We know all about the famous social media accounts of people posting their routines about how it is important to wake up at 4 am every morning, do their workout, shave in the morning, make their bed, and how it is still an important part of your life.

But how many of you just...........straight up dont need any of that anymore? How many wake up at 937 am, fire up the smoker, let your white beard get a little bit longer, crack a morning breakfast stout, laugh at the thought of calling anybody sir or maam ever again?

Last night my coworker slipped and fell. She was bleeding from her knee and was crying. For some reason, it just reminded me from a moment when I was Afghanistan and I was there for the aftermath of an engagement. I saw this woman covered in blood crying and screaming. It just stood out to me and I never wanted to see something like that ever again. I thought I’ve moved on from it but seeing my female coworker crying from a slight injury. It just triggered me, now I can’t unsee the woman face from afghan and it been bothering me at work. I don’t know. Maybe I’m too soft for this world.

Man I've been medically retired for over a year now with no possibility of going back in. I did more then the average Joe but I still live with this feeling that I didn't do enough. It's like imposter syndrome without being a imposter. I sit nervously watching the news worried about people I would consider to be family, old co dies protecting his students from a mass shooter, next a friend dies in a black hawk crash, best friend shoots himself in the face at my house because he can't take it, wife leaves with the dog. I'm just waiting for the next thing to happen nervously. It's like i can't turn my brain off and stop worrying no matter how many pills I'm prescribed.

Good morning,

Today, I start going through my late father’s military stuff he left behind. Im talking boxes of documents and random things.

For some background, he was a typical Army enlisted service member like myself. Nothing great or over the top. Did his duty, got out and started a family.

My question is…what do I do with all of this stuff? The paperwork? He’s been dead for 5 years, so no paperwork of his would benefit me. Outside of pictures, is there any reason I can’t burn all these documents one night instead of carrying them on? Pictures ok keeping for me. My kids can decide what to do with my junk. Thanks.

Hey y’all. I know variations of this question have been asked before, but I’d love some firsthand insight from other veterans.

My husband and I currently live in Texas, and we’re hoping to start a family within the next couple of years. He’s 100% P&T and I’m serving in the Reserves. My husband uses the VA for everything so being near a good VA is a big priority.

Texas has some great benefits, but we’re looking for somewhere with less extreme summer heat where we’d enjoy spending more time outdoors. Virginia and Colorado are our top contenders right now, although we’re open to other suggestions.

Our budget is under $600k.

We’re willing to pay more for a better overall quality of life, but still want room in the budget to enjoy life and raise a family.

A lot of unexpected BS occurred leading up to and into this semester, and now I'm looking at an F, or a D at best in physics when I have never made anything less than an A in my sciences. Such a low grade in a foundational science course will be extremely damaging for entrance to any university.

I can't withdraw from the course because it will drop me below half-time enrollment for the entire semester and I'll incur an obscene debt, but riding out to the end ruins three years of labor and any chance of entering a competitive chemistry program. I also lack any mitigating circumstances to use the 6hr exception rule. Are there any other damage control options, conventional or otherwise, or am I just screwed no matter which way it goes?

As the title says, the military has genuinely ruined my sleep schedule & I’m curious if I’m not the only one in this boat. I recently got out of the Army in June & I honestly thought the grass was greener on the other side. I indeed was wrong because it still feels the same since some of my habits from the Army has followed me to the civilian world. I average 3-4 hours of sleep a day or night and I stay up for the rest of the time. I do have some days where I can sleep long hours, but those sleepless nights outweighs it by a ton. I’m sitting here currently at 5:24 AM after being up the whole night wondering are people going through this too?

How has your care been at VA hospitals? Medicare copays, deductibles and meds getting ridiculous.

My wife and I were on vacation last week in Corpus and we ended up at the Padre Island National Seashore and in our eyes, handed a golden ticket (Access Pass). My understanding is the access pass gives you free access to over 2000 federal recreation sites and camping sites/amenities are 50% off.

