My friends saw it was were a little confused. Had to explain it to them hahah!

There was a post on Reddit that inspired me to not just read through the letters that I got 35 years ago from family and friends, but to send them back to them.

My mom, 93 years old now, has started to read through her stack of about 30 she sent to me, for the short time I was deployed.

My father even sent some, he was a decorated Vietnam Veteran, (F-105 Wild Weasel) who has since passed. He was a man a few words, and had some PTSD issues, but his letters were extremely valuable and she can read those now too.

Several of my siblings, my aunt and a high school friend also have received their’s back and have enjoyed reading through them immensely.

If you have letters sitting in a box somewhere, I would encourage you to do the same !

40 year old male, 6 yr Active Duty AF vet here. Separated in 2016. As I have served in a combat zone, I'm eligible to join both.

I've often thought about getting involved, at least as a form of community involvement and socialization, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to it due to the optics.

I've been to them before, and although I'm sure there's more going on than what you see, what I see is a watering hole for mostly Vietnam-era vets that basically functions as an event hosting location for people to have parties. I get that hosting parties is probably how these places stay alive, but it just feels like it gets in the way of what those places should be. To me, it makes it seem inauthentic and underwhelming as a place for veterans to go be among other veterans.

I understand all the advocating, community service, and veteran supports that these organizations offer - and that's great. I'm not here to throw shade. But, with so many posts around the country it also feels like each community is so small that it's unlikely to even meet some people close to my age with similar experiences.

To be honest, I don't think I want to play that game where we act like we still have ranks and function in some sort of self-contained bureaucracy. I'm not showy about my service, and I'm not interested in wearing hats or uniforms. No disrespect to those that do like that sort of thing. I get it, and I respect the good work they do.

Besides a bar that provides event hosting. What else is there really?

Hi I'm trying to get my DD214 on National Archive sent in on day 29 and till this day have not got it so is there a different way for me to get it (until I get it, I can move on with me recruiter)

so should i start this form and mail it to National Archive? or wait for more time

(got out at basic training at marine bootcamp now trying to apply to air force)

I’m SC for sleep apnea, but I don’t use the CPAP machine I’ve been prescribed. Wondering if anyone here has been through the process.

Good Afternoon. I am trying to find a place to borrow from the catch up on my bills. In April I was awarded full custody of my son and have been struggling without help from his mother. My car broke down the day before I got him full time and had to buy a new vehicle. Thats where all my savings went. I have fallen way behind on my bills and at risk of being evicted. I am struggling but trying to keep my composure to push through. I have applied at all of the unsecured places with zero luck and just submitted a request from Service CU. Any info will be incredible and I thank you all for taking the time to read it!

Going to school online using post 9/11 MGIB (sorry for confusion I’m using post 9/11. GI bill, not MGIB ) Attempting to withdraw midterm after my cataract developed during VA documented care. VA saying they can’t evaluate my mitigating circumstances until after withdrawal. I’ve already provided MGIB VA people with my VA medical documentation. Online school refuses to help midterm.

Does my documented cataract count as mitigating, and if not what will I owe back VA? The TA , TA and housing allowance, or just housing?

I keep having this thought in the back of my head of "maybe this time would be different from before" and the feeling of just being wronged on how my army career ended. I think I shouldn't go back and now I just have been having the same thought for the past 7 years of what if we give it a second try?. Any one ever had this feelings?

For the past 2-3 months I’ve had an even harder time falling asleep than what I did before. I hear all these noises and the house cracking and settling and it just keeps me up all night thinking someone is breaking into the house.

What a great problem to have 😐

I have blink cameras but they are just junk. Don’t pick up shit and batteries die to often.

Does anyone know of any great camera systems / security systems that don’t break the bank or give us veterans a discount?

That way just maybe I can sleep a little better

I already use a sound machine

I'm an Army vet that got out after 25 yrs in 2017. Did the Iraq/Afghan tours. Had a shitty childhood and life up to 30.

I'm 51 now and feel like life has crept up on me. I had a breakdown this year. Bad bout of depression. Feel like my mindset is changing.

Anyway, I've been going the the VA for years for MH. I couldn't get into a provider as I thought I just need to talk to someone. Ended up finding the Vet Center and it has been great and a different approach vs the typical VA. The typical VA is medicate....if needed....medicate even more.

