One more time. I simply quoted the CNN article. I added nothing beyond what they wrote. I directly quoted them in an effort to correct the original poster’s misconception. You jumped in and said I needed to separate things out. I went back to the article and again quoted the Army’s own numbers for active duty and Reserve/NG suicides as the Army press release separated them and made the distinction between active and formerly active. I’ve added nothing to the article nor did I take anything away. Sadly, the suicide numbers are what they are and there are too,too many of them.
I am a veteran. I am a former soldier. I served in VietNam and during Desert Storm and Shield. I volunteered to go to Afghanistan but now I’m too old. I had battlefield experience they could use and obviously still need. So yes, I think I do have a significant grasp on who is a “soldier” and who is a “veteran” in any sense of the word and certainly by your definition. I suggest it can be argued that a reservist or guardsman who is still on duty (till his enlistment ends) and subject to recall but who is not at this moment in a combat zone is still a soldier and a “veteran” in the sense he’s already completed a tour or more tours as several reserve/NG units have done.
No I haven’t missed any of the points. I grasp all that I need to, much more than you can ever know. You just want to keep splitting hairs and I simply stick by the official numbers given by the DA.