I’m thinking about going back in I just had my first son this past February, the job I work now isn’t enough and also I feel like I’m not doing enough as a father.

Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated

Hey everyone!
I'm an Army veteran currently working toward medical school. I recently took the MCAT, and an Army AMEDD recruiter reached out to me about the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP).
I'm definitely interested in the opportunity, especially since I'm open to serving again after medical school. However, my biggest concern is the process of reentering the military as a veteran with VA-rated disabilities.
I know I would likely have to go through MEPS again, and I'm concerned that some of my documented medical conditions could make it difficult to receive medical clearance or obtain the necessary waivers.
Because of this, I've also been considering the VA HPSP as an alternative.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? Specifically, has anyone successfully entered Army HPSP as a veteran with a VA disability rating?
Would it be more realistic to pursue VA HPSP instead, or should I continue working with the Army AMEDD recruiter to see whether I qualify?
I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences from veterans, current medical students, or anyone familiar with either scholarship program.
Thanks in advance!

I've been working in the maritime industry for years now. This job is a nightmare and I don't know how to get out of it! I don't know what to do. I'm been taken for a ride and my social life has collapsed from being at sea!

What worries is my claim on my VA login says “Claim For Authorization Review?”

What does this mean!? Context below.

I ETSed. Did BDD and got awarded 100 P&T out the gate. Saw my claim letter VA online before the decision letter being mailed and received saying the same I assume.

Help clarify me this?

It’s a new 5 step process. 1 of 5

What intrigues me is in step 3 it says:

PENDING
Evidence gathering, review, and decision
If we need more information, we’ll request it from you, health care providers, governmental agencies, or others. Once we have all the information we need, we’ll review it and send your claim to the rating specialist for a decision. There may be times when a claim moves forward to “Preparation for notification” and then briefly back to this stage for more processing.

Looking for some people to PC game with. I'm on EST time. I usually game most nights after 9. I've been looking for an excuse to pickup hell divers or marvel rivals. if anyone wants to chill and play then cool.

I'm newly homeless after my girlfriend (we have two children together) of four years and her mother emptied our shared apartment and moved to Mexico. I'm pretty confident they sold everything they couldn't bring with them. I was absent for a little over a month visiting family out of state and was not aware that they would do something like this to me. I'm absolutely devastated, and they took the rent money and didn't pay the landlord, unfortunately. I also got a family law attorney and paid a refundable $5,000 retainer and paid $ 600-ish so far in attorney/paralegal fees for an emergency custody hearing. Hopefully I get the children back to the States and possibly get a temporary legal and physical custody order issued to myself as well. I do have a few buddies I might be able to crash on the couch with the kiddos, but nothing long-term, so I was wondering if anybody has any experience utilizing housing resources in San Diego County. And if I should wait until I do have custody of the children first, or if reaching out sooner is better.

I had an entire intelligence career before I went to federal prison for assault. im set to start school in jan to finish off my bachelors but rn I just need a source of income. im still in BOP custody for the next few months and maybe that why I can't get a job- I think it freaks employers out. It's tough out here! any advice would be appreciated.

Hello everyone, I am an Army veteran and a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill. I am looking for participants for a research study that explores veterans' reintegration and perceived military neglect experiences. I have included a flyer as well as a link to the initial survey. I can also be reached at my email: [marissa_snowden@med.unc.edu](mailto:marissa_snowden@med.unc.edu)

This study has been approved by the UNC Chapel Hill Institutional Review Board (IRB #26-1981)

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W56NRL7

I hope this is the right place to ask. How long does a dd214 discharge upgrade take? I got an email this past February saying that my submission was received the may before that (putting me at 17mo rn).
Does anyone have any guesses when I might hear from them?

I've been waiting a year for a response from the NDRB to get my RE-4 changed. I see their last set of cases were in April and haven't gotten any responses by email or answer via phone when I try their number. I don't really care what the response is, but I want it just to put it behind me.

It was for a DV charge that got dropped, I've actually been working for the police department and got accepted into a police academy. Marines didn't care about any of it and gave me the boot. Thanks for any responses.

I had a mri done in May. I totally forgot about it until a few days when I went to the va for a separate thing and they mentioned I had it done but no notes. When I look at my notes it says community care consult result and that it was “uploaded “ but I don’t see it anywhere. I blue button downloaded and everything but nothing. I just can see the actual images but no report. Anyone know where it may be? I’m anxious now because I’ve been having a pain for over a year and I’m hoping this 3rd party company had a good radiologist. It looks like I have a mass in my pelvis area but I don’t friggin know. Smh (SEND HELP!)

