Yes — if you served in the Global War on Terrorism, you are almost certainly a protected veteran under federal law. The label doesn’t come from GWOT service itself. It comes from fitting into one of four categories defined by the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), and most GWOT service maps cleanly into at least one of them: you earned a campaign medal, you received the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, you have a service-connected disability, or you left active duty within the past three years.
“Protected veteran” is an employment classification, codified at 38 U.S.C. § 4212 and implemented at 41 CFR Part 60-300. It matters when you apply to or work for a company holding federal contracts above a set dollar threshold. Those contractors have to actively recruit, hire, and promote qualifying veterans, and they cannot discriminate based on veteran status. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) at the Department of Labor enforces these rules.
The Four Categories, and Where GWOT Service Fits
VEVRAA covers four types of veterans. You only need to fit one.
Campaign Badge Veterans
If you deployed and received a campaign medal, you qualify as an active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran. The GWOT-era campaign and expeditionary medals include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal (for service in Iraq or Syria on or after June 15, 2014), and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, which covers qualifying operations including Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Each of these is authorized by the Department of Defense as a campaign or expeditionary medal, which is what VEVRAA requires.
Armed Forces Service Medal Veterans
The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOTSM) was approved for service members who supported GWOT operations on or after September 11, 2001, even without deploying overseas. Because it’s an Armed Forces service medal awarded under Executive Order 12985, recipients qualify as protected veterans under this category. For GWOT-era veterans who served stateside or in support roles, this is usually the clearest path.
Disabled Veterans
If you receive VA disability compensation for a service-connected condition, or you were discharged because of a service-connected disability, you qualify. Timing and location of service don’t matter. Ratings for traumatic brain injury, PTSD, or musculoskeletal injuries sustained during deployment all count.
Recently Separated Veterans
Any veteran discharged from active duty within the past three years qualifies. The clock starts on your discharge date and runs for exactly three years, then this category no longer applies. If you left active duty recently, you may fit here and under one of the other categories at the same time.
Discharge Characterization Can Disqualify You
One requirement runs through all four categories: you must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Honorable and general (under honorable conditions) discharges both meet the standard. A dishonorable discharge, which can only be handed down by a general court-martial, disqualifies you. Other-than-honorable (OTH) discharges sit in a gray area and depend on the circumstances. If your paperwork is ambiguous or you believe your discharge should have been characterized differently, you can apply to your service branch’s Discharge Review Board for an upgrade.
What Protected Status Actually Gets You
VEVRAA’s protections apply at federal contractors. If you’re applying to or working for one, the employer must take affirmative steps to recruit and hire protected veterans and cannot discriminate based on veteran status in hiring, pay, promotions, job assignments, or termination. Contractors also cannot reduce your compensation because you receive VA disability payments or a military pension.
Disabled veterans get an additional layer of protection. Federal contractors must provide reasonable accommodations to let you perform essential job functions or complete the application process, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. The regulations also require contractors to act on their own initiative in one specific situation: if the contractor knows you’re a disabled veteran and notices significant performance issues that might relate to the disability, it must confidentially ask whether you need an accommodation, rather than waiting for you to raise it.
Documenting Your Status
Federal contractors typically ask applicants to fill out a voluntary self-identification form indicating whether they’re a protected veteran. Your answer can’t be used against you; it’s used to track affirmative action progress.
Two documents establish your status if you ever need to prove it:
- Your DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) lists your dates of service, decorations and campaign medals, character of discharge, and military occupational specialty. It alone can establish eligibility under the campaign badge, Armed Forces service medal, and recently separated categories. Copies are available through the National Archives or the VA.
- Your VA disability rating letter documents a service-connected disability rating. You can download VA benefit letters through the VA’s records portal.
Employers can’t demand these documents during the application stage, but keep copies accessible for when you need to assert your rights later.
If a Federal Contractor Discriminates Against You
You can file a complaint with OFCCP within 300 days of the alleged violation. Miss that window and the agency generally can’t help you.
To file, gather your contact details, the employer’s name and address, a description of what happened and when, and the reasons you believe your veteran status drove the decision. You can submit the complaint through OFCCP’s online portal, mail or fax the complaint form to the regional office, or file in person at any OFCCP office. The agency will assign a complaint number, review the allegations, and may contact you for more information before deciding whether to open a formal investigation.
When OFCCP finds a violation, remedies can include back pay with interest, reinstatement, or a job offer. Contractors that refuse to cooperate risk having their federal contracts suspended or terminated.
What VEVRAA Is Not
Two other protections often get confused with VEVRAA, and the distinctions matter if you’re trying to figure out which law helps you.
VEVRAA is not USERRA. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, at 38 U.S.C. § 4312, protects your right to return to your civilian job after military service and applies to virtually all employers, not just federal contractors. If you gave your employer advance notice, your cumulative military absences didn’t exceed five years, and you were discharged under honorable conditions, USERRA requires reinstatement in the position you would have held had you never left, with full seniority. VEVRAA is about getting hired and advancing at a federal contractor; USERRA is about keeping the job you already had.
VEVRAA is also not the federal veterans’ preference system under 5 U.S.C. § 2108, which adds points to civil service examination scores when you apply for federal government jobs. Preference-eligible categories include those who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign for which a campaign badge was authorized, and those who served more than 180 consecutive days of active duty with any part falling after September 11, 2001. Most GWOT veterans qualify for preference, but that’s a separate program from VEVRAA’s protected veteran status at federal contractors.