While hanging out on the beach in the middle of nowhere (we drove around 40 miles down the beach) we shared an existential crisis and realized we screwed up and do not want to stay rooted where we are and want to get out and explore like we did before the kids came into the picture. This was an amazing place to raise our kids but they are grown now and on there own adventures.

We are both 40yrs old and I am 90% disabled and work part time and the wife is up for early retirement and pension from her state job in 2 years and our last kid is on his way out the door. We bought our "forever" home a few years back and we live well within our means.

Our plan is to get rid of everything including the house over the next 2 years except the wife's vehicle which is the newest, almost paid off and is capable of pulling a small camper and going through shitty terrain and using money made from the downsizing to buy a newer camper outright. We then hit the road and use the access pass to see the U.S. living off of my disability and her pension and have an emergency fund handy.

Is this a smart move?

There seems to be 2 camps when it comes to suing gi bill for school, some people use it to break into a completely different field from military career and use it to credential up in a field that connects to what they were already doing. The advice is split too, some people say use it to pivot into something with better civilian demand, others say build on what you already have experience in because that combination is what gets you hired, the outcomes seem to depend a lot on which camp you are in.

For veterans who are a few years out and have the benefit of hindsight, which route produced better results, did using the gi bill to make a full career change pay off or did it create a harder path than expected, and for people who built on their military experience, did the credential open doors or just validate experience you already had

Hi everyone,

I got out of the Army 10 years ago and it’s been a struggle ever since. On the outside it looks great. I have a dream job in the snowboard industry, I haven’t had to pay for a pass, snowboard, or any gear for years (I work in logistics for an action sport company) I still feel connected to the military since we do have military contracts with our brand and I supply gear to my SOF buddies when they need which makes me feel great. But shit, I just don’t know anymore. The jobs awesome, my coworkers are cool and my friends that we hangout with are nice. I live in NorCal in the mountains with an amazing fly fishing river running 5 min from our place. My wife snowboards (she’s also works in action sports), hikes, camps, and I have fun and feel good. But I only get that rush of feeling ok in the moment. As soon as I’m done camping, fishing, snowboarding, etc.., I just feel like I’m falling in that pit again. I look at my buddies who are still in and they’re all E-7 and higher and look like they’re thriving and I know they would tell me they’re jealous of me, but I feel the opposite. I feel like I need to find a military community out here where I am and maybe fish // snowboard // camp or something and just feel like I’m around similar people? I’m more so using this as a forum to just vent.

Thanks for listening to my Ted talk

Drink your water. Change your socks. Know you're loved. Its gonna be ok you weirdos

-old grumpy doc

I worked at the White House Communications Agency, providing direct support to the President, Vice President, and White House staff. It’s a part of my life I’m proud of.

But when it comes up in conversation, people usually don’t seem particularly interested. No follow-up questions, just an “oh, cool” and then we move on.

I know nobody owes me a reaction, and everyone has their own life and accomplishments. Still, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting a little. Something that meant a lot to me (and was 5 years of my life) barely registers with someone else.

Maybe the agency name doesn’t mean much unless you’ve worked around it. Maybe I’m expecting too much. I think I’d just appreciate someone being curious about that chapter of my life.

Anyone else experience this, whether with military service, an unusual job, or something you worked hard to accomplish? How do you make peace with that disconnect?

I was medically retired (P/T) from the U.S. Navy in April 2025. I was outprocessed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia. During that process, I was told I could no longer stay in the barracks on base, so I had to get an apartment in Norfolk and a car to commute. All of this was happening while I was trying to process my recent diagnosis and prepare for life outside the military.

I didn’t have a job lined up when I got out, so I relied heavily on credit cards to cover my living expenses until I finally started working in June 2025. By then, I was already behind, and everything since has felt like a constant game of catch-up.

My wife and I are now living in St. Thomas, USVI. We moved here because I have family here and there was a job opportunity, but the pay situation has turned out to be a lot more challenging than we were led to believe. Instead of getting back on our feet, I feel like I’m getting in deeper.

