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49 guides for leaving service and starting your next career.

49 guides

  1. Military transition timeline: 12, 6 and 3 months

    TAP starts by 365 days out and Capstone is due at 90. BDD, SkillBridge, exam, TRICARE, VGLI and final-move windows, all dated from your separation date.

  2. Getting out in under 90 days: what you can do

    Getting out in under 90 days? What's closed, what's still open, who to call this week, and the TAMP, VGLI, VA claim and UCX dates that follow.

  3. SkillBridge: how to find a host and get approved

    SkillBridge days by rank for every branch, who approves, when you can apply, the Army IPPS-A process, and what DoD requires of every host company.

  4. How medical separation works: MEB, PEB and IDES

    How a military medical board works: the stages, the Defense Department's day goals, your election deadlines by service, and what each outcome pays.

  5. What to download before you turn in your CAC

    What to download and set up before your CAC is collected: records, health files, myAuth and VA.gov sign-ins, your .mil email, and how to get files later.

  6. How to check your DD-214 before you sign it

    The DD-214 boxes most often wrong, what to compare each against, the new 2022 box numbers, and how to fix a mistake before or after you separate.

  7. How to get a copy of your DD-214

    Get your DD-214 from the National Archives, generally free, or milConnect. Routes by branch and year, next-of-kin proof, Guard forms and the 1973 fire.

  8. How to apply for a discharge upgrade

    Which board takes a discharge upgrade, DD Form 293 or 149, the 15-year and 3-year limits, hearings, posted wait times and the free help the boards name.

  9. How to prove you're a veteran

    Which proof of veteran status fits a discount, a flight, a base, a commissary or a license, and what VA, TSA and the exchanges say each one is for.

  10. BDD claim checklist: 180 to 90 days out

    File your VA disability claim 180 to 90 days before you separate. Who qualifies, what to send, the 45-day exam rule, and what changes after day 90.

  11. Filing a VA disability claim after you're out

    Filing a VA disability claim after separation: the two one-year clocks, Intent to File, forms, evidence, exams, VA's stages and free accredited help.

  12. What to do if you disagree with a VA decision

    VA's three review options side by side: forms, who decides, new evidence, deadlines, posted times and what's left after the year.

  13. Who can charge you for VA claim help

    Only accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge for VA claim help, and only after a decision. Fee limits, how to check, where to report.

  14. What your discharge type means for VA benefits

    How VA treats Honorable, General, OTH, bad-conduct and uncharacterized discharges: each benefit's test, VA's review, the 2024 rule and care that may be open.

  15. What happens to your TRICARE when you get out

    When TRICARE ends, who gets 180 days of TAMP, what CHCBP costs in 2026 and 2027, the 60-day windows, VA health care, and your family's options.

  16. VA dental care after you leave: 180 days

    VA's one-time dental care has a 180-day application window. See the dates, the DD-214 block 17 test, how to apply, the other VA classes and VADIP.

  17. What happens to your SGLI when you get out

    SGLI continues for 120 days after separation. Compare VGLI costs, application deadlines, coverage gaps and options for your spouse.

  18. GI Bill or VR&E: what each pays and covers

    What the Post-9/11 GI Bill and VR&E pay in 2026-27, who qualifies for each, the 48-month limit, and how using one changes what's left of the other.

  19. Transfer your GI Bill to family before you leave

    Request and approval must happen while you serve, and the request adds four years. Spouse and child rules, and what you can change after you leave.

  20. How the GI Bill housing allowance pays

    What sets your GI Bill housing allowance, when the first payment arrives, which months pay little or nothing, and what keeps it coming.

  21. Sell back leave or take terminal leave?

    Sell up to 60 days of leave in a career, at 1/30 of monthly basic pay a day. What terminal leave keeps, how sold leave is withheld, and when it's paid.

  22. Does VA take back your separation pay?

    VA withholds disability compensation until separation pay is recovered, usually after tax. See which payments count, the exceptions and the hardship rules.

  23. Unemployment benefits after the military (UCX)

    UCX is unemployment pay for former service members, paid under your state's rules. The federal conditions, where and when to file, what can reduce a claim.

  24. What civilian salary equals your military pay?

    DoD puts an average E-5's 2026 pay at $89,148, not $49,965 in basic pay. How to estimate your RMC, the taxes it misses and how to weigh an offer.

