• Veterans Megathread: Rose-Tinted Glasses, IRR Letters, Paunches and Beards
  

  Zeris posted:

  
  
  
  
  Welcome to the all-purpose Veterans Megathread.
  This is a place to talk about how great your last unit was (the one you hated while you were in), how you're going to start running again probably next week, and how much civilian friends suck.
  
  Veterans come in all shapes, sizes, genders, orientations races and creeds. There are combat veterans and non-combat veterans, liars and quiet professionals, fatties and folks in better shape after active duty than ever before.
  
  
  
  The term "Veteran" once applied to most American males after WWII. Fast forward to Vietnam and "Veteran" usually meant crazy homeless guys, and the population of smokey stale-beer VFWs and American Legions. Today, this term applies far more inclusively, both because fewer service members see combat (causing most to say "gently caress it" and call everyone a veteran), and the diversity of service members has increased greatly in the last 10 years (again, safer to apply the label universally).
  
  Some of us leave our units, and go on to lives in which our service is only a memory. But the opportunities for veterans are growing thanks to a national desire to help, empower, educate, etc. veterans that are often perceived as under-supported by the US government.
  
  Most veterans today (OIF, OEF, Gulf War, Vietnam, etc.) are finding opportunities for work, education and "extracurriculars" that have never before been so widely and freely available. Mostly non-profits, these organizations are usually founded in the name of helping veterans and/or getting those donations and grant money that (pre-budget crunch) existed in abundance. While money does indeed limit the effectiveness and reach of pretty much everything, it is common to see excess in the form of foundations that exist purely to chase money, marketing, logo-spamming, photo-ops and ridiculous amounts of swag (looking at you, WWP).
  
  But move out of the way, American Legion and VFW. These organizations are ignored by many thanks to flashier, more tangible benefits of investing time and attention with newer groups.
  Keep in mind many of these organizations are local. In my own experience you can reach out anywhere and folks across the country will help you find something of interest near you - whether that's a writing group, fishing club or art workshop for veterans. You have to reach and ask, though.
  
  When I left the army last year I avoided anything that reminded me of the military for several months. I ended up volunteering at a veteran community outreach center, and now I work there. A lot of guys I know now, especially the 100% disability ones, have a hard time interacting with the world in general. All of the programs below do great things in their particular field, but the socialization aspect is equally, if not more important.
  
  Education-Focused Organizations
  
  The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Puts veterans with a disability rating through an intense "Mini-MBA" designed to prepare veterans for starting or running their own business. Its programs run at several universities throughout the country.
  
  Culinary Command is an intense 45-day resident cooking course in the Hudson Valley region of New York state. The course and living accommodations are provided for free. The course prepares veterans for a career in the culinary industry. The only hard part about this opportunity is that you have put your life (and income) on hold for 45 days.
  
  Artistic Organizations
  
  Veterans in the Arts is a Minnesota-based non-profit that offers classes in writing, visual art, music, theatre, woodworking and photography to veterans. They are affiliated with the...
  
  Combat Paper Project, which offers 5-day workshops in which you can recycle your old BDUs/ACUs/cammies/etc. into paper. Combat Paper Project has received some national attention and makes some decent money selling pieces. It's also nonprofit, limited but national.
  
  Veteran Artist Program is an east-coast based non-profit that has programs for veterans in film, visual art, and performance art.
  
  The Vet Art Project is a national nonprofit that offers workshops, stress-reduction and mindfulness classes, theatre, storytelling, poetry, and a lot more. They have exposure on NPR and other major media sources.
  
  Veterans Writing Groups (NYTimes Article) are common in most cities with universities. They are a good way to get into expressive writing, creative nonfiction, and a community atmosphere. Some groups produce their own publications, others are mentored by writing professors that will help you edit a piece into something publishable.
  
  National Journals that publish only military-related pieces (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) are growing. Ron Capps famously wrote a piece about his near-suicide in the Darfur desert as a foreign service officer, years after his ETS. He founded the...
  
