Veteran
A veteran (from Latin vetus 'old') is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer in a military.A military veteran that has served directly in combat in a war is further defined as a war veteran (although not all military conflicts, or areas in which armed combat took place, are necessarily referred to as wars).

Military veterans are unique as a group as their lived experience is so strongly connected to the conduct of war in general and application of professional violence in particular.
Therefore, there are a large body of knowledge developed through centuries of scholarly studies that seek to describe, understand and explain their lived experience in and out of service. Griffith with colleagues provides an overview of this research field that addresses veterans general health, transition from military service to civilian life, homelessness, veteran employment, civic engagement and veteran identity as recurrent investigative topics in the field.

Public attitude towards veterans

Military veterans often receive special treatment in their respective countries. War veterans are generally treated with great respect and honour, although negative feelings towards veterans may be held in certain situations: veterans of unpopular or lost conflicts may be discriminated against. In some countries (e.g., Germany after 1945), veterans are neither honoured in any special way by the general public, nor have their dedicated Veterans Day, although events are sometimes orchestrated by minority groups.

The way veterans are portrayed in the media is likely to contribute to public attitudes. A small scale survey in 2020 indicated several ways in which veterans themselves feel that their representation in the media could be improved, by avoiding certain stereotypes.Many countries have longstanding traditions, ceremonies, and holidays to honour their veterans. In Commonwealth member states, Remembrance Day is held on November the 11th and is focused mostly on the veterans who died in service. A red or white Poppy is worn on the lapel (for remembrance or for peace, respectively) in the weeks up to the date, and wreaths and flowers laid at memorials to the dead.

In Russia, a tradition was established after World War II where newly married couples would on their wedding day visit a military cemetery. In France, for instance, those wounded in war are given the first claim on any seat on public transit. Most countries have a holiday such as Veterans Day to honour their veterans, along with the war dead.

In Zimbabwe, the term veteran is used for political purpose and may not actually refer to someone that participated in a war, but rather to someone who feels entitled to some benefit because of association with a cause for which there had been an actual war.

Veterans' experiences around the world

Britain

Ex-service is British terminology for veterans, which refers to those who have served in the British Empire or Commonwealth Armed Forces.Britain, with its historic distrust of standing armies, did little for its veterans before the 19th century. It did set up two small hospitals for them in the 1680s. In London and other cities the streets teemed with disabled or disfigured veterans begging for alms.The First World War focused national attention on veterans, especially those who had been partly or wholly disabled. The King's National Roll Scheme (KNRS) was an employment program for disabled veterans of the First World War. Kowalsky says it was practical, innovative, and ahead of its time and was the most important piece of legislation enacted for disabled veterans in interwar Britain.
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