re: Is it insensitive to veterans to have a fireworks show not on a major holiday?

I went thru many more than that and obviously we think of PTSD in a very different manner. To each his own my point is there are too many vets out there claiming shite they don't need to be claiming.

I look at WW2 era vets as being the ones that got bombarded with artillery as the ones that are shell shocked. I don't understand why someone would have PTSD by kicking in doors. Just because you kick in doors doesn't mean you had trigger time.

I see PTSD as getting shot, having to pick your dead friends off the ground, getting blown up, watching your friends take a last breath, and death in general. Many vets I know feel the same way. Not saying no one saw some shite, but claiming PTSD because you kicked in a few doors just doesn't add up imo.

We got into many firefights, ambushes, IEDs and whatever comes with the territory of combat. So if you want to call me a pussy I'm fine with that I don't care. I don't get offended that easily.

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My point is you don't get shell shocked from anything but artillery.

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So, in your opinion, artillery is the only cause of PTSD?

I wasn't calling you a pussy. I just don't know how to use emoticons. It would have been the one that winks.
Do some volunteer work at the VA hospital. We need good vets that are still halfway straight. Those old men have some great stories to tell and the awesome thing about it is they love our stories just as much as we love theirs.
Based on how ape $h!+ that dude went, from a few years experience working with young guys who came back, he's legit.
PTSD disability is abused, but based on knowledge, i'd say its less than 1%. People don't understand how hard it is for a POG to get a PTSD rating.
If you aren't a POG you get trigger time. (Here is where i would perhaps use the pimp emoticon.)
What unit were you with?

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So the following night, some jackass kids decided to prank the veteran and fire off some fireworks right behind his house and the guy had to be taken away in an ambulance because apparently he had a panic attack. Which, of course, is awful, but no way anyone could prove it was intentional.

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If I was a dumbass kid involved in doing this, I would have thought it was hilarious.

I shoot fireworks professionally. All I can say is sorry, it pays the bills and is completely legal and permitted.

I am not saying don't use fireworks. In my experience if the guy responds like that, chances are, its legit. Give him a pass. That's all i am saying.

What exactly is a veteran?

The Scholars at Oxford define a veteran, in the military sense, simply as a "person that has served in the military."

But I initially reject that. While the contributions of all who have heard the bugle call cannot go unnoticed, merely volunteering for military duty cannot avail you to the title of veteran, in my opinion.

In the same vein, mere service in any of the active components of our military versus duty in the National Guard or reserve forces cannot, in itself, allow someone to claim the title of veteran. For only a fool forgets the contribution the reserve component has made in the most recent conflicts.

So, if we can agree that a person must be assigned to duty in a billet outside of the traditional garrison environment, where exactly does one cross the threshold into veteran status?

The United States Army is the backbone of America's military, and the cornerstone of any modern joint operation. In fact, it can be said that the Army is 'the military' in itself, so I think their classification weighs heavily on this debate.

In the Army, veterans are commonly known as Soldiers entitled to wear the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia on their right shoulder and the Combat Service Identification Badge on their service uniform, indicating duty in a combat zone.

Does it take more? Need a Soldier fill a certain billet within this combat zone to be properly vetted as a veteran? What about the necessity to be engaged by the enemy?

What does the OT think?

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So, in your opinion, artillery is the only cause of PTSD?

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Quite the opposite, I'm saying that a reaction from fireworks is the direct cause from being "shell shocked" which imo isn't the same as PTSD. Look everyone sees it differently I'm just giving my opinion on what me and other combat veterans talk about. Yes you can have PTSD from mortars, IEDs, grenades, and rounds hitting by you, but I don't see that as a reason to be shell shocked. I see the men who got bombarded with heavy artillery on a daily basis as being that.

I was in an area where we had a total of over 3k IEDs in one year. Many of them blew our vehicles in half, but none of my friends seemed to be affected by fireworks. We had a lot of snipers who shot at us that awarded the most Purple Hearts in the 101st at that time and most seem to laugh when they see people talk about fireworks that way.

Do I flinch when a loud noise goes off? Yes, but so do most people that haven't had the same experiences.

For myself I define my PTSD as I have a hard time smelling BBQ because it smells exactly like burnt flesh from a Humvee being blown up or survivors guilt or dreams about falling because I guy accidentally fell from a helicopter or any near death experience you had. I don't couple shell shocked and PTSD.

Of course that's just my take and not everyone else's.