  Veterans Writing Project, which provides free writing workshops to veterans.
  O-Dark Thirty (yeah, I know) is the literary journal of the Veterans Writing Project.
  The Journal of Military Experience is one of the publications that consists solely of veterans' writing (I'll be published shortly in Volume 3).
  
  Physical Activity, Recreation & Disability-Rating Based Organizations
  
  TeamRWB is a nationwide non-profit open to veterans that focuses on group physical activities (runs, ski trips, etc.) and re-connecting with the community through volunteerism.
  
  Project Healing Waters is another national non-profit for veterans with a disability rating that organizes group fly fishing classes and expeditions.
  
  The Wounded Warrior Project is a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring every disabled veteran has a backpack. Experiences may vary - in my neck of the woods, WWP has a bad reputation due to refusing church donations, requiring guaranteed minimum donation amounts of fundraising events in its name, and appearing to prioritize marketing itself over offering anything of substance.
  That said, all veteran programs and non-profits will generate some negative buzz, bad experiences, etc. simply due to the demographic they cater to.
  
  Basically ever CrossFit Gym ever offers discounted memberships to veterans.
  
  Service Dogs are increasingly common as a method of helping veterans with severe PTSD re-engage with the outside world.
  There are several programs that partner a veteran with a service dog. Some provide fully trained service dogs to a veteran applicant at no charge, others find dogs with a fitting personality at a shelter (evaluated by professional dog trainers) and use an "Owner/trainer" model that requires the veteran to attend sessions, effectively creating their own certified service animal. All service dog programs typically require a diagnosis of PTSD (or physical disability), proof of ongoing treatment/therapy and recommendation by a therapist.
  Some programs include Patriot Paws, Veterans Moving Forward, Hero Dogs Inc., and Clear Path for Veterans where I am currently employed.
  
  
  Lastly, Vet Centers (warning, VA.gov link) are a great low-key place to vent, talk, hang out or get away from all the crazy civilians out there.
  
  There are over 300 Vet Centers in the US. I can't speak for all of them (check first if this matters to you) but most have a one-way relationship with the VA proper. Vet Centers are funded and maintained by the VA, but the VA does not have access to Vet Center records. This means you can see a counselor (all Vet Center services are free to combat-deployed veterans) about anything that may be bothering you, talk about anything you want and not worry about it coming back to you. You may choose to authorize a Vet Center to release some or all of your records to the VA, if for example you decide to seek a diagnosis or other treatment and don't want to "start over". Usually, VA mental health professionals are able meet veterans at their local Vet Center for informal appointments, if you have a "regular" therapist. If not, you can meet with any of the VA professional that rotate shifts at the Vet Center. YMMV depending on location.
  
  Find a Vet Center near you
  
  
  Keep discussion focused on life as a veteran and relevant topics. Specific questions, issues and rants about VA benefits, education, and employment with the DoD already have their own threads.
  Related Threads:
  VA Benefits Megathread
  Educational Benefits Megathread
  "Get Help" Thread
  Civilian ThreadContractor Thread
  
  Last but not least
  
  

• Educational Benefits Thread 2.0: gently caress bitches, get money, get a degree.
  

  Vasudus posted:

  Welcome to the Educational Benefits thread 2.0. The last thread was pretty successful but since I needed to overhaul the poo poo out of my OP thanks to the new legislation I felt it necessary to start a new one. Below you will find a bunch of useful information in regards to both your educational benefits directly, and useful (Veteran specific) college information in general.
  
