a transitioning service member, select "Not Applicable" from the drop down list.

Enter dates for transitioning, entrance into the military, and discharge in the fields provided using an MM/DD/YYYY format (e.g. 04/19/2005), or by clicking the calendar icon beside each field.

If you do not know the exact day you or your spouse entered the military or were discharged, use "01" as the date (for example, 06/01/1984).

Veteran Status - Choose Eligible Person from the drop down list if you are the spouse of:

• Any person who died of a service connected disability;
  
  
• Any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of application, is listed by the appropriate Secretary in one or more of the following categories for a total of more than 90 days: missing in action, captured in line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power; or
  
  
• Any person who has a total disability permanent in nature resulting from a service connected disability, or who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence.

Combat Veteran - Make a selection from the drop down list using the following guidelines:

• Not Applicable - You or your spouse is not a veteran of a campaign.
  
  
• Yes, Vietnam Veteran - You or your spouse served in the active U.S. military, naval or air service and was discharged from such service under conditions other than dishonorable during the Vietnam-era (the period beginning on February 28, 1961 and ending on May 7, 1975, in the case of a veteran who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period, and the period beginning on August 5, 1964 and ending on May 7, 1975, in all other cases.)
  
  
• Yes, Campaign Veteran - You or your spouse is a veteran of a campaign other than Vietnam.
  
  
• Yes, Not a Campaign Veteran - NEED DEFINITION
  
  
• Eligible Person - You are the spouse of:
  
  
  • Any person who died of a service connected disability;
    
    
  • Any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of application, is listed by the appropriate Secretary in one or more of the following categories for a total of more than 90 days: missing in action, captured in line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power; or
    
    
  • Any person who has a total disability permanent in nature resulting from a service connected disability, or who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence.

Click the Combat Veteran Website link for more information about which armed conflicts qualify as campaigns.

Type of Discharge - Make a selection from the drop down list using the following guidelines:

• Honorable - You or your spouse received an honorable discharge, having met or exceeded the required standards of duty performance and personal conduct.

A less than honorable discharge refers to a discharge that occurs under other than honorable conditions. This can be due to generally improper conduct, conviction of a crime either in a military court martial or a civilian court, or some other inappropriate action on the part of a soldier or someone associated with that soldier.

The United States military subdivides less-than-honorable discharges into four categories, in increasing order of severity:

• General (under honorable conditions) - You or your spouse received a general discharge when you separated from the service under honorable conditions, but without a sufficiently meritorious military record to deserve an honorable discharge.
  
  
• Other than honorable - You or your spouse received an other than honorable discharge for misconduct or security reasons.
  
  
• Bad conduct - You or your spouse received a bad conduct discharge when you separated from the service under conditions other than honorable under an approved sentence of a general or a special court-martial.
  
  
• Dishonorable - You or your spouse received a dishonorable discharge when you separated from the service under dishonorable conditions after a general court-martial.

If you were a commissioned officer who received a dismissal from the military, select "Dishonorable" from the drop down list. A dismissal of a commissioned officer, in general, the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge of an enlisted member.

Disabled Veteran - A disability is considered to be service related if it was incurred or aggravated during a period of active military service from which the veteran was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, and was not due to willful misconduct of the veteran. A service connected disability evaluated 10 percent or more disabling by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs entitles a veteran to receive disability compensation.

Make a selection from the drop down list using the following guidelines:

• Yes, Disabled Veteran - You or your spouse is a veteran who is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs for a disability rated at less than 30 percent, and who is not classified as a Special Disabled Veteran (see below), or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service connected disability.
  
  
• Yes, Special Disabled - You or your spouse is a veteran who is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs for a disability:
  
  
  • Rated at 30 percent or more; or
    
    
  • Rated at 10 or 20 percent in the case of a veteran who has been determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs to have a serious employment handicap under Chapter 31, Training and Rehabilitation for Veterans with Service Connected Disabilities; or
    
    
  • A person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service connected disability.
• No - You or your spouse is not a disabled veteran.

If you or your spouse is disabled, chose a Disability Percentage from the drop down list.

Homeless Veteran - A homeless veteran is an individual who:

• Served in the active military, naval, or air service
• Was discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable
• Lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

This definition includes any individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is a publicly or privately operated shelter for temporary accommodation; an institution providing temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or a public or private place not designated for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.