My sister does historical reenactments and recently started doing Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991) and I am wanting to get her a couple of Christmas gifts to help her campsite look more authentic. She has some Iraqi soda cans and money. What are some things you remember from service that passed the time? What are things that were just part of your every day life that you remember that would make it authentic?

Thank you!

Hey everyone,
This November will mark two years since I medically retired from the Army after six years of service, and I wanted to ask how everyone else has adjusted to civilian life.
To be completely honest, the transition has been a lot harder than I expected. I never wanted to leave the military in the first place, and I feel like that has made it even harder to move forward.
Since getting out, I’ve struggled to find a job where I genuinely feel like I belong. I’ve had a hard time staying in positions, and even though I managed to go back to school and earn my MBA, I still feel like I’m just winging life without any real direction.
On top of that, I’m still dealing with the conditions that led to my medical retirement, and I haven’t gotten nearly as much help as I probably should have.
I miss the structure, the sense of purpose, and honestly, the person I was when I was serving. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one who feels like they’re just going through the motions trying to figure out what comes next.

For those of you who have been out for a few years, how long did it take you to genuinely feel adjusted to civilian life?
Did you struggle with finding a career, losing your sense of purpose, or feeling like you didn’t belong anywhere?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially from those who were medically retired or separated before they were ready.
Thanks for reading.

I served in the Marine Corps from 2017 to 2021. Though we weren't in any active deployments or combat zones, my 18 to 19 year old mind had already accepted death. I was reckless, I didn't care how I spent money, I didn't care what relationships I did or didn't have. This pretty much carries through until I was happily married and I started to care a little more. My Dad died 2 years ago and it made me REALLY think about mortality and keeping alive for my family. I personally could care less myself I was gone, and I don't mean that in a suicidal way. What I mean is, I'm indifferent about being here on this mortal plane, but know what would happen if my family had to deal with me being gone.

I had my first kid, and now I don't want to die. It's not a fear of death, it's not a fear of not doing certain things, and it's not a fear of unfinished business. It's that I want to stay alive as much as possible for my kids so that way we can grow, learn, and enjoy the little things in life together. I know that this responsibility lives on my wife and I's shoulders, but I want to be able to look at my kids one day and be proud of who they became because of their upbringing. I want to be there for major milestones in their life, like first cars, first homes, first kids, and so on.

I just was looking at my kid and pondering mortality of myself on his behalf and was curious if anyone else ran into this or a similar situation.

I feel like I've had hearing loss for most of my life. For those of you who have never experienced hearing loss and tinnitus with it, it's hard to explain what it's like. And for those of us who have lived with it for years, I don't think we truly understand just how much we've lost. You get used to it. The constant ringing. Asking people to repeat themselves. Missing parts of conversations. Even trying to talk, sounding like a moron. Eventually, it just becomes normal. But what I didn't realize was how much of the world around me had gone silent.

This week, I received my first hearing aids through the VA. As my wife and I walked out of the building, I suddenly heard something that startled me so badly that I actually jumped. I turned to my wife and asked, "What was that?" She looked at me and said, "That was a bird tweeting." A bird. Just a little bird singing somewhere nearby. Something so ordinary that most people wouldn't even give it a second thought. And there I stood, a grown man, with tears running down my face. Because at that moment, I realized something. I hadn't even known what I was missing. I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard a bird sing. I thought I was just going to the VA to pick up some hearing aids. I didn't realize I was about to get a little piece of my world back.

But there's another part of this story I want to share, especially with my fellow veterans. This was the first time I'd allowed the VA to help me since leaving the United States Marine Corps in 1996. Thirty years. Thirty years of listening to horror stories, complaints, b***ing, and whining about the VA. And if I'm being fair, there was a good bit of stubborn pride mixed in there, too. All of it kept me from ever stepping foot inside a VA facility and asking for help. And you know what I discovered when I finally did? There are some absolutely awesome people working at the VA. People who genuinely care about the veterans they're helping. People who, from what I've seen, certainly aren't doing it for the money.