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  ----------
  Introduction
  Section I - For all GI Bills
  Section II - Chapter 1606 for non-deployed Reservists and Guardsmen
  Section III - The Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB - Chapter 30)
  Section IV - The Post 9/11 GI Bill
  Section V - Vocational Rehabilitation and Education (VR&E - Chapter 31)
  Section VI - tl;dr
  Section VII - The Yellow Ribbon Program
  Section VIII - Tuition Waivers in certain states
  Section IX - Financial Aid
  Section X - General Questions
  
  ----------
  Introduction
  ----------
  
  My name is Vasudus and I'm a Veteran's Benefit Councilor for a large university. I have been doing this job for about 18 months. My job starts with getting Veterans into school, doing all their paperwork, providing academic advisement, providing transitional counseling, and anything else that is required. I do closed door social work type stuff and hang out in the lounge bullshitting. I call whatever respective departments that are giving my guys a hard time and I call them a bunch of unpatriotic communist assholes on a routine basis. I routinely travel around to speak at various institutions about education benefits and the cheesy-as-gently caress warrior to student speech. It is a sweet gig.
  
  I served in the Army from 2003 to 2006 as a 21B2O, Combat Engineer. My career was cut short when some jihadist assholes decided that there is no victory but through god. I've got PTSD like a motherfucker and I can never get an MRI again. At least I don't beep at the airport anymore.
  
  It should be noted that I am not an employee of the VA proper, nor am I official university staff. I am a work-study student paid by the VA. There may be things that I am wrong on or is simply out of my area and requires me to research or take a shot in the dark on. If it is something that I am not 100% confident on, I will state so.
  
  Before we start:
  
  This thread is based heavily on the following assumptions, which I have gathered based on my personal Veteran demographics for my school:
  
  You are single
  You have not used your benefits yet and still have 36 months
  You qualify at the 100% level for the Post 9/11 GI Bill
  You are going for your undergraduate degree
  You are going to a traditional, brick-and-mortar school in the US
  
  If this is not you, please note that sometimes I might make assumptions that it is. I will try to make liberal use of the phrases "Depending on your situation" and "Your financial mileage may vary" when people might find themselves in different situations.
  
  
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  Section I - All GI Bills
  ----------
  
  APPLY FOR YOUR BENEFITS AT http://gibill.va.gov
  
  For all GI Bills you are entitled to 36 benefit months of educational assistance. The key word in this statement is benefit. If you are in school from July 1st to July 31st, that's a benefit month. If you aren't in school you aren't burning time. The benefit month system only eats away when you are actually collecting, so there is no direct pressure to poo poo out a degree. You might want to for your own reasons, which I will cover later in the thread.
  
  Note also that the time is shared between all bills, so if you are a reservist/guardsman on Chapter 1606, and you deploy to get that sweet sweet Post 9/11, you don't magically get 36 months of it again. It is for this reason that if you are a new reservist/guardsman with no active time except training, and you know you are to deploy soon, it might be better to hold off.
  
  
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  Section II - Chapters 1606 and 1607 - The Montgomery GI Bill - Selective Reserve / REAP
  ----------
  
  Chapter 1606 is a bone thrown to our weekend warriors. It is currently 337 dollars a month paid to the individual. It eats your benefit months. It is poo poo. Depending on your situation, it might be worth it to collect this bill, as 337 dollars is better than no dollars at all.
  
  The only people who should ever use this bill are those who have not deployed.
  
  Chapter 1607, also called REAP, is a bill that is basically phased out completely. It was a halfassed attempt to reward deployed reservists/guardsman before Post 9/11 came out. If you qualify for REAP, you qualify for 60% Post 9/11, which is always better.
  
  
  ----------
  Section III - The Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30)
  ----------
  
  The famous Montgomery GI Bill that was so heavily broadcast on TV in the late 90s. It currently pays out 1487 dollars a month to the individual who has served at least 3 years of active duty. It does not cover anything else.
  
  If you qualify for this bill, you are qualified at the 100% level of the Post 9/11 Bill. You should never be using this bill, and thankfully in about five years my job will be significantly easier as this bill will cease to be in rotation. There is one, and only one, exception to this statement:
  
  If you have less than 12 months of benefit time remaining on the Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) you need to be aware of the following: Those who expend 100% of their Chapter 30 benefits are allowed a 12 month extension of the Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). Depending on your situation, it may be in your best financial interests to expend your MGIB and switch over on the extension. Graduate school is expensive as gently caress, and having 12 months of Post 9/11 is likely worth it over shelling out for the rest of your undergraduate degree.
  
