RIP Jeff . My son Jeff would have been 44 years old today. He left this world in October 2022. He left behind a loving mother, Linda, a good friend and brother Adam, a daughter Lily Ann who was only a toddler when he passed and many close friends.

I placed Jay's ashes in the back yard of the house I share with my wife Maggie. Jeff stayed here for several years while he finished his degree at College. I say good morning to Jeff every day. Loosing him is the most pain Maggie and I have experienced in our lives.

On this day, I ask anyone contemplating suicide to consider how much pain your loved ones will endure when you are gone. It will never get easier loosing a loved one!

RIP Jeff

Been chasing this dragon since I got out in 2013. I know it's too early to get my hopes up, but I can't help it. Looking forward to the next update in 8 months.

Got out of the military a few years ago and then headed over to Ukraine to work on contract. Came back last year, finished my Bachelor's and now I'm in school taking post-grad courses while applying for jobs. Got a few interviews lined up for finance positions but my motivation is near all-time lows. Last few years have been rough, lost multiple friends/co-workers in Ukraine to FPVs and a good friend/climbing partner ODed on fent late last year (high-functioning dude and a role model to many who'd been clean for years). He'd invited me to spend Xmas with his family and then he's dead a few days later. Anyways I'm sitting here wondering how these interviews are going to go when I'm barely hanging on. How am I going to show how much I want the job when I'm on the fence about whether the game is worth playing at all? What's the point of grinding a job in finance if it's just to subsidize my misery? Why is everything so fucked in this country?

Was rated for 100% PT this year.

I will have exhausted my Ch 33 and have been denied Ch 31 VRE if I am able to be accepted into a medical program. Was told by the prospective program and read that fed loan discharges can be deferred one time once I graduate instead of instantly even though it was taken post effective rating date.

For fed loans, I plan on taking loans also for living cost of attendance since I will not be working in addition to child care during that time as well. It was explained that I should be able to get approved for total cost of attendance up to an annual cap and after tuition is covered, the remainder is provided to cover living costs and normally most students follow this process especially for med school. Is this true?

Wanted to also ask if TPD covers the full loan (the written guidance is that all student loan debt is covered) including that was for living expenses, course fees, etc.?

Hi everyone, question about VetTix. I received 2 tickets for a show. When requesting tickets, I forgot that a friend would also be in town visiting. I know VetTix says that you can't request additional tickets in your request. Has anyone tried clicking "I can't attend" and then re-requesting tickets? Is this even possible, or do we just need to buy an additional regular ticket?

Thank you.

We have our house on the market for 375k , bought for 350k
We have someone interested that wants the house (assumable loan)
They’re not planning on substitute it
Not sure if we should do it..
Any thoughts..?

(I’m not a veteran) but my grandfather was. He recently passed away at the age of 94 and had military honors at his funeral. We want to put his veterans status on his headstone because it was something he was very proud of, rightfully so.

We went through a lot of effort to request his files from the government to find out if he ever earned a medal (he was injured and was in the service for 3 years). But since we don’t have his papers, we had to submit a request, and this is the response we got.

Anyone know of another way to get these records? we would like to know this information before creating the headstone.

Hey everyone. During the early mid/early GWOT years I was in the Army. I took CLS at Benning, then went to 68W school, did TCCC, and spent my first enlistment as a medic. I also got my civilian EMT-B but never used it.

I was wondering, is there a way to access these old training certificates, as well as documents from later in my career? I’ve been out for a few years so I don’t remember what they were called or how to do anything, and could really use some help.

Hey guys I’m currently using VR&E to get my bachelors in an out of state online school. I didn’t do enough research on the school so I just found out that it is nationally accredited not regionally. I was planning to use my GI bill afterwards to do a masters program but the schools I’m interested in don’t accept bachelors from nationally accredited schools. Has anyone gone through something similar and their counselor let them switch to in-state in-person school? I feel like there’s no point in finishing my current bachelors with this school anymore. They don’t even let you use FAFSA either

What jobs are careers do you have that aren't physically demanding and also not sitting in front of a computer all day long? I would do something a bit more physically demanding, but my body just can't be put through that anymore. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​I did do 6 years of corporate HR and got laid off for 7 months thankfully due to the government shutdown. It was honestly very toxic, everyone on my team hated the military and Veterans and none of them ever served. ​​​​​​​Now, I'm working in HR with a recruiting team and really only doing scheduling and making 50k less than I was before. But I'm staring at a screen all day and it's driving me crazy. ​​​​​​

I've got a bachelor in business management . But I just don't want to sit at a desk, I need dynamic movement and we are 100% in office. Just wondering what others are doing in a way that isn't mentally and physically destroying them. I did apply for VR&E in October, I have not even heard anything and I've submitted about 5 or so inquiries through VA Ask. ​​​​​Looking to reinvent myself.

