Would I be considered a combat veteran just for being in the combat zones, without ever having to participate in combat?

I was a signal officer in the 1st ID in the first Gulf War. I never fired a shot. I was always forward of the battalion, and often forward of the division. I watched a tank battle at night. I was shot at three times. Once by our own artillery, once by some ragged looking Iraqis, and once by some benighted soul in a heavy fog in Northern Kuwait. I was a combat vet. You woke up in the morning, not knowing if you were going to be shot at while you fed the troops. You ran the same risks as I. No question. You're a combat vet.

Every base camp perimeter is a front line in modern warfare.

Simple answer. Yes. Anyone tells you otherwise, i.e. badge protectors, tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine.