Loading...
1055 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.
When everyone outside the military becomes the enemy, family ends up on the wrong side of the wall.
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.
DRB (Discharge Review Board) handles upgrades within 15 years for non-court-martial discharges.
The structure-loss crash, identity vacuum, and irritability spike that hit most veterans in the first three months after separation.
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.
Family SGLI for spouses ends when the service member separates. Spouses have 120 days to convert to a private whole life policy with the same insurer.
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.
VA Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program offers safety planning, mental health, legal connections, and confidential support, for veterans experiencing IPV and for veterans whose partners experience IPV.
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.
VA Military Sexual Trauma care is free regardless of disability rating, claim status, or VA enrollment.
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.
The civilian world feels louder, slower, and more pointless than it did before they left.
Regular Military Compensation (RMC) is base pay + BAH + BAS + tax advantages. Comparing it to a civilian gross salary requires grossing up for healthcare, commissary, BAS equivalent, and tax differences.
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.
SAM.gov (System for Award Management) is the federal government's vendor registration system. Required before you can sell to the federal government.
SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) protections expire on a schedule after separation: 30 days for some, 90 days for others, 1 year for many leases and mortgages. Use them before they're gone.
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business certification rules under 13 CFR 125: 51% veteran ownership, unconditional control, day-to-day management, highest officer rule. Common audit failures and how to avoid them.
VGLI is age-banded and gets expensive after 50. Private term is cheaper if you're healthy and under 45.
TAP's Transition Spending Plan teaches you to compare military total compensation (base, BAH, BAS, tax advantages) to civilian gross salary in apples-to-apples terms. Worksheet, math, and decisions.
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.