have: "Separated / Retired Military -- does not meet any of above definitions" "Currently Serving National Guard/Reserve -- does not meet any of above definitions" "Military spouse" What other techniques have you used to baseline the number of military members in your company?  Please share your ideas in the comments below. It would seem to be a fairly straight forward question: Are you a veteran ?  A civilian who has never served in the military likely defines veteran as someone who has served in the military.  However, people who have served in the military see many more shades of gray in the answer. If you are managing a military veteran recruiting initiative, you have many reasons for asking veterans to self-identify.  And, depending on your reasons, there are many ways to define "veteran": For purposes of collecting the Work Opportunity Tax Credit , a veteran is generally defined as someone who has been released from active duty. As part of its Notice For Proposed Rulemaking, one change that the OFCCP has proposed to the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) regulation is that employers ask the veteran to self-identify at the point of application (not only at the time of a job offer). How you ask for this information can impact your response rate.  If you simply state "Are you a veteran?" veterans may not self-identify for a variety of reasons: If the applicant is in the final stages of transitioning from active military service (on 'terminal leave" or