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Thank You for Your Service

A Christian Guide to Military and VA Benefits

Josiah (Right), Boaz (Left)


This guide was written by two former 56Ms. Josiah served as a Religious Affairs Specialist with 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment for three years, then spent two years as the garrison funds technician for Fort Campbell. Boaz served as a Religious Affairs NCO with the 101st Sustainment Brigade for three years before moving to the 160th SOAR for four years. Between the two of us, we spent a lot of time helping soldiers, working with families, tracking paperwork, dealing with government systems, and fixing problems that usually could have been prevented if somebody had explained things clearly the first time. Military and VA benefits are one of those areas.


You should not be too proud to receive everything you earned.


Deployments, arthritis, tinnitus, hot-racking, CQ, mandatory fun days, missed birthdays, JRTC, recalls, months underway, denied leave, ruck marches, catapult steam, field exercises, and, for the Air Force, the occasional suffering that comes with slumming it in a three-star hotel all came with the job. The pay came with it too, although nobody we know remembers looking at an LES and feeling overcompensated. Your benefits extend well beyond what showed up in your paycheck. Some compensation was paid while you served, some comes later, and some requires an application, a deadline, medical records, or proof that the government probably already has somewhere. The point is that you earned it, and you should receive it. It is not a handout. It is an entitlement.


Claiming a legitimate benefit is not begging or weakness. You are receiving compensation attached to your service. That does not give you permission to lie or exaggerate. We are Christians, and we do not bear false witness because the form has a VA logo on it. Do not become the veteran who believes every ache after MEPS deserves another ten percent. Tell the truth about what happened, keep the records, and claim what is actually connected to your service.


A lot of veterans make the opposite mistake. They minimize injuries, refuse to go to sick call, lose paperwork, miss deadlines, and refuse to file because they think receiving benefits makes them weak. That usually leaves their family with less to work with and proves absolutely nothing. Some of your compensation came while you were serving. Base pay, BAH, BAS, TRICARE, SGLI, special pay, and TSP contributions belong to that side of the ledger. VA disability, healthcare, education benefits, home loan benefits, retirement systems, survivor benefits, burial honors, state benefits, and help for your wife and children belong to the other. Those later benefits are deferred compensation and part of what was promised in exchange for your service.


Military and VA benefits can reduce financial pressure, create margin, educate children, protect your wife, help buy a home, fund a new career, compensate for income lost because of an injury, strengthen retirement, and leave your family with fewer problems to sort out when you die. They can also be wasted, misunderstood, or left unclaimed because nobody wanted to deal with another government website. This guide is written for active-duty servicemembers, members of the Guard and Reserve, separating servicemembers, retirees, veterans, and their families. Use it as a map. Benefit rules change, and eligibility depends on service history, discharge status, disability rating, dependent status, dates of service, branch rules, state residency, filing windows, and the rest of the alphabet soup spread across a dozen government websites. We did our best to make it clear, but you should verify important details through official sources before making a decision.


How To Use This Guide


Find your place and start there.


  • If you are still serving, start with Part I: While You Are Still Serving.

  • If you are preparing to separate, retire, or transition, go to Part II: As You Prepare To Leave.

  • If you are already out, go to Part III: After You Are Out.

  • If you need a checklist, go to Part IV: Your Household Order of Operations.

  • If your wife, executor, or adult child needs to know what documents to find when something happens to you, go to The Veteran Household File near the end.


You do not need to become an expert in every federal program. You do need to know what belongs to your household, what needs to be claimed, what needs to be documented, what disappears if you miss the window, and what your wife should not have to figure out while grieving.


Military benefits are not just programs. They are part of provision, so do not let pride or bureaucratic inconvenience stop you from providing a better life for you and your loved ones.


Part I: While You Are Still Serving


Active duty? Reserve? Guard? Thank you for your service. Not because you deserve it, but because I know being thanked for it bothers you. There are a lot of benefits you can only access while you are in, and many you will never receive as a veteran if you do not take the right steps now.


Much of your future household strength is being built, documented, or neglected while you are still wearing the uniform. Medical records are being created. Injuries are being reported or ignored. TSP habits are being formed. GI Bill transfer decisions are becoming possible or impossible. Beneficiaries are being named. State residency is being established. Spouse employment and tax questions are being shaped by each PCS.


A man who waits until the last month to get organized has already made his transition harder than it needed to be.


Know Your Pay Before You Compare It To Civilian Pay


Military compensation is not one thing.


You may receive basic pay, drill pay, special pay, bonuses, incentive pay, BAH, BAS, OHA, per diem, dislocation allowance, moving allowances, temporary lodging allowances, combat-zone pay, and other forms of compensation. These do not all receive the same tax treatment.