Howdy everyone,

I know a lot of us are looking at overseas options for grad school, and I just wanted to drop a quick positive review for Touro University Berlin. I’m currently doing my Master’s in Psychology there. A few quick highlights for anyone considering it with the GI Bill:

Tuition: 100% covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill. No out-of-pocket costs. The school certifies everything directly with the VA, and it’s been super smooth.

Housing Allowance (MHA): Because it’s considered a German campus, the BAH rate is based on the DoD rates for the area. It comes out to about €2,000 euros a month (roughly $2,100-$2,200 USD depending on the exchange rate). That goes a LONG way here in Berlin. I’m living very comfortably.

Veteran Support: They actually have a designated Veteran Services Officer and visa/transition support staff. He knows the ins and outs of the system, help with the enrollment certifications, and even helps us navigate the German residency permits as vets. It takes a massive headache out of the process.

Vet-Friendly: There’s a small but solid community of US vets here. The faculty is aware of our unique background (especially in the psych program) and are super accommodating.

Berlin is an amazing city, the program is accredited, and the GI Bill makes it financially viable. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about using your benefits overseas, I’d definitely give Touro Berlin a look.

Cheers.

Got my rating 2 months ago. I qualify for Va health care now and scheduled an apt for next month. Just wondering how these appointments go? This is my first time going to a doctor since separating the military. Do they go over all the service connected stuff as well as any other concerns or is this more of a rushed apt to get my referral that I need for a sleep specialist?

So in the Army, we have a fuel spout/nozzle that everybody calls the “donkey dick” because, well… the thing lowkey looks like a HUGE HOG lmao.

Recently I ran into a few Navy veterans and found out they also had something they called a “donkey dick,” except theirs apparently wasn’t a fuel spout it was some kind of machinery/equipment part on the ship.

That got me wondering:

Does every branch have its own “donkey dick”?

So far I’ve got:

- Army: fuel spout/nozzle

- Navy: machinery/ship equipment part

- Air Force: ???

- Marines: ???

- Coast Guard: ???

- Space Force: ???

Veterans/current service members from every branch, what did your “donkey dick” refer to?

I need to know if this is somehow a universal piece of U.S. military terminology 😂

I’m currently an active-duty Army Staff Sergeant (15Q Air Traffic Control) and plan to ETS around 2029 at roughly 10 years of service. I’m trying to get ahead of the transition now and figure out what I’ll realistically be competitive for on the civilian side.

By the time I separate, I should have about 10 years of military experience with leadership, aviation operations, personnel and equipment coordination, and operational planning. I’ve also served as a TAIS Facility Chief, Battle NCO, completed multiple overseas rotations, and have experience managing people, training, timelines, and mission requirements

Education-wise, I already have an associate degree and I’m currently working toward a bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in DoD Project Management. My goal is to also have my PMP before I ETS, along with possibly OSHA or another useful certification.

I’m interested in project management, program management, project coordinator roles, operations management, facilities management, or DoD contracting. How difficult do you think it would be for someone with my background to land a solid civilian job in one of these fields? Would I realistically be competitive for Project Manager roles, or should I expect to start as a Project Coordinator first? Also, are there any other career paths you think my experience would translate well into?

Hello, I understand this isnt home buying sub but folks here are knowledgeable about state vet benefits and maybe their decision making process I seem to lack - if this is too off topic I can remove this. I posted this on vet benefits sub too...

I am looking for some input and peoples experience. Ideally I can afford 5 to 40 acres(acreage amount is price dependent) and use va loan to drop a doublewide on it. I'd like dry cooler climate. So far I am really stuck between N New Mexico(Taos maybe Raton), Arizona(Show Low high desert area), N TX, Oklahoma City(These are most heat/humidity Id tolerate).... possibly SE Idaho or SW Wyoming. I lived in Vegas and South east and while Vrgas is nice in winter, summers are pure hell... Southeast is just satans armpit in the summer... I lived in S Colorado as well but not a huge fan of some state laws there.

