Please Help......Disconnecting from the Military!!!

you husband should go through a transitioning class that will help with off of this. It will be closer to his exit date.

Your husband will be taking some Transition Assistance classes before his discharge, this will help you guys make the transition.

In the meantime, you need to be saving money and looking for jobs. I believe part of transition assistance is resume help. You will probably be able to go in and get resume help at the Family Service Center before then if you don't already have a job. If you live on base, you need to be looking for a new place to live too. Many military families stay with family until they find a job and place to live. If you are staying in the same area, that makes it easier.

You will be able to keep your USAA, we still have ours and he didn't retire. Once a member, always a member. If they are not your current insurance carrier, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you contact them and become a member before your husband's discharge ( I dont think you can sign up after he gets out). They are also a banking entitiy for military members and they will be a valuable resource for you in the future with financial planning and things like that. And our renters, homeowners insurance and auto insurance have all been through them and the rates are the best around.

Your husband should be able to find out the best way to get health insurance through his Transition Assistance class. You might also be able to just get private insurance on your own, depending on your medical history. Going with someone like Humana One is usually cheaper than COBRA, but they are kind of strict on the pre-exisiting conditions.

Yes, the VA should be your new best friends. They are a big help and you can often find Govt Service jobs through the VA. Your husband should also qualify for unemployent benefits after he is out, so that will be helpful.

My husband decided kind of spur of the moment not to stay in the Navy, so I was not able to attend the TAP classes with him, but you definitely should. Good luck to you!

when your husband separates from the Navy - even NOW - he can go to USAJOBS.com and find a job in the GS sector - so the time he spent in the service won't go to waste....if he completes his 20 years via the GS, he will get his retirement...

When I say NOW - I mean NOW as it can take up to 4 months to get hired via the GS system...he will also have his 30 days separation leave - so if by chance he gets hired before that - he can go on separation leave...

The VA benefits for college are simple enough...he can contact the VA

We are AF, but I will try to help you find the answers to any questions you have, but the answers depend on things like, is your husband working AND going to school, how long has he been in (is it retirement or just disconnecting), are you married to that area or would you consider someplace else, is he interested in gs positions of would he want a NAF (non appropriated funds which would mean no added benefits like leave or retirement). Feel free to PM me with particulars and I will help any way that I can.

L.

The proper term is transitioning out of the military or separating from the military or getting discharged from the military. This might be helpful to know so you can look up information on the internet to help you. Here is a website I came across after a quick search. http://www.vetsfirst.org/military-separation-guide/
The VA is also a good source of assistance.

Your husband will be given transition counseling through the Navy. They are required to take transition assistance classes called TAP classes. He can take them as early as one year before transitioning out, and spouses are allowed (and encouraged) to attend.This should clear up many of your questions when the time comes.

As far as your benefits go, unless he is retiring, you do not keep your medical benefits. You really need to look into temporary medical insurance until he gets employment-- it's called COBRA and it's very expensive but worth it. It costs a whole lot less than paying out of pocket if someone were to get really sick or hurt.

If you have USAA insurance (car, home, life), I believe that is for only active duty and retired, so, if I'm correct, you would need to find a new insurance company as well (if they are who you are currently using).

The military pays for one last move. They will move you to the place he lived prior to enlisting or to another place of equivalent distance (and you would pay the difference). (Unless they have changed that policy in the past 4 years)

Have you discussed your concerns with your husband? It seems that he should know the answers to these questions already or that he should know where to easily find these answers. The military doesn't just kick you out to the curb. They do provide "instruction"so-to-speak.

Enjoy civilian life. No more ironing uniforms! I know it can be a little scary, just like any major life change. Just do your research and save as much money as you can to help pay for your new home (or deposits on an apartment) and to help cover emergencies and the unexpecteds. And, thank you to your husband (and to you) for his service.

Go to TAPS and TAMPS with him. THey give you everything you need to know after military service. Take a notebook and take nots.
I'm sure Quantico has a link or you could try militaryonesource.com

Start now. THere are things that take time, like his physical. They will help write resumes. You can go and take job surveys to see which kind of job you really would like. Both of you can use the services. He has the GI bill, use it. If he has any disability and you need a home loan the VHA waives the funding fee. All you need is 10%.

Can he do the STA-21 program? THis way he doesn't have to separate and will still get paid while going to college and then become a commissioned officer.

We'll be up in your neck of the woods in about a month. My hubby retired in Sept and works in Stafford.

We are also in the Stafford area...My husband separated from the Navy in May of last year. He decided to change his career as a Corpsman to a Civilian police officer at Quantico. He went to NC for 3 months for school, and got paid the whole time, which was nice. Now he's also getting his GI Bill for college (he's back in college now). But make sure if your husband is going to go to school to get the ball rolling on the GI Bill, since something with the paperwork kept getting messed up somewhere, we didn't get our money for school until 6 months after he'd already started. Also, as far as the VA stuff goes, it's easier to have him go to Richmond and submit all of his paperwork there. Taking it to DC takes much longer (usually). And get started on that as much as he can now too since that takes, or can take a LONG time. They estimated my husband to start getting his disability anywhere from in 6 months to 18 months from when he finally finished everything. Thankfully, it didn't take them that long...and what they get all depends on what they're rated. And it takes an amount of time, and appointments to get that all in order too. It's ALL a hurry up and wait process lol...which is typical. ;) It's a HUGE change...but I also agree. Look for jobs NOW...and if he doesn't have a resume, he should start getting things together to make one NOW. If you need anything let me know! Make sure he does his research on Colleges too....so he doesn't get hosed on that end of it too! Good luck! Oh, and as far as benefits goes, it depends on if he's retiring from the Navy, or if his contract is up. See, when my husband got out, we (our son and I) didn't have any kind of benefits once he got out. But through the VA, my husband has free medical care. And now, with the rating that he got for his disability, his family (us) are covered now too if we wanted it. Again though, if you need anything, let me know!

Make an appointment with transition assistance, every base should have one although the navy may call it something else.

I still have some contacts with the VFW Veterans Service Officer here in MI. Our national service office is located in Washington. He may be eligible for several benefits through the VA, but I would HIGHLY recommend he get in contact with a Veterans Service Rep to assist him. They are a not for profit organization there solely to supply assistance to Veterans. They act sort of like a go-between for the Vet vs the VA. Vets trying to gain assistance (medically, educationally, etc) through the VA often have a hard time making heads or tails of all the paper work and red tape. This is where a Veterans Service Officer comes in handy. Whether you would like the VFW VSO to help or another organization, there should NEVER be a charge for their help (as they are funded by the government to help vets). Anyone asking you/him for money to help, you should turn and run in the other direction. Message me if you'd like a contact number for the VFW VSO in your area.