The counselor at the Vet Center recommended the Sheep Dog IA - Warrior Pathh in Missouri/Arkansas. We have determined I am in Post Traumatic Growth now. It seems like a cumulation of years of issues and baggage unloading.

I applied and just waiting to hear from them.

Any advice or experience with the program? thanks.

I've been out of the Navy for about a month and a half now, and I'm having a hard time moving on with my life. I was in for 16 years, didn't plan on getting out yet, but was forced to separate for being trans.

Part of the problem is it still doesn't quite feel real, especially given my last 10 months in were spent on administrative absence. I guess I just need something to do to convince my brain things are actually different now, I just don't know what.

So I've been putting off a couple surgeries that are service related because I live alone with my young daughter. They won't schedule me because I don't have transportation home from the hospital.

My question is, is there any no or low cost program that can help me out with a ride home and maybe check in on me and my daughter for like the first day or two?

Hey guys, I was recently awarded 100% p&t and this is the first time trying to use va dental. Im having a dental emergency however they can’t see me until December and they said it takes 2 weeks for community care to get back to me. Anyone experience something similar? Any other options?

I moved and I am now about 2 hours about 120 miles from the nearest VA. I have tried 3 times now through the community care portal to get something scheduled with a provider local to me on the network and the same thing happens. They acknowledge the request it sits for a few days then just disappears. Tried calling the help line and using the online help and they both gave the same answer “we don’t see where there ever was a request”. Just looking for some insight on how people typically navigate this. Thanks in advance!

I’ve been doing everything in my power the last two months since I filed for an increase and TIDU to find a job and some form of stability and just stick it through so I could keep a routine and try to be part of society. Fast forward, I’ve now been looked over by dozens of people hiring who when I tell them I’ll need accommodation look at me funny and then tell me they’ll get back to me. Then my application is denied. I was on boarding and when I asked for accommodation the next day they let me go citing they “over hired”. The craziest part is all I’m asking for is the ability to sit down once and awhile on my shift and access to a stool. I haven’t had the best job stability since my discharge and I’ve burned through seven jobs. I even turned to the community asking for help and was kind of just shunned? I never mentioned my %, i never mentioned what my injuries were, yet people insisted on telling me i’m leeching off the government, i’m a loser, cheating the system, etc. So i’ve kind of just lost hope. I mean what else do I do?

Hey everyone, I'm hoping someone here may have experience with this or if they can point me in the right direction...I already emailed my academic advisor today and set up an appointment with them.

I have a remaining tuition balance because of the 30-hour excess credit limitation charge. I didn't realize this type of charge was not going to be covered by VA education benefits, so I'm trying to figure out my options before it turns into a bigger issue.

Has anyone here dealt with this before while using specifically the ch 33 VA benefits? (If anyone is going to UTSA) Were you able to get it resolved through a Contract to Graduate, 30/45 SCH Excess Fee Waiver, or another process? Or did you end up having to set up a payment plan?

Any advice or shared experience would be appreciated. Thank you.

With artistry, honesty, and a lot of courage, veterans and Grammy-nominated musicians transform personal stories into powerful songs. In Heyworth, Illinois, healing is happening through music.

I've been on a medical profile for over a year after shoulder surgery, and I'm still recovering. During that time I've gained some weight because I haven't been able to work out normally.

With the new waist measurement policy replacing the old PT body composition assessment, I'm wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation. If you failed the waist measurement and were eventually separated from the Air Force, were you still able to keep your VA benefits (assuming your discharge was otherwise honorable)? I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.

​

So I came here to vent about something I experienced today at my local VA hospital.

During my break, I spent about 10 minutes talking to a veteran outside. Just from looking at her, you could tell she was going through a lot. She told me she'd been homeless, had been committed to an institution for treatment, and wasn't receiving any benefits. I asked about her situation so I could point her toward resources that might help

.

She ended up sharing more than I expected. She told me she was staying in some type of home, but her time there was almost up. I told her everything I knew: talk to a social worker, use the Patient Advocate if she wasn't getting help, reach out to a VSO for disability claims, ask her doctor about consults like travel assistance for appointments, and anything else that might get her back on her feet.

