A veteran is a veteran; no “technically” about it. Either you are one or are not one. The difference is if an individual was a tip of the spear warfighter or a REMF. Depending on the Service, there are 3-4x more REMFs than warfighters (teeth-to-tail ratio).
Did you have four heavily armed bodyguards with you at all times, because I know I didn’t.
Hard to define “REMF” when nearly everyone is subject to orders that might get them killed or maimed and with terrorism, guerilla warfare, accidents and etc. coming into play. Casey Sheehan was a chaplain’s assistant, as I recall.