  
  ----------
  Section IV - The Post 9/11 GI Bill
  ----------
  
  This is what people are talking about when they say 'gently caress bitches, get money, go to school'. This bill is what the MGIB should have been in the first place, and thank gently caress they went and future proofed this bastard.
  
  At the 100% level, the GI Bill pays the following:
  
  All of your tuition and fees paid directly to the university, to a maximum cap of 17,500 dollars per year
  1000 dollars a semester, split between Fall and Spring (so 500 each) for books paid directly to the Veteran
  A monthly BAH rate of an E5 with dependents paid out based on the zipcode of your school
  
  Now that is what I'm loving talking about.
  
  If you are a reservist/guardsman with a single deployment, you are likely 60% rated. Take what someone who gets 100% would be entitled to and do the math. 60% of the BAH, 600 a year for books, etc.
  
  Under all circumstances the Post 9/11 GI Bill is better for all Veterans, even those that are 40% rated.
  
  For those attending online-only schools, the GI Bill as of August 1st 2011 pays half the national average of BAH, or ~673 dollars a month. This change makes it immediately better than MGIB which was the single holdout, because Post 9/11 pays your tuition and MGIB is just a check to you.
  
  For those who took the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you do indeed get the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The bad news is that the timer for qualifying service starts after your SLRP obligation is completed, which is 3 years. So if you took SLRP, to qualify at 100% Post 9/11 you had to have done 6 years of active time. I hope you got your money's worth out of SLRP.
  
  For our commissioned goons, the same applies as it does for SLRP. You have to finish your commitment to AD time before the clock starts. Six year commitment -> 9 years AD time to get full Post 9/11 eligibility.
  
  Note that at 10 years, you can transfer your months to dependents. This is done on a benefit month system, in that you can assign whatever amount of months to whichever dependent you choose. Keep in mind that it eats out of the same pool, so 36 months split between say two dependents is 18/18.
  
  
  ----------
  Section V - Vocational Rehabilitation and Education (VR&E - Chapter 31)
  ----------
  
  This is for our disabled veterans. If you are 10% rated by your service or 20% by the VA (total percent, not on a per injury basis) you qualify for this. Prior to 1 August 2011, this was inferior to Post 9/11. This is no longer the case, because as of 1 August 2011, those who qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and Voc Rehab can get the BAH of Post 9/11 instead of the tiny stipend VR&E gives you. There are absolutely no guidelines at this time how the VA plans to go about this, yes it is as frightening as it sounds to people like me who have over 500 veterans they are responsible for.
  
  Applying for VR&E is a much different animal than your regular GI Bill as it serves a much different purpose. The GI Bills are fuckoff money and they give literally zero shits where you go to school or how you spend your money they give you. With VR&E you have a councilor that you have to meet with, your degree is planned out and the end goal is to make you a productive member of society.
  
  The benefit comes with the fact that VR&E will pay for literally any school, training or equipment that is necessary for them to in order for you to reach your goal. Want to be a welder and need a 5,000 dollar welding kit for school? gently caress it, done. Need a laptop to take notes on? Have one, complete with a printer. They pay for literally everything within reason, you just have to convince them it is necessary.
  
  Another neat thing is that you can apply for and participate in VR&E after you have expended your GI Bill. You usually get 12 months of benefits - to cap out at the standard maximum of 48 months. However, depending on exactly why you haven't completed your VR&E in 12 months can get you an extension until you do. My coworker, for example, is currently at month 45 and got approved to complete her graduate degree, which would take her to 54 months. It is a much different animal compared to the GI Bill.
  
