Veterans Crisis Line. Call 988, then press 1. Text 838255. Chat at https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat/

Reserve · Start here

Federal Selected Reserve. Start here.

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.

Checked on the official pageChecked 22 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil. TRS is still a purchase any month you qualify. Open Season is Prime/Select, not TRS. 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 plus 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.

Status bootcamp (what to enroll)Calendar timeline

For the video description

/start/reserve

Paste under the TRICARE Reserve Select walkthrough.

Branch

The status stays. The branch only swaps the paperwork.

Stays the same

DEERS and milConnect
TRICARE
SGLI and TSP
VA, GI Bill, and the home loan, when that is your status

Swaps for Army

Evaluation. NCOER / OER
Emergency aid. Army Emergency Relief
Official library. MyArmyBenefits
Tuition assistance. Army tuition assistance

Army and Air are the only National Guard. The 1SG print shop stays on the Army card.

Reserve · Calendar

What to do, in order.

Built from this card. A clock is the window already on the official page. Dates that are not listed here are not invented.

Do this first
- DEERS and a working Login.gov
  milConnect
- Buy TRICARE Reserve Select
  TRICARE.mil TRS
- Audit the 50-point year
  IPPS-A
- SGLI + FSGLI
  VA.gov SGLI
- myPay for drill pay
  myPay
- FSGLI on the spouse
  FSGLI
This month
- Line of duty care on drill and AT
  Line of duty care
- Ask for incapacitation pay if the injury stopped work
  DoDI 1241.01
- USERRA for the civilian job
  USERRA (DOL)
- Buy TDP. TRS did not enroll your teeth.
  TRICARE TDP
- TSP on drill pay
  TSP.gov
- Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606)
  MGIB-SR
- Name the orders before you look up BAH
  DTMO BAH lookup
- TRICARE Pharmacy after you buy TRS
  TRICARE Pharmacy
- Civilian Employment Information in milConnect
  milConnect
On a clock
- Orders over 30 days are a different TRICARE door
  Activation / deactivation
- On active-duty orders, send the SCRA notice
  SCRA
- Body composition is waist-to-height, not the old chart
  Directive dated 1 July 2026. Record a measurement in ATIS within 90 days of that date.
  Army Directive 2026-13
- NCOER or OER — Army Reserve TPU count
  HQDA wants the finished report within 90 days of the Thru date, unless a board MILPER says sooner.
  Evaluation Entry System
After those
- FEDVIP vision on BENEFEDS
  BENEFEDS
- Service tuition assistance vs GI Bill
  ArmyIgnitED
- VA home loan after qualifying service
  Request a COE
- Military OneSource counseling
  Military OneSource
- File on MilTax
  MilTax
- Military Child Care / fee assistance
  Military child care
- Post-9/11 (Chapter 33) if you have qualifying active time
  Post-9/11 GI Bill
- VA health if you have qualifying active service
  Apply for VA health
- RC-SBP is a 90-day clock from the 20-year letter
  DFAS RCSBP
- FAFSA is a different pot from TA and 1606
  FAFSA

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/@TOPsBenefitReport

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.

Wrong lane?

Pick a different start card.

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

National Guard

Army or Air National Guard. Start here.

/start/guard

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.

Checked 22 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil and VA.gov. Army National Guard and Air National Guard are still Selected Reserve for TRS. FEHB-eligible dual-status technicians stay locked out of TRS through 1 Jan 2030. Guard home-loan eligibility includes 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 Beneficiary Web Enrollment.

Paste under National Guard walkthroughs.

Open this card

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.

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil. Open Season does not apply to the active-duty sponsor. Prime, Prime Remote, or overseas Prime still starts with DEERS, the Plan Finder, then Beneficiary Web Enrollment. Official phones on the ADSM page still include DEERS 800-538-9552.

Paste under active-duty walkthroughs.

Open this card

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.

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil. AGR is still the active-duty TRICARE door, not TRS. Open Season is not your enrollment window. DEERS has to read active duty before Beneficiary Web Enrollment will sell the right product.

Paste under AGR / full-time walkthroughs.

Open this card

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.

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil. A newborn or adoption add-on on TRS is still 90 days stateside and 120 days overseas. Coverage is not automatic. DEERS first.

Paste under spouse / family walkthroughs.

Open this card

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.

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on VA.gov. The 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.

Paste under the getting-out walkthrough.

Open this card

Veterans

Already out. Start here.

/start/veterans

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on VA.gov. The 2026 VA compensation table is still effective Dec. 1, 2025. 10% and 20% ratings do not add dependents. A 30% veteran with a spouse and no children is listed at $617.47. Type VA.gov yourself.

Paste under the VA.gov login / claim tracker.

Open this card

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.

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil. Open Season is Prime and Select, not TRICARE Retired Reserve. TRR is its own purchase. TRICARE For Life is still Medicare Part A and Part B. A July 1, 2026 Part D drug note on TRICARE.mil is not a TFL enrollment change.

Paste under gray-area videos.

Open this card

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.

Checked 22 Sep 2026 on 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. TRICARE For Life is still Medicare Part A and Part B. SBP is DD Form 2656, not a TRICARE click.

Paste under retiree walkthroughs.

Open this card

Survivors

Spouse or child after a death. Start here.

/start/survivors

SGLI, SBP or RCSBP, DIC, and burial are four offices. None of them files the others. School money and the surviving-spouse home loan are two more doors.

The casualty office can walk an active-duty death. It still does not sign the insurance claim, the DFAS annuity, or the VA form. DIC for a veteran’s death is VA Form 21P-534EZ. Died on active duty: 21P-534a. Accrued benefits the veteran was due have a one-year clock.

Paste under survivor walkthroughs.

Open this card

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.

Checked 21 Sep 2026 on TRICARE.mil. Brief Open Season versus TRS. Nov. 9–Dec. 8, 2026 is Prime and Select, effective Jan. 1, 2027. It does not apply to active-duty sponsors. TRS is a purchase in milConnect any month they qualify.

Paste under 1SG / drill briefs.

Open this card