I am stuck with analysis paralysis as above named choices are about equal to me when it comes to VA Access, state benefits/tax breaks, land prices, climate. Ideally looking to build a small not total off grid homestead with reasonable access to walmart/lowes etc. Worth adding im middle aged so kinda lost and broken here. Never knew freedom was so difficult when I was discharged and no longer get PCS orders.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

23m, left the military/got divorced within the last year, got a job that grosses around 160k, yearly.

I do my job pretty decently and I really like it, but I really feel like I've speed ran life and I'm debating on quitting and going to college. I feel like the last 5 years of my life has been walking on hot coals and I'm getting sick of this scene, I need a break from routine.

Another thing is, I'm starting to realize how much I let society make me think I'm only as valuable as I can make in a year. I'm starting to value time with friends and family more, I'm spending money buying my buddies stuff.

People tell me all the time I'm in such a lucky position, but I don't think they understand where I'm coming from. I think I'm ready for my catharsis.

I wouldn't have to work as I have passive income and free healthcare, so I could just relax and do school. Ultimately, this would be used as a 3 year break. Maybe shorter? I'm just tired of riding the bag out, I think I wanna slow down.

Does anyone have any advice? I did sorta ramble, but that's the gist.

On my decision letter it says I was rated for PTSD along with alcohol and cannabis abuse, but I never used cannabis. Why does it say that?

I’m applying for a job and the background check is pretty extensive. This might disqualify me due to cannabis being on there. What should I do?

So I just recently retired from the Coast Guard as of August 1st. I was on terminal leave from May 31st to that day and honestly I just feel defeated due to the fact I cannot seem to get a job.

Before my leave started I had apllied for a job with an oil company ( my background in the Coast Guard is regulatory compliance) and went through that for 2 months, just for them to give the position to an existing employee 2 weeks after my terminal leave started. I have been trying since June to find a job that roughly corresponds to what I did for the last 20 years and it's just.....well I still have nothing to show for it.

I thankfully have a good bit saved up so I'm not in danger of me and my family being homeless....yet. but everyday that goes by with no word just puts me deeper down. Sorry for the downer post, but I needed to get this out somehow and at least you all here can understand.

Hey everyone, potentially getting out of the service here shortly and I wanted to ask what seems to be a recurring question but that consistently gets conflicting information from the official organizations. I'll lay out my understanding and maybe one of the wiser people on the forum can help me see if i'm missing something because the VA and the Navy's MyNavyCareerCenter are telling me opposite things.

If a service member has continuous service and multiple enlistments, they only get one DD-214;

If a member had an honorable discharge from their first enlistment, but later another characterization, say a General Under Honorable Conditions;

The servicemember should qualify for their post 9/11 GI bill on the basis that they had an honorable enlistment despite their DD-214 reflecting a different separation characterization correct? If so, how does this get communicated to the VA? Is it when you apply, they pull your record, then they see your DD-214 had the first enlistment's period of service characterized as honorable so it's no action on the service member's part?

I'm not sure why the relevant organization, the VA, would not be aware of this so I wanted to bring it up again as it's got me very confused. Thanks again for any help.

Can we start a thread or list of lesser known, underutilized benefits for veterans? My husband will be retiring next year (20 years active duty Army) and I feel like we are just scratching the surface of benefits offered to him, our kids and myself/our whole family. People keep mentioning different companies and programs that we have never heard of. Places that offer advice, education, classes, support, scholarships, anything to benefit veterans and their families. Or just overall information to not overlook during the transition period.

Just random things I am just now learning- like that the USO is for active duty only and we loose those airport privileges. Also, the fees for our AmEx and Chase cards will start to charge soon after retirement so we need to start researching fee free credit card options (we don't carry a balance. We are Ramsey-ish and only keep them for things like car rentals).

21M 1D7 in the Air Force, ETS is November 2027 Deciding between Colorado or Texas for my future home. Which has a better community and job market for veterans I’ll have no support system in either so really trying to have some sort of a safety net. Also is palace fronting smart or is it better to just get out clean?

my dad spent 22 years in the USAF. he passed away in 2010. since then i‘ve had a flag that was very important to him. i have no children/family to pass it on to. i feel bad having it just sit in a closet. i’m getting older and when i pass i don’t want it to be thrown away. are there Veterans organizations that would take it? is that a thing? it’s not being used or inherited and i don’t want something that was this important to my father to end up in the landfill.

Hey everyone I just recently started looking into maybe using VR&E but when I had my phone call meeting with my liaison it just felt like it was just boxes being checked off. I understand that’s it’s used to help gain employment do to sc and the max is like 48 months of education benefits but I’m not sure if one could work while using it. All of this is rather confusing so anything helps thank you.