Stays the same
- DEERS and milConnect
- TRICARE
- SGLI and TSP
- VA, GI Bill, and the home loan, when that is your status
Veterans Crisis Line. Call 988, then press 1. Text 838255. Chat at https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat/
Survivors · Start here
Spouse or child after a death. Start here.
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.
Checked on the official pageThe 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.
For the video description
/start/survivors
Paste under survivor walkthroughs.
Branch
The status stays. The branch only swaps the paperwork.
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.
Survivors · 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
The survivor needs their own Login.gov
Login.govFour checks. File the one you actually have.
VA survivor compensationBurial allowance is not the insurance claim
Burial benefits
This month
CHAMPVA if you qualify and you do not have TRICARE
CHAMPVAFry Scholarship or DEA. Not both for the same term.
Fry Scholarship
After those
Surviving spouse home loan
Surviving spouse home loan
Family · spouse and kids
The sponsor’s login is not the family’s enrollment.
Marriage, a newborn, or a school-age kid does not enroll itself. DEERS first. Then the product that actually matches: FSGLI, CHAMPVA, or DEA. I do not file for you.
1. DEERS — add the person
Marriage certificate, birth certificate, or adoption papers at a RAPIDS site or through the personnel shop. milConnect will still lie until DEERS has the name. Dependent ID is a different appointment.
2. FSGLI — life insurance on the spouse
Family SGLI lives in milConnect next to the sponsor’s SGLI. Spouse coverage is not automatic at the max. Kids have a set amount. If the marriage ends, there is a short convert window — confirm on VA.gov.
3. CHAMPVA — health for some families of disabled veterans
Spouse or child of a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled, or who died of a service-connected condition, or who died in service. Not TRICARE. If they already have TRICARE, CHAMPVA usually is not the door. Apply with VA Form 10-10d.
4. DEA (Chapter 35) — school money for dependents
Qualifying spouse and children. The veteran does not spend Chapter 35 on themselves. Run VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool, then file. Different pot from Post-9/11.
Next clicks
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.
Checked 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.
Paste under the TRICARE Reserve Select walkthrough.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Veterans
Already out. Start here.
/start/veterans
Login.gov into VA.gov. Then the rating math VA actually uses — 50 + 30 is not 80.
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.
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.
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.
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.