  
  ----------
  Section VI - tl;dr
  ----------
  
  WHAT BUTAN I PRESS GET MONEY?!
  Reservists and Guardsmen who have not deployed: Chapter 1606
  Reservists and Guardsmen who have deployed once and are not disabled: 60% Post 9/11
  Reservists and Guardsmen who have deployed more than once, are not disabled, or Active Duty who took SLRP at enlistment: 70-90% Post 9/11
  Active Duty who are not disabled: 100% Post 9/11
  Disabled Veterans: Vocational Rehabilitation
  
  
  ----------
  Section VII - Yellow Ribbon
  ----------
  
  Yellow Ribbon is the ivory towered elite giving back to the community. If your school participates in Yellow Ribbon, and you are 100% Post 9/11, the following happens:
  
  Assuming that your school costs 10,000 for a full semester, it will cost 20,000 dollars an academic year
  
  The VA under Post 9/11 will pay 17,500 dollars of this, leaving you with a 2,500 dollar balance
  
  The Yellow Ribbon program will take that remaining 2,500 dollar balance and split it between the VA (1250) and the school (1250) leaving the Veteran with a zero balance.
  
  This allows the Veteran to attend just about any school they want and not have to pay out of pocket.
  
  As my boss says "If you're 100%, you're one-hundred-loving-percent."
  
  Just about every school worth going to participates in Yellow Ribbon, to include ivies, little ivies, liberal arts gently caress colleges, state schools and probably barber school and clown college. It applies for both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
  
  
  ----------
  Section VIII - Tuition Waivers for certain states
  ----------
  
  In Connecticut, if you have served more than 90 days of active duty, regardless of any other factors, from 2 August 1990 to present, you do not pay tuition. This includes all the state schools and UCONN. You are still responsible for fees. NOTE: CT is one of the few states in the country that doesn't give a poo poo where you served or where you lived.
  
  The Wisconsin G.I. Bill provides a full waiver (“remission”) of tuition and fees for eligible veterans and their dependents for up to 8 full-time semesters or 128 credits at any University of Wisconsin System (UWS) or Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) institution for continuing education, or for study at the undergraduate or graduate level. http://dva.state.wi.us/ben_education.asp
  
  
  ----------
  Section IX - Financial Aid, AKA FREE MOTHERFUCKING MONEY
  ----------
  
  You DO NOT claim your education benefits on the FAFSA. Fill that motherfucker out every semester at https://www.fafsa.gov and get your free money in the form of grants. Also available are loans for those who may need it for whatever reason. You can get up to 5500/year, tax free, on top of everything else. DO IT.
  

  Vasudus posted:

  ----------
  Section X - General Information
  ----------
  
  
  How long does it take to get my stuff processed and when do I get paid?
  -----------
  It takes 2-4 weeks to get your Certificate of Eligibility from the VA
  It takes 1-2 weeks for your Certifying Official's paperwork to get to the VA, and for the VA to pay the school
  You get paid on the last day of the month unless a holiday or other factor fucks it up
  You get paid your Fall book stipend somewhere around July-ish, and your Spring stipend around late December
  
  
  ----------
  How do I get an answer from the VA about something?
  ----------
  Use the VA's 'Ask a Question' feature on their website. You get a written response in 2-3 days for most issues so it is often worth it, versus spending an hour on hold. It is also in writing so that if someone tells you otherwise, you have a written record of it.
  
  
  ----------
  Should I get a second undergraduate degree?
  ----------
  No. In fact, hell no. The only time you should get a second undergraduate degree is when you do them at the same time, such as (Subject)/Education, or Math/Physics. Although the GI Bill will pay for it, VR&E will not because it's a dumb idea.
  
  Even if you are drastically changing fields of study (like say, English -> Chemistry or Biology -> Economics) it is always, always better to just take whatever undergraduate classes are required to get accepted into a graduate program.
  
  
  ----------
  Should I go to a Community College first and then transfer?
  ----------
  Not unless you absolutely want to or you have to because of past academic performance (or lack of). There is a common misconception that community classes are easier, and thus are better to ease into the college environment as a veteran. A 100-level class is a 100-level class, regardless if it is being taught at Harvard or Big Bob's Community College. If you want to ease into college, take 4 classes (12 credit hours) worth of intro classes.
  