Basic pay is usually taxable. Drill pay, bonuses, special pays, and incentive pays are usually taxable unless a specific exclusion applies. Many allowances, such as BAH, BAS, OHA, dislocation allowance, moving and storage allowances, and certain temporary lodging or living allowances, are generally excluded from gross income.


Combat-zone pay has its own rules. Enlisted members, warrant officers, and commissioned warrant officers can generally exclude all military pay for qualifying combat-zone months, including ROTH account contributions [this is huge!]. Commissioned officers have different limits. Social Security and Medicare taxes can still apply. It's complicated. Talk to Finance.


Your military paycheck is not the same thing as a civilian paycheck. A civilian job offer may look bigger than your military pay until you account for BAH, BAS, health coverage, tax treatment, retirement contributions, special pays, low-cost life insurance, and other benefits.


A $75,000 civilian job may not replace a smaller-looking military income. You will usually incur a lot of new types of expenses when you get out, so do the math before you let the hiring manager, your ego, or your terminal-leave beard make the decision for you.


You should have these things squared away:

  • Pull your LES and understand what is taxable and what is not.

  • Know your state of legal residence.

  • Know whether your spouse's income is affected by military spouse residency rules.

  • If you are deployed or serving in a combat-zone tax exclusion area, understand how that affects taxes and retirement contributions.

  • Compare civilian income to total military compensation, not base pay alone.


Useful links:

IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p3

IRS military tax resources: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/military


Use TSP Like It Belongs To Your Household


The Thrift Savings Plan is the federal government and military retirement savings plan. It works broadly like a 401(k), but with a laundry list of quirks. If you are under the Blended Retirement System, the TSP matters even more because it reduced the pension multiplier compared to legacy High-3… but at least it added automatic and matching contributions.


If you are eligible for BRS matching and you do not contribute enough to receive the full match, you are refusing part of your compensation. That is not being conservative. That is leaving money on the table. A slight reduction in your take home pay for a near doubling of your retirement contribution is a no-brainer.  If you were high-speed enough to have a private retirement account before putting on the uniform, go see Finance.


Misunderstandings regarding contribution thresholds and annual limits are common, and even a few years of bad information can cost your household a lot of future strength.

Retirement pay after your 16+ years is a pension. The TSP is the account you own and invest in. Both matter. They are not the same thing.


Check your account. Know whether your contributions are Roth, traditional, or both. Know where the money is invested. Know whether you are using the G Fund, F Fund, C Fund, S Fund, I Fund, or an L Fund. Update your beneficiaries. Tell your wife the account exists.


A surprising number of servicemen can field-strip a weapon in the dark but could not tell you where their retirement money is invested. That is selective competence, and it will cost you.


Useful links:

Blended Retirement System overview: https://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement/


Keep Your Medical Records Before You Need Them


If your knee, back, hearing, lungs, sleep, shoulder, jaw, skin, stomach, mental health, or anything else changed because of service, get it documented while you are still in.

Tell the truth, do not exaggerate, but also do not minimize. You are not a sh*t-bag for going to sick-call when you are actually injured, but also do not become the guy who claims his left elbow is service-connected because he once saluted too aggressively. We all know an E-8 whose cadence calls are almost drowned out by the crackling sounds his knees are making on the run, but without documentation, he will have neither cartilage nor disability pay.


A future VA claim is built from today’s medical records.


"Everybody knew about it" is not evidence. Your squad leader remembering that your ankle exploded during a ruck march will not help you when the VA asks for evidence.


The government is very good at requiring paperwork and very bad at finding paperwork. Keep your own copies. Build your “I love me” binder now, and your future self will thank you.

That means profiles, referrals, imaging, prescriptions, surgical notes, physical therapy notes, sleep studies, behavioral health records, deployment health assessments, line-of-duty documentation, off-post treatment records, and anything else connected to your condition(s). Everything, in duplicate, in the safe.


If something happens downrange, document it. If you are exposed to burn pits, toxins, blasts, chemicals, or environmental hazards, document it. If a condition starts small and gets worse, document it. If you do not have a copy, assume you will need two later.


Useful links:

VA disability compensation: https://www.va.gov/disability/

VA disability eligibility: https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/

PACT Act and toxic exposure information: https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/


Do Not Let SGLI Be Your Whole Estate Plan


SGLI is the main life insurance benefit while serving. It is cheap, simple, and easy to forget about. So just make sure it is done right the first time. A lower death benefit is not worth saving a few extra dollars per month. You spend more on Monsters and Tornadoes than you’ll save by costing your family 6 figures in the event of your death.


Beneficiaries also matter a lot. Your SGLI beneficiary matters. Your TSP beneficiary matters. Your bank beneficiaries matter. Your civilian life insurance beneficiaries matter. Your will

matters, but beneficiary designations bypass the will. You do have your will finished right?


