Veterans

Veteran Status
There may be a tendency for the following kinds of persons to report erroneously that they served on active duty in the Armed Forces: (a) persons who served in the National Guard or Military Reserves but were never called to duty; (b) civilian employees or volunteers for the USO, Red Cross, or the Department of Defense (or its predecessors, the Department of War and the Department of the Navy); and (c) employees of the Merchant Marine or Public Health Service.

Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have period of military service and veteran status distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the period of service and veteran status distributions. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.

Period of Military Service
There may be a tendency for people to mark the most recent period in which they served or the period in which they began their service, but not all periods in which they served.

Service-connected Disability Status and Ratings
There may be a tendency for people to erroneously report having a 0 percent rating when they have no service-connected disability rating at all.