  What will happen, unless you are extremely careful, is credits from a community college will not transfer over to your 4-year university. I've personally seen people with an associate's degree come to my school and have around 30 credits count.
  
  The exception to this rule is what we call feeder schools. Generally you enroll in a specific community college for a specific degree that upon completion of their program automatically enrolls you into a specific four year institution.
  
  
  ----------
  My grades were poo poo when I started college, now I want to go back. What are my options?
  ----------
  If you want to go back to the same school, see if they have some sort of Fresh Start option. It generally allows you to keep your completed classes and wipe the GPA slate clean if you fall under a certain number of credits.
  
  If you want to go to a different school, be aware that you are required to disclose that you attended another one and provide transcripts. That school must also be paid in full. It is an extremely bad thing if you hide this fact. Extremely bad.
  
  Worst case, you have to pull 9-12 credits (so a full semester's worth) at some arbitrary GPA (typically 2.75+) at some community college to get accepted to a regular school. It's not the end of the world.
  
  
  ----------
  What is the fastest way to get my degree?
  ----------
  You can realistically get your 4-year degree in 3 years without giving up too much of your GPA. The problem lies in the fact that when you go from 5 classes to 6, things will likely get much more difficult for you. Going to 7 classes, which is the absolute max at most institutions, is for those with gigantic academic brass balls. Seriously, it is loving hard. My school even requires you to pay 200 dollars to sign up for a 7th class, we call it the idiot tax.
  
  Doing 18 credit hour Fall/Spring semesters, with Winter/Summer classes when available, can get you out of school in three years. Your GI Bill will deplete pretty fast doing this, so make it count (ie: don't take one summer class if you can take two)
  
  
  ----------
  What military credits will transfer over to my school?
  ----------
  This is a common question that I deal with at work, and the answer is always the same: It varies wildly on the individual. I've seen people come in with 60 credits and I've seen people get credit for Public Health and Exercise Science for a total of 2 credits. My job (21B) got me absolutely fuckall except for health/gym.
  Generally speaking if you have a technical job (as most Veteran goons seem to have) your odds are much higher that you will be getting credits. Us knuckle draggers are poo poo out of luck for the most part.
  
  
  ----------
  What is the entire process, from start to finish in regards to my benefits?
  ----------
  1) Veteran applies for benefits at http://gibill.va.gov
  2) Veteran applies to school
  3) Veteran is accepted to school
  4) Veteran provides Certificate of Eligibility from the VA to the school's Certifying Official (me)
  5) Certifying Official processes classes into VA-ONCE
  6) Veteran gets paid
  7) Veteran gets laid
  
  
  ----------
  What does a Certifying Official do?
  ----------
  Officially, all we do is put your information into VA-ONCE so the school/you get paid. Start time, end time, credit load, done. At many schools, this is handled by someone in the bursar's office.
  
  Some schools have a full time Veteran rep that is a certifying official in addition to whatever else they might do. My school has a Veteran's Lounge, where dudes can take a loving nap, use the computers, print for free (my school charges 5c/page) and hang out. When Osama died we had 10-12 of us getting smashed in there. My campus is dry except for here. We also have around 550 Veterans out of a population of 13,500 so they tend to allow us to do whatever.
  
  
  ----------
  I never collected my kicker / my kicker paperwork was never submitted. What do I do?
  ----------
  This happened to me. The process is as follows:
  1) Use the 'Ask a Question' feature on the VA website.
  2) In your post, include copies of your kicker contract + enlistment contract as an attachment.
  3) Wait 15ish business days
  4) You will be backpaid what was due, and then all future semesters will have it.
  
  Keep in mind that the process used to calculate the kicker is borderline financial sorcery so don't expect that 50,000 or 70,000 or whatever. There is a reason they say 'up to' in the recruiting lines.
  

• US Veterans Benefits Megathread: They Give Me What For Why?
  