Go see JAG right now if you don’t.


A previous spouse, deceased parent, minor child, vague "family will handle it" assumption, or outdated form can create absolute chaos. Do not make your wife fight paperwork demons while grieving.


Review your SGLI after marriage, divorce, births, adoption, death of a beneficiary, deployment, PCS, or separation planning. Review Family SGLI if applicable. Know what TSGLI covers. Consider whether SGLI alone is enough for your household (it basically never is).


A man who loves his wife should not leave her with a scavenger hunt.


Useful links:


Keep DEERS And TRICARE Up to Date


Active duty service members and eligible family members registered in DEERS can receive TRICARE coverage. The service member is generally managed through military treatment facilities, primary care managers, referrals, and command rules. Family members may have more flexibility depending on plan, location, and status.


If your dependents are not properly in DEERS, coverage doesn’t happen.

This is not glamorous work. It is also not optional. Somehow your child's health coverage can still depend on whether someone correctly entered a birth certificate into a system that seems to actively despise you.


Be more diligent than the system.


Make sure your spouse is correctly registered. Make sure every child is correctly registered. Update DEERS after births, adoption, marriage, divorce, or custody changes. Review TRICARE plan options after PCS moves. Check dental and vision separately. Medical coverage, dental coverage, and vision coverage are not always the same thing.


Useful links:

TRICARE active duty service members and families: https://tricare.mil/adsm


Use Tuition Assistance Before Burning Better Benefits


Tuition Assistance is generally a DoD or branch benefit while serving. It is not the GI Bill.

The GI Bill is often both more flexible and more valuable after getting out. If Tuition Assistance can pay for the course now, it may be foolish to burn GI Bill entitlement for the same thing.


Have an actual degree in mind. The goal is not to collect random credits like challenge coins. The goal is to increase household capacity. I know you can officially justify a course by tying it to a hypothetical associates degree, but your TA is limited. Don’t burn credits.


Education should serve vocation, income, skill, usefulness, and the long-term good of the household. A degree that is free in dollars but expensive in time, attention, and opportunity may still be costly.


Check your branch rules. Ask whether the program actually helps your career. Compare Tuition Assistance, GI Bill, scholarships, grants, and employer education benefits. Avoid low-value programs that market heavily to service members. "Military friendly" can mean "we know your benefits are guaranteed money, and you are gullible”. There’s a reason you don’t buy a car right outside post, and its the same reason you should avoid a lot of these schools.


Useful links:


Transfer The GI Bill Before It Is Too Late


If you want to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to your wife or children, you generally must do it while still serving and meet service-obligation rules. There are also some education benefits that you and your family members can only access if your disability rating is high

enough.


Men miss this all the time.

"I'll give my GI Bill to my kid when I retire."

Maybe. Maybe not. Make sure you reserve the option.


GI Bill transferability is not merely an education decision. It is a household and inheritance decision. Used well, it can reduce future education costs, help launch children into useful work, or strengthen your wife's capacity. Used poorly, it becomes another waste of your dollars.


Check eligibility. Understand the additional service obligation. Transfer at least a portion early if appropriate. Confirm the transfer was approved. Keep the records. Review dependents in DEERS.


Do not wait until retirement week and trust the system to move quickly. It doesn’t. It never has, and without an act of God probably never will.


Useful links:

VA Post-9/11 GI Bill transfer information: https://www.va.gov/education/transfer-post-9-11-gi-bill-benefits/

MilConnect transfer benefits portal: https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/


Part II: As You Prepare To Leave


Leaving the military is not one event. It is a financial, medical, vocational, legal, and household handoff.


You are leaving salary pay, BAH, BAS, special pays, tax advantages, TRICARE status, SGLI, command structure, predictable pay cycles, and the many active-duty, reserve, and guard exclusive support systems behind.


At the same time, you are applying for VA disability, using terminal leave, starting SkillBridge, moving, entering school, starting work, retiring, buying a house, and translating all of your acquired skills into civilian-ese for your new resume.


The transition is too important to wing.


TAP Is Useful. It Is Not A Plan.


The Transition Assistance Program is useful, but not exhaustive. It’s built for crowds, and you are an individual. They do not cover everything every single person needs.


Completing TAP means you completed TAP. It does not mean you have a transition plan. It means you attended the military's version of a transition plan planning exercise.


You still need an actual plan for your actual household..


You need to know when military pay stops, when civilian pay begins, whether there will be a gap, what happens to health coverage, what happens to SGLI, whether you are filing VA claims, where you will live, whether your wife will work, whether you will use school benefits, whether you are starting a business, and whether you have enough liquidity to absorb substantial delays. For example, you may not receive your first VA disability check for over a year after getting out.


