- Joined
- Sep 28, 2015
- Messages
- 3,085
- Reaction score
- 3,798
So, the thing is, nearly every SDN member I know that has a service badge is no longer on active duty, which makes the current system really wonky since it doesn't have any continuing requirements of active service to maintain the status (that is, you can't tell by someone's badge if they are active or not). Couple that with the fact that it is not readily apparent from service veteran profiles that they are indeed prior service IF they failed to get account verification before they lost access to their .mil email addresses. I have always felt this is an odd way to approach the process, particularly if part of the goal is to assist veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian life within health care related fields from military service.
For starters, most folks on active duty have never actually separated from service so the transition is something that they are simply not qualified to address. Second, a retired E6 using veterans education benefits is likely much more qualified to guide student veterans in the process of utilizing benefits than a freshly minted active duty soldier who is daydreaming about one day going to medical school.
From my standpoint, this should be a simple change; active duty and honorably separated veterans should both be allocated service tags to make their accounts easily identifiable for the good of the veteran population that SDN serves. Sending in a DD214 or military ID for verification can't be much more complicated than physician verification, at least as far as I can tell from the process.
As a final thought, if the enhanced account features available in the uniformed services upgrade serve as a means of thanking those who serve(d) their country, surely the retired senior NCO is at least as deserving of our thanks as the E1 who has 60 days of active duty time under their belt.
For starters, most folks on active duty have never actually separated from service so the transition is something that they are simply not qualified to address. Second, a retired E6 using veterans education benefits is likely much more qualified to guide student veterans in the process of utilizing benefits than a freshly minted active duty soldier who is daydreaming about one day going to medical school.
From my standpoint, this should be a simple change; active duty and honorably separated veterans should both be allocated service tags to make their accounts easily identifiable for the good of the veteran population that SDN serves. Sending in a DD214 or military ID for verification can't be much more complicated than physician verification, at least as far as I can tell from the process.
As a final thought, if the enhanced account features available in the uniformed services upgrade serve as a means of thanking those who serve(d) their country, surely the retired senior NCO is at least as deserving of our thanks as the E1 who has 60 days of active duty time under their belt.