  Steven CatFingers posted:

  [Editor's note: The following is Part One of a multi-part series on post-service benefits. This covers VA-specific shits. Education is covered in another thread. Upcoming updates may include career assistance, transitioning from military to civilian life, PTSD management, Agent Orange/Gulf War Syndrome/Burn Pits/other era-specific issues that may arise, and anything else you're curious about.]
  
  Part One: The VA and General Veterans Benefits
  
  So you got out yesterday. Or 25 years ago. You served in combat, or in peacetime, or in an unnamed location, or did half your contract before your MOS became obsolete and you decided to hitchhike home.
  
  Congratulations, you’re now a veteran!
  
  What the hell do you do now?
  
  You’re going to have to deal with a monolithic organization called the Veterans’ Affairs Administration, or VA. The VA will be your best friend and your biggest frustration, but just remember it’s a bureaucracy like all the rest and with patience and persistence you can usually get what you need. Later on we’ll go into veterans service organizations (VSOs), and advocacy organizations that can help you learn the rules of the game, but for now let’s conquer the mystery of the VA.
  
  THE VA
  
  Who can go?
  
  How the hell?
  
  Do you like telephones? The VA’s Benefits Assistance line is 1-800-827-1000.
  
  Do you like internets? Hit up the VA E-Benefits Online Portal.
  
  Do you like interacting with others live near a metropolitan area? Find a VA Regional Office near you and bother someone ‘til they help you.
  
  Why should I bother?
  
  Look, even if you don’t think you did a lot when you were in service, you still deserve some stuff. In the civilian world, when you have a cushy job and it includes a retirement plan, you will use the gently caress out of that bitch. Same thing here. VA benefits are your retirement plan. Use them.
  
  The VA offers disability compensation, preventative health care, emergency health care, transportation, job training, loans, and a ton of other stuff that you’d be a fool not to milk like there’s no tomorrow.
  
  
  Mommy I’m scared of the big buildings!
  
  Well, the good news is there are a lot of resources that can help you get what you need from the VA. Remember those regional offices we discussed earlier? They’re generally a lot smaller and friendlier. Otherwise, try:
  
  VA Vet Centers
  
  State Veterans Affairs Offices
  
  County Veterans Service Offices
  
  Or use this search tool to find a local VSO, vet-friendly attorney, or VA claims agent.
  
  I dunno…they’re gonna try to trick me…
  
  Well yeah. The VA is a government agency, and as such, they will try to keep costs down by making you go through a billion hoops before they give you any money or help you with anything. If you had decades worth of vets asking you for free stuff, and another several thousand OIF/OEF folks realizing free health care might help with that dislodged anus, you might be a little backlogged and clusterfucked too.
  
  So should you ask Crazy Uncle Jimbo who got his earlobes blown off in Saigon? Well, if you want terrible advice, yes. A better idea would be to find an advocate who has helped hundreds of other people in your situation through the process. They can generally guide you on who to ask what, what to say to whom, when to call where, and they best part is they can usually do all the ridiculous amounts of paperwork for you.
  
  Who will advocate on your behalf? Those smaller offices mentioned above may have a person or two to spare. If you live in a busier area, however, you may need to get help from an organization. They generally require membership, but it’s worth it if you qualify.
  
  Disabled American Veterans (DAV) offers national service offices. Find one here.
  
  Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW - that includes WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm/Shield, OIF/OEF, and any service OCONUS) can give you crazy assistance with a lot of poo poo, including your VA benefits and transitioning back to civilian society.
  
  If you served CONUS, or anywhere else, you can join the American Legion and get this stuff.
  
  
  TL;DR – Once you’re out of the military, you can get stuff. However, it is your responsibility to either apply through the VA directly, through a regional office, or an advocate.
  
  Busket_in_Posket is an employee for a non-profit VSO. Busket welcomes your input on this thread and has access the resources to find you answers if needed.
  

  
  
  
  

Cole fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Dec 6, 2015

e.pilot fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Dec 11, 2015

blue squares fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Jan 12, 2016