A transition without cash reserves is just unearned optimism with a DD-214.


Useful links:


File Or Prepare VA Claims Before Separation When Possible


If you have service-connected conditions, do not wait until you are already out to begin thinking about VA disability.


VA's Benefits Delivery at Discharge program may allow eligible service members to file a pre-discharge disability claim before separation. That can help speed up the decision process, which is good because the decision process is stupidly long.


Bear in mind that your claim affects more than monthly income. A rating can affect VA healthcare, VA loan funding-fee exemption, VR&E access, state benefits, property tax benefits, dependent benefits, and survivor planning. A higher rating corresponds to a higher monthly benefit, but at certain percentage thresholds also gives you access to programs, healthcare, grants, and other resources.


A disability claim is not just medical paperwork. It is a key part of the household's transition plan.


Gather records. List conditions truthfully. Do not exaggerate. Do not minimize. Attend exams. Keep copies. Coordinate SkillBridge, terminal leave, and VA exams carefully.


Pride and greed can both corrupt this process. Both are wrong. Pick neither.


Useful links:

VA disability compensation: https://www.va.gov/disability/


Do Not Let The Health Coverage Gap Surprise You


The separation window is where families accidentally go uninsured.


When active service ends, TRICARE eligibility changes. Some families qualify for temporary transitional coverage. Some need employer coverage. Some need marketplace coverage. Some enroll in VA healthcare. Some have retiree TRICARE. Some use CHCBP. Some have a gap and only discover it when a child needs a doctor.


Do not let that be your household.


Know your last day of active coverage. Check TAMP eligibility. Check CHCBP if needed. Check employer coverage start date. Apply for VA healthcare if eligible. Plan prescriptions

and ongoing care. Check spouse and child coverage.


Do not assume "it'll work out." That is not a plan. That is a vibes-based insurance strategy, and vibes do not pay ER bills.


Useful links:

TRICARE separating from active duty: https://tricare.mil/LifeEvents/Separating


Make The SGLI To VGLI Decision On Purpose


SGLI ends after separation. VGLI may allow you to continue group life insurance coverage after service, often without health questions if you apply within the required window.

That can be extremely important if you are disabled, hard to insure, or unsure whether private insurance will approve you. Before you get your VA rating, you are still considered pretty healthy for most insurance carriers, but as soon as it comes in all of those issues are visible to the carrier and often make the insurance prohibitively expensive. PTSD and sleep apnea in particular are common reasons veterans are not able to get sufficient life insurance, so get yours squared away before the rating officially comes in. The SGLI to VGLI transition window might be one of your best chances as a veteran to get at least some pretty cheap coverage in perpetuity.


VGLI is not automatically best, but it is often best. Other premiums rise with age. Healthy veterans may still find better long-term options privately. Disabled veterans may need VGLI precisely because private underwriting is difficult, and very unfriendly to certain VA disability ratings and reasons.


Know when SGLI ends. Check VGLI application deadlines. Compare VGLI with private term coverage if you are insurable. Do not have a coverage gap. Update beneficiaries. Coordinate life insurance with debt, children, mortgage, spouse income, and long-term household needs.


Useful links:


Use SkillBridge For More Than Escape


SkillBridge can be one of the best transition opportunities available, but it is not magic.

It can provide civilian work experience, industry exposure, networking, resume credibility, and sometimes a hiring pipeline. It does not always guarantee a job. It does not guarantee command approval. It does not guarantee that the company is good. Research is necessary, but we have seen many friends now making a healthy six-figures because of careers seeded via Skillbridge.


Start early. Research companies. Ask whether the program leads to actual employment. Coordinate with VA exams and separation requirements. Build a budget for the SkillBridge period. Use the experience to test the civilian field, not merely escape the unit.


Useful links:


Translate Your Military Experience Into Civilian Value


The civilian market does not automatically understand military titles. You may know what a squad leader, platoon sergeant, supply NCO, maintenance chief, corpsman, intelligence analyst, or operations officer does. The civilian hiring manager may not.

You must translate responsibility into value.


Leadership, logistics, maintenance, training, discipline, operations, security, emergency management, project coordination, aviation, communications, medical skills, and compliance all have civilian value. But they have to be explained in civilian terms.


Use your Joint Services Transcript. Check credentialing pathways. Look at licensing requirements. Consider apprenticeships. Consider certifications. Compare civilian wages before choosing a program.


College may be the right answer. It may not be. A useful trade is better than a useless degree with veteran branding on the brochure.


Useful links:

Joint Services Transcript: https://jst.doded.mil/

Credentialing Opportunities On-Line: https://www.cool.osd.mil/

Marine Corps COOL: https://www.cool.osd.mil/usmc/


Consider Apprenticeships, Trades, And On-The-Job Training


Not every veteran needs college. Some prefer a paid path into a useful trade.