  25. What to do with your TSP after the military

    Your TSP options after you separate: the deadline and tax rule for each, plus loans, combat-zone money, BRS vesting, spouse consent and questions to ask.

  26. The Survivor Benefit Plan at retirement

    What the Survivor Benefit Plan pays, what it costs from retired pay, when your spouse must sign, and the points where the choice can change.

  27. Where to live after the military

    Compare places on pay for your job, prices and state tax on retired pay, then check the final move: 180 days for most who separate, 3 years if retiring.

  28. How the VA home loan works the first time

    Who qualifies, how to get your Certificate of Eligibility, the funding fee and who pays none, what VA and your lender each decide, and what to ask lenders.

  29. How to put military experience on a résumé

    Turn evaluations, award citations and training records into 6 to 8 civilian résumé bullets, with before-and-after examples from four branches.

  30. How to turn your evaluations into résumé bullets

    Where the facts sit on every branch's evaluation, what to leave out, and how to rewrite rater comments, box checks and rankings as honest résumé bullets.

  31. How to tailor your résumé without lying

    What applicant tracking systems really screen, how to use a posting's exact words for work you did, and how to answer knockout questions truthfully.

  32. How to write a cover letter after the military

    When a civilian job wants a cover letter: the four paragraphs, what to keep off the page about your service, and a fictional before and after.

  33. How to get your JST, CCAF transcript or VMET

    Which record your branch uses, how to get and send a JST or CCAF transcript, what the VMET is for, and why the school decides your credit.

  34. Which certifications to get, and how to pay

    Count what 10 job postings ask for, then pay with Army CA, your branch's COOL program, GI Bill test pay up to $2,000, or VET TEC 2.0.

  35. How to write a federal résumé for USAJOBS

    The two-page USAJOBS résumé rule, what each job entry must show, how to prove specialized experience, the 2026 essay changes and what to attach.

  36. How veterans' preference works: 5 and 10 points

    Who gets 5 or 10 points in federal hiring, what CPS, CP, XP, TP and SSP mean, the papers that prove it, and how VRA, VEOA and the 30% authority work.

  37. Buying back military time for federal retirement

    How the FERS military deposit is figured, when interest starts, which forms to file and where, what it changes, and the rule for military retirees.

  38. Your security clearance after you separate

    Separation ends your access, not always your eligibility. DoD's 24-month rule, continuous vetting, public trust, who checks DISS and what goes on a résumé.

  39. How to choose a civilian career after service

    Test two careers before you spend your GI Bill: free Labor Department tools, local pay data, 10 real job postings, and what each path uses of your 36 months.

  40. LinkedIn for veterans: your headline and About

    LinkedIn's headline and About limits, what to leave off, how free Premium for veterans works now, and a first note that fits in 200 characters.

  41. How to ask for an informational interview

    What to write when you ask for a 15-to-20-minute informational interview or a referral, when to follow up, and the limits on a free LinkedIn account.

  42. What is a protected veteran on a job application

    The four protected veteran categories and their date tests, which employers must ask, what the rules say about your answer, and the 2026 disability change.

  43. How to turn your service into interview stories

    Build five STAR interview stories from your service: how long answers run, how federal panels score them, and what an employer can't ask you.

  44. What to say on a recruiter phone screen

    Which states bar pay-history questions, how to describe your clearance, and the rules for starting a civilian job while you're on terminal leave.

  45. A weekly job-search plan you can keep

    How many employers to target, when to follow up, how federal hiring differs, and the free help and UCX rules for veterans looking for work.

  46. How to negotiate your first civilian job offer

    Find a local pay range in free BLS data, make your counter, check your state's pay-range law, and learn the federal step rule most advice gets wrong.

  47. Your first 90 days in a civilian job

    The I-9, W-4 and benefit deadlines in week one, how private and federal jobs differ, what to ask your manager, and a 30/60/90 plan built on real dates.

  48. Job hunting in the Guard or Reserve

    What USERRA protects when you apply, serve and come back, how to give notice for drill, return-to-work deadlines, and who to call if it goes wrong.

  49. Your IRR obligation after active duty

    How long the Individual Ready Reserve lasts after active duty, where your end date is, what you must keep current, and how muster and screening work.