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1014 articles to help with your military transition
Expert guides covering VA disability claims, C&P exam preparation, military-to-civilian career transitions, retirement planning, state veteran benefits, and more. Written for active duty service members, reservists, and retirees navigating life after the military. Browse by category or search for topics specific to your transition.
What changes in a veteran you've known for decades — and what those changes mean. The patterns family see months before any clinician sees them in a 50-minute appointment.
The first ten minutes matter most. What to say, what not to say, when to call 988, when to go to the ER, and how to stay with them safely until the next step.
Three paths through a veteran mental health crisis. Which one fits which situation, what each one actually does, and how to avoid the wrong door at the wrong moment.
Almost nobody knows this exists. A free, confidential VA program that coaches family members on how to get a resistant veteran connected to mental health care, without it becoming a fight.
Other Than Honorable discharge does not auto-disqualify you from VA benefits. Eligibility map for health care, disability comp, education, housing — separated from the discharge upgrade question.
Character of Discharge 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.
Free for every veteran
18 transition tools. Zero cost.
VA claims tracker, MOS translator, resume builder, career planner, budget tool — all in one place, all free. Join 140+ members already using MTT.
DRB handles upgrades within 15 years for non-court-martial discharges. BCMR handles everything else. Picking the right track saves you 6-12 months.
Three DOD policy memos require boards to give favorable presumption to discharge upgrades involving PTSD, MST, mental health, and TBI. How to use them.
Don't pay private lawyers for a discharge upgrade. Free representation is widely available from NVLSP, Swords to Plowshares, CVLC, law school clinics, and accredited VSOs.
Current VA funding fee schedule: 2.15% first use, 3.3% subsequent, 1.5% with 5-10% down, 1.25% with 10%+ down, 0.5% IRRRL. Plus who gets it waived entirely.
Three ways to get your COE: through a lender via VA LGY Hub (fastest, often instant), online at VA.gov, or by mail with VA Form 26-1880.
IRRRL is the streamline refi (0.5% funding fee, no appraisal). Cash-out lets you pull equity or refi a non-VA loan into VA (2.15-3.3% funding fee).
VA loans require you to occupy the home as primary residence within 60 days of closing. Spouse occupancy, deployments, PCS, and edge cases.
VA adapted housing grants for service-connected veterans: SAH ($126,526), SHA ($25,350), HISA ($6,800). Eligibility, application path, and how to combine with VA loan.
VA Loan Technicians intervene with your servicer to negotiate forbearance, repayment plans, modifications, or compromise sales. They help even if your loan isn't a VA loan.
VGLI is age-banded and gets expensive after 50. Private term is cheaper if you're healthy and under 45. Breakdown by age and health, with break-even math.
240 days after separation, you lose the right to convert SGLI to VGLI without health questions. After that, you have until 1 year + 120 days with medical underwriting.
Family SGLI for spouses ends when the service member separates. Spouses have 120 days to convert to a private whole life policy. Costs, decision framework, alternatives.
VALife is the post-2023 replacement for S-DVI: up to $40,000 of guaranteed-acceptance whole life for service-connected veterans, premiums waived for total disability, eligible up to age 80.
WHTT v3.0 is the VA + DOD training that walks separating women through gender-specific VA care, MST resources, maternity benefits, and the Women Veterans Call Center.