The GI Bill can support approved apprenticeships and on-the-job training. That can mean earning wages while receiving a housing allowance or benefit support, depending on the program and eligibility.


Electrician. Plumbing. HVAC. Welding. Lineman work. Trucking. Cybersecurity. Manufacturing. Heavy equipment. Fire and EMS. Law enforcement. Aviation maintenance.


There is no shame in work that produces.


A useless degree is not nobler than a useful trade. A credential should serve vocation, income, household strength, and neighborly usefulness.


Useful links:

Department of Labor Apprenticeship: https://www.apprenticeship.gov/


Do Not Ignore Your Wife's Transition


Your transition plan is incomplete if your wife's life is treated as background noise.

Spouse employment is often the hidden financial issue in military households. PCS moves, licensing barriers, childcare, remote work, resume gaps, deployments, and unstable schedules can all affect household income.


If you are leaving the military, the household may need to rethink both incomes, not just yours.


Talk with your wife about work, home, children, location, education, and income. Check spouse employment resources. Review licensing portability. Consider childcare costs. Consider whether she needs education or credential support.


Do not make major transition decisions as if you are a single man if you are not. Your family is transitioning out of this lifestyle just as much as you are.


Useful links:

Military Spouse Employment Partnership: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/


Part III: After You Are Out


Getting out does not end the benefits conversation. In many cases, it begins the most valuable part of it.


You may now need to govern VA disability, VA healthcare, GI Bill, VR&E, VA loans, retirement pay, TSP, CRSC, CRDP, state benefits, property tax exemptions, burial benefits, survivor benefits, and household records.


Some are automatic. Many are not.


VA Disability: Tell The Truth And Keep The Records


VA disability is not welfare. It is not a tip jar. It is not the government being nice because you had a rough few years.


It is legitimate compensation for damage connected to your service.


If your hearing is worse because of service, if your back is worse because of service, if your sleep, lungs, knees, shoulder, jaw, skin, or mind were affected by service, then tell the truth

and file.


Do not embellish, but also do not pretend you are perfectly healthy just because you learned to function through it.


The Army will break your body and then hand you a checklist. The least you can do is keep the paperwork.


Men get burned here all the time. They wait too long. They minimize everything. They lose records. They forget to add dependents. They assume the VA will understand what happened because "everybody knew."


Everybody knowing does not matter. The VA wants records. They require the paperwork.

VA disability compensation is generally tax-free. That makes it more valuable than it looks on paper. A $2,500 VA disability payment is not the same as $2,500 in W-2 wages. The W-2 worker still has payroll taxes and maybe federal and state income taxes. You need to understand that when you build your household budget, talk to a lender, or think about replacing military income.


But do not turn that into financial fantasy either. Tax-free does not mean every lender, state program, school, or benefit office ignores it. Different systems treat it differently. Welcome to government. The rules are made by committees of room temperature IQ bureaucrats.


Save your award letters. Add your dependents if eligible. Know whether your rating is temporary, permanent and total, or based on unemployability. Check state benefits. Decide what that compensation is for in your household.


Debt reduction? Emergency fund? Insurance gap? House payment? Education? Medical needs? Productive capacity?


Do not let it become financial fog.


Useful links:

VA disability compensation: https://www.va.gov/disability/


VA Healthcare Is Not TRICARE


VA healthcare is separate from TRICARE and separate from private insurance.

You may be eligible for VA healthcare depending on service, discharge status, disability rating, income, exposure history, priority group, and other factors. Having other insurance does not necessarily prevent you from using VA care.


VA healthcare can be valuable, but you need to understand how it works. Priority groups, copays, Community Care, urgent care, emergency care, prescriptions, dental, and service-connected status all matter.


Do not assume VA healthcare works like private insurance. Do not assume you can go anywhere and have VA pay. Do not assume dental is included. Do not wait until an emergency to learn the rules.


If you are in a rural area, Community Care may matter. If you have other insurance, coordination may matter. If you have service-connected conditions, copays may matter. If you need urgent or emergency care, notification rules may matter.


The time to learn that is before you are standing in a hospital lobby trying to remember which number to call.


Useful links:


VA Dental Is Its Own Animal


VA medical eligibility does not automatically mean full VA dental eligibility.


That surprises a lot of veterans. Do not assume that because you can receive VA medical care, you can receive all needed dental care.


Dental eligibility is narrower and depends on factors such as service-connected dental conditions, 100% ratings, unemployability, former POW status, vocational rehabilitation status, or other categories.


If you are 100% disabled, paid at the 100% rate due to unemployability, or have a service-connected dental or jaw condition, check eligibility carefully. If you do not qualify, look at VADIP or private dental coverage.


