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25 articles in VA Benefits
Comprehensive overview of all VA benefits available to veterans, dependents, and survivors. Browse all articles below or explore other categories for more military transition resources.
Military Transition Toolkit publishes in-depth guides across 41 categories to help active duty service members, reservists, and retirees navigate every aspect of military transition. Each article is written with practical, actionable advice you can use immediately — whether you are 12 months from separation or already building your civilian career.
Comprehensive overview of all VA benefits available to veterans, dependents, and survivors. Our content is updated regularly and covers topics from VA disability claims and compensation to career planning, financial readiness, and state-by-state veteran benefits.
Looking for something specific? Browse our other categories or use the resources page for curated links to official VA, DoD, and veteran service organization websites. All tools and content on Military Transition Toolkit are free — no account required for public resources.
Start with our most popular tools: the VA combined rating calculator, retirement pay calculator, 50-state benefits comparison, and military resume builder. Each tool is designed specifically for the unique challenges of military-to-civilian transition.
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Before you pay a VA claim company a multiple of your back pay, know this: charging for help on an initial claim is against federal law. Here's how the model works, what's legal, and the free accredited help that does the same thing.
The benefits most veterans miss after a 100% P&T rating: the annual clothing allowance (August 1 deadline), CHAMPVA for dependents, commissary and exchange access, SMC, CRDP/CRSC, and the ID cards that unlock them.
How to request your VA home loan COE three ways, what it proves, how entitlement restoration works after you have used the benefit once, and the mistakes that hold applications up.
The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) pays a monthly stipend to family caregivers of severely disabled post-9/11 veterans, with expansion to all eras now phased in.
Character of Discharge (COD) is the VA's separate review of whether your service should count as honorable for benefits. Statutory bars, regulatory bars, mitigating factors, and how to file.
The COMPACT Act of 2020 made VA-paid emergency mental health care available to any former service member in suicidal crisis, even those with OTH discharges and no VA enrollment. 30 days inpatient, 90 days outpatient.
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VA claims tracker, MOS translator, resume builder, career planner, budget tool — all in one place, all free.
DRB (Discharge Review Board) handles upgrades within 15 years for non-court-martial discharges. BCMR (Board for Correction of Military Records) handles everything else. Picking the right track saves you 6-12 months.
Don't pay private lawyers for a discharge upgrade. Free representation is widely available from NVLSP, Swords to Plowshares, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, law school clinics, and accredited VSOs.
Three DOD policy memos require boards to give favorable presumption to discharge upgrades involving PTSD, MST, mental health, and TBI. Here's how to use them.
Other Than Honorable discharge does not auto-disqualify you from VA benefits. Here's the eligibility map for health care, disability comp, education, and housing, separated from the discharge upgrade question.
The PACT Act of 2022 expanded VA care and compensation for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, Camp Lejeune water, and other toxic substances. 21+ presumptive conditions and how to file.
VA adapted-housing grants for disabled veterans: SAH $126,526, SHA $25,350, HISA $6,800. Who qualifies, how to apply, and how to stack it with your VA loan.
VA Solid Start representatives call newly-separated veterans at 90, 180, and 365 days post-separation to connect them with benefits, mental health resources, and crisis services. Take the call.
Vet Centers offer free, confidential, walk-in counseling for combat veterans, MST survivors, and qualifying loss. VAMCs are the standard medical care system. Here's when to use which, they're complementary, not competitive.
Complete guide to VA GERD and acid reflux ratings, monthly compensation amounts, evidence requirements, and filing strategies for gastrointestinal disability claims.
Comprehensive guide to VA hearing loss ratings (10%-100%), monthly compensation amounts, evidence requirements, and successful filing strategies for audiometric claims.
Complete guide to VA knee pain ratings from 0%-100%, monthly compensation amounts, evidence requirements, and successful filing strategies.
VA rates migraines under DC 8100 at 0/10/30/50% (100% only via TDIU). What each level pays, the evidence that wins a 50%, and the mistakes that cap you low.
Comprehensive guide to VA plantar fasciitis and foot pain ratings, monthly compensation, evidence requirements, and successful filing strategies for foot injury claims.
Comprehensive guide to VA shoulder pain and rotator cuff ratings, monthly compensation, evidence requirements, and successful filing strategies for shoulder claims.