Before we finished talking, she thanked me and asked if I could buy her a cupcake. I said, "Yeah." I know what it's like to have nothing, so we walked into the canteen together.

As soon as she walked in, a few of the employees started laughing. At first, I was confused. They didn't have any cupcakes, so she asked if a cookie was okay instead. I bought it, she thanked me, and she left.

Afterward, I asked them what was so funny. One of them said, "She only asked for a cookie because it's her birthday."

Knowing everything she'd just told me about being homeless, struggling with her mental health, and trying to rebuild her life... that comment pissed me off. Only. Thing that cross my mind to what say was what the **** is wrong with you mfs. I walked off after because through therapy Ive discovered me to keep it simple.

That happened around 12:20 this afternoon. It's almost 9:00 p.m. now, and I'm still thinking about it.

Good afternoon everyone, I hope all is well with everyone. I have a questions regarding a discharge upgrade? Is there anything I can do to expedite the process?
I currently live in the VA shelter and I’m about to move into my new apartment soon. I just don’t want any paperwork to get messed up in transitioning to my new place. I have had my docket number for about 3-4 months. It was only up to last month when my case got move to “under review”. I would like to switch it to honorable ASAP so I can get other paperwork going? Any advice on this potentially processing faster?

Thanks again!

Hi all! I'm about to be medically retired and am trying to figure out if I'm Group A or B for TRICARE. The resources I'm looking at say it is based on "if your initial enlistment or appointment or that of your uniformed services sponsor began before/after Jan. 1, 2018." I was initially appointed into USNA in 2016, and commissioned in 2020. Does anyone have any insight into whether my service academy entrance date counts (making me Group A) or if it's based on my commissioning date (making me Group B)?

If there's a better place to ask or resources that are more clear on this, please let me know!

From my understanding, one can earn under the federal poverty level and still maintain TDIU; however, does that amount vary depending on the size of your household? Or does the VA view earning under the poverty level as a single person for TDIU purposes?

Hey, everyone. I’m not great with reddit, I don’t use it much, so if there are better places to post this please let me know. Essentially, I’m having a lot of issues with SBP.

To start off, I did 5 years in the Marine Corps and was medically retired, and since I was medically retired, apparently qualified for Survivor Benefits Plan. Mind you, I am, and have always been single and without children— I’ve never had a wife or kids, at time of separation/retirement and still. SBP was one of the many papers I had during my separation process and, honestly, I just really didn’t understand it or know what it was or that it was a paid service. I kind of assumed it was like SGLI/VGLI. Which, after my only real job ever being the military and not having to worry about the SGLI, I foolishly assumed was a veteran service free of charge.

I signed up for SBP without knowing much about it and after my separation received a letter with my SBP balance to pay before a certain date. I called on the phone and explained my situation, and they told me to write a written letter with a wet signature and to send or fax it over to them, so I did. I tried calling for updates on it for some time to see if they received it and if my account would be canceled but never really got any answers. At this time, I also started searching how to pay for SBP, because I have access to my DFAS/myPay yet still can’t find anywhere to pay.

Then is when things start to turn around a bit— I called again, now some weeks later, and am prompted with a verification over the phone before they can speak to me, which I thought shouldn’t be an issue. I somehow failed the verification and still have no idea how. They’re not asking for the street I grew up on or my mothers maiden name, they’re asking what branch I served in, how many years, and so on. Questions I know very well as it’s all still very fresh. I’ve called several times, failed verification with the same unchanging answers, spoken to leads/supervisors, sent a written cancellation request, searched the web and myPay site which I still have access to, and can’t find anything. They won’t even speak to me regarding if they received my written request to cancel, if they’ll be cancelling my account, or even how to pay for SBP because I failed the verification somehow (which makes no sense to me). And they provide no alternatives to proving my verification if I fail the verification, and during all this, my SBP balance is continually going up, having me owe more, unsure where to even pay for it. Which, it sounds like I probably didn’t even qualify for as a single Marine upon retirement.

I have no idea what to do and really need some help here. They can’t help on the phone because I’m somehow failing verification, there seems to be no alternatives, my SBP balance keeps going up, I don’t even know how to pay for it despite still having access to myPay. I need to cancel SBP already. I’m not sure if this is the best place to post this but I really don’t know what to do and anything helps. Thank you all, and have a great day.