Your teeth are not magically exempt from stewardship just because the VA made the rules confusing.


Useful links:


CHAMPVA May Matter For Your Wife And Children


CHAMPVA can be a major family health benefit, especially for families of veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to service-connected conditions.


CHAMPVA is generally for eligible spouses, dependent children, and survivors. It is not for the veteran sponsor himself. It generally does not apply if the family member is eligible for TRICARE.


If you are 100% P&T, do not stop at the monthly compensation number. Ask what your

status means for your wife and children.


Check whether your wife and children are eligible. Understand that CHAMPVA is not TRICARE. Coordinate with Medicare if applicable. Add newborns and dependents properly. Keep award letters and dependency documents available.


A man should know what provision his family can access if he is disabled, dies, or can no longer work.


Useful links:


The GI Bill Is Career Capital


The GI Bill is not just college money. It is career capital.


It may be used for college, trade school, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, licensing and certification tests, flight training, entrepreneurship training, tutoring, housing, books, and other approved uses depending on the benefit and program.


The GI Bill is also not a sacred obligation to attend the first online school that calls you "hero" in the admissions email.


Use it with judgment.


Check the school. Check the program. Check accreditation. Check transferability of credits. Check graduation rates. Check job outcomes. Check the out-of-pocket cost. Check whether the program actually increases earning capacity.


Do not burn expensive GI Bill months on a cheap or low-value program without thinking. Sometimes the housing allowance changes the math. Sometimes it does not. Sometimes the school is worth it. Sometimes the school is just very good at finding veterans with benefits.


Use FAFSA. Use grants. Use scholarships. Use state benefits. Coordinate the pieces.

Education benefits should make you more useful, not merely more credentialed.


Useful links:


VR&E Is Not GI Bill Part 2


Veteran Readiness and Employment, also known as VR&E or Chapter 31, helps service members and veterans with service-connected disabilities prepare for, find, and maintain suitable employment.


It is not simply "free school because you have a rating."


VR&E is an employment and rehabilitation program. If your service-connected disabilities limit the kind of work you can reasonably do, VR&E may help with education, training, job placement, counseling, tools, equipment, books, self-employment support, or independent living services when approved.


Think in terms of suitable employment, not merely another degree.


A veteran with a service-connected back injury who needs to move into desk-based work may have a strong case. A veteran who simply wants a degree unrelated to employability may not.


The question is not, "What can I get?"

The question is, "What work am I fitted to do, and what help is needed because of service-connected limitations?"


Useful links:


DEA And Family Education Benefits


If you are permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected condition, or if you die from service-connected causes, your spouse and children may become eligible for education benefits.


Chapter 35, also known as Dependents' Educational Assistance, can be extremely valuable for 100% P&T families. The Fry Scholarship may apply to certain survivors of service members who died in qualifying post-9/11 circumstances.


These benefits belong in household planning. They can affect how you save for education, how your children choose schools, how your wife pursues training, and how your estate plan accounts for future education.


If you are 100% P&T, check DEA eligibility. Check state tuition benefits too. Coordinate with scholarships, FAFSA, grants, and school choice. Keep award letters accessible.

Teach your children that education benefits are stewardship, not loot.


Useful links:


The VA Loan Is Powerful, But It Is Not Magic


The VA loan is one of the most useful veteran benefits. It is also one of the most misunderstood.


A VA-backed purchase loan may allow eligible borrowers to buy a primary residence with no down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, competitive rates, limited closing costs, and no prepayment penalty. It can also be reused if entitlement allows.

It is not free money.


A VA loan does not mean you can afford the house. It does not mean the lender is wise. It does not mean the seller is honest. It does not mean every veteran should buy immediately.

It means the VA is backing part of the loan for an eligible borrower purchasing an eligible primary residence.


The funding fee matters. Disabled veterans may be exempt. That exemption can make the VA loan much harder to beat.


Check your Certificate of Eligibility. Know whether you are exempt from the funding fee. Compare VA, conventional, FHA, and state housing programs. Understand occupancy rules. Do not overbuy. Consider 2-4 unit properties only if you will live in one unit and the numbers make sense.


Maximum approval is not the same thing as wisdom.


Useful links:


VA Refinances, Assumptions, And Construction Loans


VA refinance options can be useful, but they can also be abused.


A cash-out refinance may help access equity, pay off high-interest debt, or refinance a non-VA loan into a VA-backed loan. It may also increase the loan balance, restart the amortization clock, or turn unsecured debt into debt secured by your home.


An IRRRL, often called a VA streamline refinance, may help lower the rate or move from adjustable to fixed. If the refinance lowers your payment by $100 while adding thousands in costs and resetting the term, the "savings" may be fake.


