National Guard · Start here

Army or Air National Guard. Start here.

Title 32, Title 10, or State Active Duty. Traditional drill buys TRS. Dual-status technicians sit on FEHB. State school money is a different pot from Chapter 1606.

This month’s recutThis month’s recut (22 Sep 2026): Army National Guard and Air National Guard are still Selected Reserve for TRS — recut from TRICARE.mil. FEHB-eligible dual-status technicians stay locked out of TRS through 1 Jan 2030. Recut from VA.gov home-loan eligibility: Guard has a Title 32 path — 90 days of service including 30 consecutive days under 32 USC 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 — plus the six-year and Title 10 90-day paths. State Active Duty is usually state pay, not TRICARE and not a VA day. Confirm the statute on the orders before you touch BWE.

/start/guard

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Reserve

TRICARE Reserve Select walkthrough → checker

Selected Reserve healthcare is a purchase. 2026 rates, who is locked out, and the milConnect / BWE click path.

TRS checker TRICARE.mil TRS milConnect

Channel: youtube.com/@topsitreport

Reserve · Selected Reserve

TRICARE Reserve Select checker

TRS is a purchase, not automatic. 2026 published premiums: $57.88 member / $286.66 family. Confirm on TRICARE.mil before you budget.

AGR / full-time? Wrong product. Start here. · Regular active duty? Wrong product. · Orders over 30 days?

$57.88 / month · Verified Jan 1, 2026 against TRICARE.mil costs. If the .gov page moved, trust it.

Are you in the Selected Reserve (drilling Guard or Reserve)?

Are you on active-duty orders that already give you TRICARE Prime or Select?

Are you a federal civilian eligible for FEHB?

Do you need family coverage?

Is your rank E-1 through E-4?

Answer every line. This is a filter, not a promise.

Not open season. Buy it any month you qualify.
Drill, AT, and orders of 30 days or less stay inactive. More than 30 days is active-duty TRICARE — not TRS.
IRR, including Navy Reserve Voluntary Training Units, cannot buy TRS.
Cancel and you generally cannot reenroll for 12 months.
Newborn or adoption: 90 days (120 overseas) or they have no coverage.
FEHB-eligible still locked out of TRS; that exclusion is written through 1 January 2030.

Next clicks

National Guard Bureau TRICARE Guard/Reserve TRICARE.mil TRS When inactive (≤30 days)VA Guard/Reserve benefits VA home loan eligibility MGIB-SR ESGR Military OneSource counseling

Wrong lane?

Pick a different start card.

Don’t dump into the tools hub. Each card is its own URL.

Reserve

Federal Selected Reserve. Start here.

/start/reserve

USAR, USNR, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Space Force. Not the Guard card. DEERS, then TRS. Dental is a different portal. Weekend drill and AT are not Prime.

This month’s recut (22 Sep 2026): TRS is still a purchase any month you qualify — Open Season is Prime/Select, not TRS. Recut from TRICARE.mil: you do not qualify for TRS on active-duty orders for more than 30 days, on TAMP, in the IRR, or if you are FEHB-eligible (that lockout is written through 1 Jan 2030). Drill, AT, and orders of 30 days or less stay on the inactive door — TRS + line-of-duty care. Deductibles on the official cost matrix still read $66 / $132 (E-1–E-4) and $198 / $397 (E-5+). Confirm premiums on TRICARE.mil. National Guard is its own start card.

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Active duty

Title 10. Not TRS. Not AGR.

/start/active-duty

Regular-component active duty enrolls Prime, Prime Remote, or overseas Prime based on the duty station. Zero premium. The Reserve card sells TRS. The AGR card is Guard/Reserve full-time.

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): Open Season does not apply to the active-duty sponsor — recut from TRICARE.mil Open Season. Prime, Prime Remote, or overseas Prime still starts with DEERS, the Plan Finder, then BWE. Official phones on the ADSM page still include DEERS 800-538-9552.

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AGR

Full-time Guard and Reserve. Not TRS.

/start/agr

Active Guard Reserve and FTNGD sit on active-duty TRICARE. Confirm DEERS, run the Plan Finder, enroll Prime or Prime Remote. The Reserve card will send you to the wrong cash register.

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): AGR is still the active-duty TRICARE door, not TRS. Open Season is not your enrollment window. DEERS has to read active duty before BWE will sell the right product.

Paste under AGR / full-time walkthroughs.

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Family

Spouse and kids. Start here.

/start/family

DEERS first. Then FSGLI, CHAMPVA, or DEA. The sponsor’s login is not the family’s enrollment.

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): newborn/adoption add-on on TRS is still 90 days stateside / 120 overseas — recut from TRICARE.mil TRS. Coverage is not automatic. DEERS first.

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Getting out

Two clocks. Then a cliff.

/start/getting-out

BDD 180–90 days before ETS. TAMP is 180 days if DEERS shows it. VGLI’s 240-day clock did not take the Nov–Jan premium holiday.

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): VGLI premium holiday is Nov. 1, 2026 through Jan. 31, 2027 if the policy is already current. Coverage continues. The 240-day no-health-review clock does not pause. Official: VA.gov VGLI.

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Veterans

Already out. Start here.

/start/veterans

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): 2026 VA compensation table still effective Dec. 1, 2025. 10–20% ratings do not add dependents. A 30% veteran with a spouse, no kids, is listed at $617.47. Type VA.gov yourself.

Paste under the VA.gov login / claim tracker.

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Gray area retiree

20-year letter. No paycheck yet.

/start/gray-area

Retired Reserve under 60. TRR is $645.90 / $1,548.30 in 2026 — not TRS money. Reduced age is earned in 90-day blocks. TFL is still 65.

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): Open Season is Prime/Select, not TRR. TRR is its own purchase. TFL is still Medicare Part A + B. A July 1, 2026 Part D drug note on TRICARE.mil is not a TFL enrollment change.

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Retiree

Paycheck started. Not gray area.

/start/retiree

90 days to reenroll Prime or Select. SBP is an election. TFL still waits for Medicare Part B. TRR is the no-paycheck product — you left that card.

This month’s recut (22 Sep 2026): TRICARE.mil Retiring still gives 90 days after the retirement date to enroll Prime or Select, with a retro window up to 12 months. Miss both and you are space-available only. TFL is still Medicare Part A + B. SBP is DD 2656, not a TRICARE click.

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1SGs

Print it. Brief it. Point at .gov.

/start/nco

Free drill decks and one-pagers. Education, not filing. Nobody in the room should collect an SSN.

This month’s recut (21 Sep 2026): brief Open Season vs TRS. Nov. 9–Dec. 8, 2026 is Prime/Select, effective Jan. 1, 2027. It does not apply to ADSM sponsors. TRS is a purchase in milConnect any month they qualify.

Paste under 1SG / drill briefs.

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