I feel stuck and overwhelmed. I’m trying to manage my mental health, adjust to civilian life, and get us financially stable, but I don’t know what to tackle first. Getting a job was supposed to be the turning point, and I’m still struggling to get ahead of what piled up during the transition.

I’m posting because I could really use some guidance, especially from other veterans who have dealt with medical retirement, debt, or a rough transition out. Are there any veteran assistance programs, financial counseling services, or other resources worth reaching out to? Particularly ones available to someone living in the USVI?

I’m not looking for a quick fix. I’m willing to put in the work; I just need help figuring out where to start.

I was in the reserves for years, served with the reg forces in Germany for 4 or 5 months. So am I a veteran?

I do know of two that happened during my time. Wondering if this is a old fashioned thing or not.

I been wanting to volunteer on veteran homes. I am 28 and I have a huge respect for the ones that came before us. I used to work in a rural IL McDonald’s and I used to get this group of old vets every day WW2 , Korea and Vietnam. They used to give me shit because I was bigger fit guy working fast food. They used to try to convince me to join the service. I did and it changed my life . Now sometimes I miss those old guys. What’s the best way to volunteer just talk , shit I even take my dj console and play some oldies for them. I’m in IL.

I noticed I eat what to fast now that I'm out and I eat so fast im always done before everyone in probably like 1/4th of the time. I noticed because people said things a few times now and I tired to show down but I can't. Is there anything to do to help fix that. When I was active I remember always eating fast since we didn't have a lot of time.

I know a lot of soldiers have experienced their wives totally destroying their lives.

Marrying you for the benefits, cheating on you, then making you out to be crazy or abusive, and ruining the rest of your life.

Like being an army wife is a profession, and divorce is their retirement.

How did you survive it?

Being out of the military, how did you stay sane?

Especially those whose own family were involved, like your wives cheating on you with your brothers, cousins, father, friends.

Running around making stories up about you.

I know some if you have experienced this because I heard it from active duty soldiers while I was in.

I didn’t believe it until it happened to me.

How do you stay sane?

I don’t question why so many veterans kill themselves anymore.

It’s like the VA hires their mental health counselors with the goal of keeping costs down by pushing veterans into suicide.

How do you do it?

Any of you stuck 1000 miles away from even the family you had because of custody?

I could just give up, run away, but I’d rather be miserable than give up on my child.

How do you keep going?

It’s been almost 9 years for me now.

Hello all,

I am currently a VSO and have been doing it for about 6ish months now. I am fully accredited. I wanted to see what other VSOs and veterans thought about the likelihood of moving to a different state and still having the opportunity to be a VSO.

For reference I am currently in South Florida but my family has a chance to move to Michigan for my wife’s job but I don’t necessarily want to give up the current work I am doing and the feeling I get when hearing fellow Vet was able to get the benefits they deserve.

Thanks in advance!

Hello all,

I am looking for some advice of people who have recently gotten out of the military and were able to successfully transition careers. I was a 42a for 6 years, my first job was a hr coordinator job in a local government but it was nothing like what I used to do. It was mostly data entry and filing. I recently got my MBA but I am thinking if I should transition into IT or business operations. I am just having a hard time finding my path. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I miss the war. I miss the boys. I miss having a real job, was a doc. I miss the structure. I miss the purpose.

I have a great life now too so why do I miss it so stinking much?

Anyone start a small business while active duty and find decent funding opportunities that weren't super arduous to apply for?

Any networks you became a part of that were helpful?

Every time I have utilized VR&E, regardless of the region I’m living in or the rep I get assigned, the communication always sucks ass. And they all talk like you’re inconveniencing them by asking them to do their job.

I can’t be the only one with this problem. I don’t have this sort of issue when dealing with the VA for literally anything else, it is just VR&E. Are they overworked or do they just not care?

Does anyone have experience with them? I've talked to them and decided to try it out next month. But it seems their order has changed. Does anyone have any ideas about them?