Military Service Members and Veterans are not the same. This study sought to develop culturally appropriate operational definitions for Veterans by evaluating available literature, preferred self-identification, and cultural context. Previous research (Freed, 2019;Tanielian & Tanielian, 2014) identified that mental health providers need to be culturally competent to treat Veterans effectively. Cultural competence impacts the development of therapeutic rapport and treatment outcomes. The classified nature of the military facilitates a deficit of knowledge and resources for researchers resulting in varying and culturally inaccurate defining terminology resulting in the terms "military", "service member", and "veteran" used interchangeably in research for Veterans and members of the military (Randles & Finnegan, 2021). The study evaluated the relationship between how research modeled Veterans, the relationship between the criteria of culture and Veterans, and the relationship between Veterans and the Armed Forces. It was hypothesized that Veterans and Service Members are not culturally interchangeable; the cultures are distinct and independent of one another. A quantitative survey research design utilized a randomized sample (n = 655) consisting of members of the Armed Forces (n = 190, 25.60%) and Veterans (n = 465, 74.40%). Results identified Veterans as an independent culture separate from the military and the development of culturally appropriate operational definitions. Veterans are operationally defined as individuals formerly serving in the Armed Forces possessing a military discharge (DD 214). Service Members are members of the Armed Forces actively serving in a branch of the military in an active, reserve, or National Guard component.

Veterans and Military Service Members are separate and independent cultures. As a principle element, clinicians seek to become culturally competent to develop therapeutic rapport and improve treatment outcomes. Previous research has identified that mental health providers must be culturally competent to treat the Veteran population effectively. There are vital elements that need to be assessed: culturally specific contextual knowledge, professional competence, and confidence in working within the population. This research sought to identify the elemental components of cultural competence by evaluating a Veteran-specific cultural training program called "Healing Our Heroes". The results concluded that direct military experience was not a significant factor in the ability to work within the population; however, possessing Veteran specific contextual knowledge was critical in obtaining cultural competence.