Your small business may not be eligible for Veteran-Owned status, but you can still be part of the larger effort to recruit and employ veterans at your business.
The Dept. of Labor has established the HIRE Vets program, in response to the ‘HIRE Act (‘Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans’ ) signed in May 2017
The 
voluntary program recognizes efforts by employers to recruit, employ, and retain veterans. Eligible firms are recognized with a HIRE Vets Medallion Award at either Gold of Platinum level.
For a small business ( 50 employees or fewer) eligibility for a gold medallion requires either 7% of new hires are veterans, or 75% of veterans were retained and 7% overall veteran employees