The military veteran community and social economic transformation of Uganda for national security

Abstract

Military veterans are an integral part of the national security and social economic development of a country (Beckley, 2010). This also speaks to the security-development nexus. A veteran is someone who has served in the armed forces of a country and has completed his military service (Scott, 2012). It should be noted that the specific criteria for being classified as a veteran varies from country to country. In the United States of America (USA), for example, a veteran is generally someone who has served in any branch of the military and has been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable (Mohatt, 2022). In the Ugandan context, a veteran is defined as any Ugandan who has rendered military service to any of the successive Ugandan governments; has completed his or her military service and no longer performs active military duties or is deceased; and has honorably been discharged or retired from military service (Colletta, 1996). Widows and Orphans are an integral part of this definition, especially on the aspect of service delivery. This definition is expanded in section 82 of the UPDF Act, 2005 (as amended) to include members of an armed wing of a liberation organization and those wings that actively participated in the liberation struggle against the regimes of dictatorship in power during the period between 1971 and the 26 January 1986. National Security is central for the Social Economic Development of a country as earlier alluded to (Johansson, 2015). Gaddis (2005) avers that national security is a critical aspect that partly arises from the effective management of the veteran community, and is a prerequisite for social-economic transformation. National security is defined as a status in which the power, sovereignty, territorial integrity, welfare of the people, sustainable economic and social development and other major interests of the state are relatively not faced with any danger and are not threatened internally or externally (Miller, 2014). This arises from the capability to maintain a sustained security status. National security also refers to the protection and defense of a sovereign state, encompassing its citizens, economy, institutions and territorial integrity (Donohue, 2011). It involves safeguarding against threats both internal and external to ensure the safety, stability and sovereignty of the nation. National security is often distinguished from global security, mainly because it focuses primarily on the protection and defense of a specific nation-state (Donohue, 2011). Broadly, security from the contemporary outlook does not only encompass military defense but also considers economic, political, cultural and social factors that contribute to a nation's stability (President, 1994).