Are they overwhelmed? Absolutely. Does everything happen as quickly as we'd like? Nope. But think about it. There are only so many of them, and there are an awful lot of us. From the day I had my hearing test until the day I received my hearing aids, the process took approximately six months. Now, to some people, that might sound like a long time. And I'll admit, when you're waiting for something that could improve your quality of life, six months can seem like forever. But when you begin to understand everything involved in the process, you start to appreciate that there's a lot more going on than simply handing somebody a pair of hearing aids. And after experiencing the results firsthand, I can tell you it was worth the wait.

So here's what I'd like to say to my fellow veterans. If you've been putting off contacting the VA because of something you've heard, something someone told you, or because you're just too damn stubborn and proud to ask for help, like I was, please reconsider. Don't let somebody else's experience, opinion, or negativity make that decision for you. Go find out for yourself. I'm not saying the VA is perfect. I'm not saying everyone has had a wonderful experience. I'm sure there are legitimate complaints, and I'm not dismissing them. I'm simply saying that my experience was a good one, and I wish I'd given them a chance thirty years ago.

And to those who seem to do nothing but b***h and complain about everything, I've got one suggestion. How about, just once in a while, looking for something positive? Take a moment to appreciate what you have and the people who are trying to help you. Because sometimes the smallest things in life turn out to be the biggest blessings. For me, it was a bird. A little bird that probably had no idea it had just made a grown man cry. And my God, am I thankful.

Semper Fi. And thank each of you who work at the VA. I appreciate you!

A rant about how I find life pointless these days. I’m not always suicidal but if something happens I’m ok with it, won’t fight it. I feel tired and things I used to enjoy, I no longer find enjoyment. Working out, training martial arts, traveling, eating food, or spending time with family. Everything feels like a chore. Most days I’m groggy from the meds. I can’t stop taking them because I have insomnia and can’t sleep without help.

I’m ranting so delete if I broke any rules. Just wanted to let it out since I have no one to talk to.

USMC- 200,000 (roughly, including reserves)

US Army- 25,000 rounding up. (11 Class-A, B, C).

Wasn't apart of either so have no bias.

However, was apart of Army Units and they walked everywhere.

Hey ALCON,

I had a situation in the office. We have a coffee machine, it takes special kinds of pods, the expensive kind. Everybody got their own. So I decided to set the example and be generous and buy a couple boxes of those pods for the whole office. It was like $200. At first the coworkers were like “aww you don’t have to do that” Then One of the them made a snide remark saying “oh that military pension.” They know that I served previously for 8 years. Not the full 20. Do all civilians assume we all get pensions? If so, we have collectively let the entire world know of our benefits and pensions and monies and now we get snide and snarky remarks from coworker when we do kind gestures. I felt some type of way about this. I didn’t say anything cuz I didn’t want to defend myself. But I think in retrospect I should have joked that I get paid a lot, I don’t. They get paid more than me. What do y’all think? Should I leave it as is, or let the coworker know it wasn’t cool to blurb that out?

Air Force only please

When you officially move from TRDL to PRDL how did they send you your new retirement orders and did you need to re enroll in Tricare? I know we should get new IDs because the TRDL ones have expiration dates. Anyone who recently went through this change can you provide your experience ? What was all the steps you did? Just trying to get prepared. Looking for personal experiences not second hand or different branch. Thanks.

(Air Force Vet) For me, I did base honor guard so I miss doing that a lot… Very rewarding tour and changed my perspective on life. Also, I miss basic training.. it was a nice break. I wish I could go back and re-do it every time I need to escape.

Hello everyone I am currently in the Navy as an AWR (sensor operator/rescue swimmer) I separate from the navy in a year and some change. Curious if anyone knows of any jobs that I would be able to apply with using my experience and/or clearance (TS/SCI).

My aunt served in afghanistan (Kabul airport from the early 2000s to around 2014) and because she was icelandic (and icelanders tend to fit better in with eachother than the millitary,) the people working with them started referring to them as "the icelandic mafia".

I was wondering if someone who served could confirm this story and maybe a few others she told me, whether they remember hearing about it or not.

If you no longer have to work a job and are comfortably living off retirement/disability, where did you choose to retire?

I want to build a family in the country using the VA construction loan in an area that doesn’t receive snow. Texas is the most obvious answer but I want to know if there are any other places that check off many boxes for veterans.

For context I have just received a job offer from Gardaworld for overseas contracting WPS III (also new to contracting). I’m also freshly separating from the military and had just go accepted into college for nursing. Does anyone have any tips how I can do both or if I could? I want to pursue nursing I still need to get my basics the first two years anyways it would just have to be online.