Latest posts
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How to Research a Veteran Ancestor’s Military Records
Two rules decide almost every military genealogy request: the 62-year archival line and a narrow definition of next of kin. Here is how to work with both, and what to do when the record burned in 1973.
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Veteran-Owned Business Certification: VetCert, SDVOSB, and Oregon’s VBE
Self-certification ended in December 2024, and Oregon opened its veteran business program to every veteran. Here is how federal VetCert and Oregon COBID certification each work.
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VA Life Insurance: SGLI, VGLI, and the 240-Day Deadline
You have 240 days after leaving service to convert SGLI to VGLI with no health questions. And VALife accepts any veteran with a service-connected rating, even 0%, with no deadline.
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Veteran ID Cards: Which One You Actually Need
Four ways to prove you served, what each is good for, why the Veteran ID Card is now digital, and how Oregon veterans can add a license designation free at renewal.
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Discharge Upgrades: How to Change a Less-Than-Honorable Discharge
Discharges can be upgraded, and boards cannot make yours worse. Since 2014, veterans with PTSD, TBI or MST get liberal consideration — with a civilian diagnosis accepted as evidence.
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CHAMPVA: Health Coverage for Veterans’ Families
CHAMPVA covers spouses and children of veterans rated permanently and totally disabled. How it differs from TRICARE, what it covers, and why so many families miss it.
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CRDP vs CRSC: Restoring Military Retired Pay
VA compensation can reduce military retired pay dollar for dollar. CRDP and CRSC restore it — but you can only have one, and CRSC requires an application most retirees never file.
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DIC and Survivor Benefits: What Families Miss
A veteran does not have to die from a service-connected condition for DIC to apply, and remarriage does not always end it. The 10-year rule, remarriage thresholds, and how to apply.
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The VA C&P Exam: What to Expect and What Not to Say
A C&P exam is not treatment — it is documentation that determines your rating. What happens, the stoicism mistake that costs veterans ratings, and what to do right after.
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VA Claim Denied? The Three Ways to Challenge It
Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, or Board Appeal — how to choose, and why the one-year deadline protects back pay worth far more than the appeal itself.