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Everything You Need to Know About Receiving Government Aid as a Service Member

 

Everything You Need to Know About Receiving Government Aid as a Service Member

 

If you are a service member, and you’ve needed to provide evidence of your military status, you understand that obtaining that information is a timely process.

The DMDC doesn’t always respond to verification requests quickly. The same goes for writing to individual branches of the military.

The benefits of active-duty military status are worth the wait, but there are a few ways to speed up the process.

In this article, we’ll explain what benefits you can get and everything else you need to know about verifying your military status.

Military Benefits

Military members and veterans should take advantage of the great benefits they can receive. Some of these benefits even apply to family members.

  • Health Care: The Military Health System gives members, dependents, and retirees health care.
  • Education: You can secure education benefits through a veteran and military program. You can set it up so that benefits from the Post-911 GI Bill can even transfer to your children or spouse.
  • Job Training: If you need help finding a job after leaving the military, you may be able to seek assistance.
  • Housing: The Department of Veteran Affairs can sometimes help with home loans and grants for veterans or members of the armed forces.
  • Life Insurance: Servicemembers’ life insurance covers all military members. Retirees also can take advantage of the Survivor Benefit Plan.
  • Retirement: Members who have had 20+ years of service may be eligible for a monthly annuity for life.

Verifying Your Military Status

Like we explained earlier, service members sometimes need to provide proof of their military status. Here are some of the most common ways:

Use a Verification Service

Secure contractors like the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service offer the ability to search without your social security number, verification trafficking, and phone support.

If you want an affidavit quickly, consider using a verification service!

Discharge Paperwork

When an active duty member separates from the military, they will receive a DD Form 214 or DD Form 215.

Ideally, you will receive the forms as soon as you leave, but some veterans say that they have had to wait for the forms to come in the mail.

If you had your records lost, damaged, or stolen, contact your last unit as soon as possible.

Remember that old records or very recent records may not be available. The offices only host records from people who served after WWI.

If you separated from the military recently, your records might not have transferred to the National Archives just yet.

Get a Copy

It’s possible to request military records from The National Archives. They maintain many, but not all, records from the military.

If you are searching for your own military records, this is the first place you should look.

Typically, the only other people who can get approved for a military records request are children or next of kin.

Because of the Freedom of Information Act, now it’s easier for the general public to access these records.

Managing your Benefits

You can manage all of your records and benefits in one self-service platform called MilConnect. Here are some of its features:

  • Store copies of your Military Personnel File
  • Update family members in DEERS, the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System
  • Discover the latest information and updates
  • Easily change personal and work contact information
  • Transfer your GI Bill benefits to a family member

We hope you feel more informed about receiving government aid as a service member and about how you can verify your military status.

It’s essential to know your options because you can access valuable benefits for yourself and your family.

 

 

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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