VA construction loans exist, but they are harder in practice. Participating lenders, builder approval, appraisals based on plans, inspections, reserves, and VA minimum property requirements can make the process more complicated.


VA loans can also be assumable. In a high-rate environment, a low-rate assumable VA loan may be valuable, but the buyer must qualify and entitlement issues can affect the seller.


Do the math before refinancing. Ask how much cost is being added. Ask whether the loan term resets. Ask whether debt consolidation puts your home at risk. Verify construction-loan lender experience. Understand entitlement issues with assumptions.


Do not let a lender's marketing replace your judgment.


Useful links:


Military Retirement, TSP, CRSC, And CRDP


Military retirement is not one thing.


You may be under Final Pay, High-3, REDUX, BRS, Reserve non-regular retirement, or disability retirement. Your pension system matters. Your TSP matters. Your VA disability matters. CRSC and CRDP matter. SBP matters. DIC may matter for your survivors.


Do not confuse DoD retirement with VA disability compensation. They are different systems, even when they interact.


CRSC, Combat-Related Special Compensation, is generally non-taxable. CRDP, Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay, generally restores retired pay and is usually taxable as retired pay. That distinction can materially change household income.


Know your retirement system. Know your gross retired pay and net retired pay. Know what is taxable. Understand VA offsets. Check CRSC eligibility if you have combat-related disabilities. Understand CRDP if applicable. Review SBP. Review TSP withdrawal and beneficiary planning.


Military retirement is not just a monthly deposit. It is one part of the household's long-term

structure.


Useful links:

DFAS retired military pay: https://www.dfas.mil/RetiredMilitary/

Military compensation retirement: https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Retirement/


State Benefits Are Easy To Miss


State benefits are often overlooked because they are scattered across agencies, and because every state seems to believe the best way to honor veterans is to hide benefits behind nine pages of county-level instructions.


Check anyway.


State benefits can include property tax exemptions, military retirement tax exclusions, tuition benefits, veteran plates, hunting and fishing licenses, business fee waivers, hiring credits, state veterans homes, state cemeteries, and disabled-veteran benefits.

For 100% P&T veterans, property tax benefits can be especially valuable. In some states, this can be worth thousands per year.


Do not assume federal tax treatment controls state treatment. Do not assume all states treat military retirement the same. Do not assume property tax benefits are automatic. Do not assume surviving spouse benefits are obvious.


Check your state veterans department. Then check your county. Then check again after rating changes, moves, retirement, or spouse status changes.


Useful links:

VA state benefits directory: https://www.va.gov/statedva.htm


Burial Benefits Are Not A Funeral Plan


VA burial and memorial benefits honor service and reduce final-expense pressure, but they are not a full funeral plan.


They do not replace life insurance. They do not replace a will. They do not replace beneficiary planning. They do not replace survivor income. They do not replace telling your wife what to do when you die.


Eligible veterans, service members, spouses, and dependents may qualify for burial in a VA national cemetery. Benefits may include gravesite, opening and closing, government burial liner, headstone or marker, perpetual care, burial flag, Presidential Memorial Certificate, and military funeral honors.


Burial allowances may reimburse some costs, but they are not a blank check.


Decide whether you want national cemetery burial. Consider pre-need eligibility. Tell your wife your wishes. Keep your DD-214 accessible. Keep life insurance and estate documents accessible. Know who can apply for burial benefits.


A man should not leave his wife to learn the VA system while grieving.


Useful links:


Part IV: Your Household Order Of Operations


Find your season and start there.


Early Career Active Duty, Guard, Or Reserve

  • Set up TSP.

  • Contribute enough to capture the BRS match if eligible.

  • Understand your LES.

  • Learn what BAH, BAS, and tax-free allowances actually do for your household.

  • Set SGLI intentionally.

  • Update beneficiaries.

  • Keep dependents correct in DEERS.

  • Use Tuition Assistance carefully.

  • Save medical records.

  • Document injuries and exposures.

  • Avoid stupid debt.


The military cannot stop a young man from buying a Charger at a criminal interest rate, but wisdom can.


Mid-Career Service Member

  • Increase TSP discipline.

  • Review your investment allocation.

  • Consider GI Bill transferability if married or likely to have children.

  • Understand continuation pay if under BRS.

  • Review SGLI and private insurance needs.

  • Document medical issues.

  • Use credentialing assistance where it increases future income.

  • Review state residency.

  • Talk with your wife about household finances.

  • Do not let military stability hide household disorder.


Late-Career Or Pre-Separation

  • Start TAP early.

  • Build a 12-month transition budget.

  • Gather medical records.

  • Prepare VA claims.

  • Check BDD eligibility.

  • Plan SkillBridge carefully.

