I said in post 82, “Those who have been in the military but never participated in any form of combat or were never put in harm’s way are not considered by most to have been in “active service”. I was not referring to a definition that I came up with. I was referring to the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of “active service”,
“noun
direct participation in warfare as a member of the armed forces.” This is the definition that comes back first if you do a Google search of the term “active service”.
Your NeoCon hero, Lindsay Graham was a member of the military, but he has never had any “direct participation in warfare”.
I never claimed that this was my definition... Again, I said that most people would not consider Graham’s military experience to be “active service”. Obviously, many if not most terms have different meanings depending on the context that they are used in.
You continue trying to obfuscate by distorting the gist of our conversation. It is disingenuous and I suppose intended to confuse someone who has not read through the comments in our exchange.
If you only count combat MOSs in combat as active duty then you eliminate almost the entire Navy and Air Force and most of the Soldiers and Marines who have ever served.
Have fun with your imagination.
https://www.va.gov/vetsinworkplace/docs/em_activereserve.html
Active Duty vs. Reserve or National Guard
What is the difference between someone who is active duty military and someone who is in the Reserve or National Guard?
A person who is active duty is in the military full time. They work for the military full time, may live on a military base, and can be deployed at any time. Persons in the Reserve or National Guard are not full-time active duty military personnel, although they can be deployed at any time should the need arise.
https://myfuture.com/military/types-of-military-service
Active Duty means that service members’ jobs are full time, whether they are deployed overseas or domestically. These service members receive a regular paycheck and full benefits, including health care, a housing allowance and 30 days of paid vacation per year.
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/documents/fmr/archive/07aarch/07a_definitions_Feb99.pdf
4. Active Duty. Full-time duty in the active service of a Uniformed Service, including fulltime training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a Military Service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.