Renewal - veteran

[Roger Howard]

I have a question on the definition of a veteran and the renewal fee. Does someone who has a honorable discharge from the Texas State Guard qualify for the reduced renewal fee or does it only apply to Federal service?

[Pawpaw]

GC §411.1951. WAIVER OR REDUCTION OF FEES FOR MEMBERS OR
VETERANS OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. (a) In this section,
“veteran” means a person who:
(1) has served in:
(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or marine corps of the United
States;
(B) the Texas military forces as defined by Section 437.001; or
(C) an auxiliary service of one of those branches of the armed forces; and
(2) has been honorably discharged from the branch of the service in which the
person served.

and

Sec. 437.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Active military service" means state active duty service, federally funded state active duty service, or federal active duty service. The term does not include service performed exclusively for training, such as basic combat training, advanced individual training, annual training, inactive duty training, and special training periodically made available to service members.
(2) "Adjutant general" means the military commander of the Texas military forces.
(3) "Department" means the Texas Military Department.
(4) "Employee" has the meaning assigned by Section 21.002, Labor Code.
(5) "Employer" has the meaning assigned by Section 21.002, Labor Code.
(6) "Executive director" means the administrative head of the department who is responsible for managing the department.
(7) "Military duty" means any activity of a service member performing a duty under a lawful military order, including training.
(8) "Service member" means a member or former member of the state military forces or a component of the United States armed forces, including a reserve component.
(9) "State active duty" means the performance of military or emergency service for this state at the call of the governor or the governor's designee.
(10) "State military forces" means the Texas military forces.
(11) "State training and other duty" means the service and training typically performed by service members in preparation for state active duty. The term includes training for man-made and natural disaster response and maintenance of equipment and property.
(12) "Temporary state employee" means a service member who is not a full-time or part-time state employee and who is on state active duty.
(13) "Texas Military Department" means the state agency charged with administrative activities in support of the Texas military forces.
(14) "Texas military forces" means the Texas National Guard, the Texas State Guard, and any other military force organized under state law.
(15) "Texas National Guard" means the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard.
(16) "Texas State Guard" means the volunteer military forces that provide community service and emergency response activities for this state, as organized under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, and operating as a defense force authorized under 32 U.S.C. Section 109.

So the answer appears to be, "Yes."

[JP171]

Roger, when did you leave the TXSG? and why if I may ask?

[Roger Howard]

Thanks for the answer,

I left the guard in the spring of 2010 after 3 years of service. The reasons I left are numerous. At the time I was an over the road truck driver and it took away a bunch of my family time. I also disagree with the arms policy. The TXSG is an unarmed force. My CO put in several promotions for me and HQ continually lost the paperwork.

There were other reasons as well. It was just time to move on. I served my state with honor and would do it again if needed.