  • Confirm health coverage after separation.

  • Review SGLI to VGLI options.

  • Review TSP.

  • Review GI Bill and VR&E.

  • Confirm DD-214 accuracy.

  • Review VA loan plans.

  • Check state benefits where you will live.

  • Make sure your wife knows where everything is.


First Year After Separation

  • Confirm VA rating.

  • Appeal or supplement if appropriate and truthful.

  • Enroll in VA healthcare if eligible.

  • Update your budget around taxable and tax-free income.

  • Review life insurance.

  • Use GI Bill or VR&E strategically.

  • Check state benefits.

  • Preserve records.

  • Update beneficiaries.

  • Create a household death file.

  • Do not let the benefits disappear into lifestyle.


Retired Military

  • Know your retirement system.

  • Know gross and net retired pay.

  • Understand what is taxable.

  • Review VA offsets.

  • Review CRSC or CRDP if applicable.

  • Review SBP.

  • Review TSP.

  • Review state tax treatment.

  • Coordinate retirement pay, VA disability, TSP, Social Security, spouse income, insurance, and estate documents.


Disabled Veteran

  • Understand your rating.

  • Check dependent status.

  • Keep award letters.

  • Check VA healthcare.

  • Check state benefits.

  • Check property tax relief.

  • Check VA funding fee exemption.

  • Check VR&E.

  • Check CHAMPVA if applicable.

  • Review survivor planning.

  • Use compensation to strengthen the household, not merely to raise the family's spending temperature.


100% P&T Veteran

  • Check CHAMPVA for eligible family members.

  • Check DEA Chapter 35 for spouse and children.

  • Check state property tax benefits.

  • Check VA funding fee exemption.

  • Check VA dental eligibility.

  • Check state plates, tuition benefits, hunting and fishing licenses, and other benefits.

  • Review DIC and survivor planning.

  • Review life insurance.

  • Make sure your wife has access to DD-214, award letters, VA documents, policies, accounts, passwords, and instructions.


The Veteran Household File


Every veteran household should have one place where your wife, executor, or trusted adult child can find the essentials.


This can be a physical binder, encrypted digital folder, or both. Do not make it weirdly complicated. The point is that your household can act if you are dead, disabled, deployed, hospitalized, or unavailable.

Include:

  • DD-214

  • VA disability award letters

  • VA.gov login instructions

  • DS Logon, Login.gov, or ID.me access instructions

  • DEERS information

  • Marriage certificate

  • Birth certificates

  • Social Security cards

  • SGLI, VGLI, and private life insurance policies

  • TSP account information

  • Bank accounts

  • Retirement accounts

  • Mortgage and VA loan documents

  • GI Bill records

  • VR&E records

  • TRICARE, VA healthcare, or CHAMPVA information

  • SBP election documents

  • Military retirement paperwork

  • CRSC or CRDP documents

  • State benefit documents

  • Property tax exemption paperwork

  • Burial preferences

  • Pre-need burial eligibility, if completed

  • Will

  • Trust, if applicable

  • Power of attorney

  • Healthcare directive

  • Password instructions

  • Advisor, attorney, CPA, VSO, and benefits contacts

  • Instructions for what to do if you die


A man has not protected his household by keeping all of this in his head.


Your wife should not need a treasure map, a CAC reader, three expired passwords, and your old team leader's phone number to figure out what happens next.


Final Word


You served.


You were promised certain benefits as part of that service. Some were paid immediately, while others were deferred. Some must be claimed, some must be elected before a deadline, and some belong to your wife and children if you die. Many of them will do nothing for your household unless you know they exist, understand how they work, and take the steps required to receive them.


Do not be too proud to receive what you earned, and do not be so careless as to waste what you receive. Tell the truth. Do not exaggerate, defraud, make your pain your identity, or turn your benefits into an idol. At the same time, do not hide what happened to you because you want to appear stronger than you are. Refusing lawful provision does not make you more honorable. It just leaves your household with less to work with.


Do not leave your wife weaker because you were too proud to file. Do not leave your children with less because you refused to learn the system. Do not let deadlines pass, records disappear, or government confusion decide what your family receives. Bureaucracy is difficult enough without allowing it to govern your household for you.


Military and VA benefits are no substitute for wisdom, work, prudence, or household government. When used rightly, however, they can reduce weakness, create margin, educate children, protect wives, help buy homes, fund new careers, support disabled veterans, strengthen retirement, and give a man’s household more room to be faithful. That is the proper place for these benefits. They are tools of provision, and they should be governed accordingly.


So get all that you are entitled to. Take advantage of every benefit. You served your country, now let it serve you and your household.




If you found this guide helpful, but would still like some help with your finances including help in navigating your benefits, you can book a free meeting with us here.


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