Stolen Valor: Gulf War at 15 and Iraq when service ended in 1996

UPDATE: After being shocked by the update, I decided to go to the VA website for the answer. Here it is!

Gulf War Service
For VA benefit purposes under 38 CFR 3.317, Gulf War service is active military duty in any of the following areas in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations at any time August 2, 1990 to present. This includes Veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2010) and Operation New Dawn (2010-2011).

Southwest Asia theatre of military operations: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, U.A.E., Oman, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea

Iraq
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
The neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Qatar
The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)
Oman
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Oman
Waters of the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea
The airspace above these locations
Note: Service in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001, is considered qualifying service for disability benefits associated with certain presumptive diseases.

Really odd followup to this story boils down to no one officially ended the Gulf War!

“More than 650,000 Service members served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 2, 1990 to July 31, 1991. For VA benefits eligibility purposes, the Gulf War period is still in effect,” the VA website states. “This means that anyone who served on active duty from August 2, 1990, to present is considered a Gulf War Veteran. For example, the Veterans Pension benefit requires service during a wartime period. Therefore, any Veteran who served on active military service for any period from August 2, 1990, to the present meets the wartime service requirement.”

This was reported on the Bradenton Herald along with this part.

“Even those of us who served in Operation Desert Storm were told that ‘the war was over’ when it fact there was only a cease fire declared, and no official end to the war has been declared as of this date, and all veterans who served from Aug. 2, 1990 until a date yet to be declared are Gulf War veterans.”

Holmes Beach mayoral candidate falsely claims he’s a veteran of first Gulf War. He was 15
Bradenton Herald
Mark Young
July 25, 2018

HOLMES BEACH
Holmes Beach mayoral candidate Joshua Linney claims in his campaign biography that he served with the U.S. Army in Iraq and that he is a veteran of the first Gulf War.

Holmes Beach mayoral candidate Joshua Linney claims he misspoke in misrepresenting his military service. Provided photo

“I’m a Gulf War veteran whose worked to overcome war, trauma, alcoholism, chemical dependence and PTSD, while living with disabilities, and I conquered them all,” Linney, 42, wrote in a biography submitted to the Manatee County supervisor of elections office and posted on the agency’s website

However, Linney was never in Iraq, according to his discharge papers. And as for his claim to being a Gulf War veteran, the war was fought in January-February 1991, when Linney was 15.

When he was 18, Linney enlisted in the Army in September 1993 and was medically discharged in August 1996, after he fell off a building and suffered a traumatic brain injury for which he receives disability benefits, according to his discharge papers.
read more here

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