Military

What is your best advice for veterans when it comes to applying for VA Disability?

Key Tip for Veterans: Understand VA Disability Criteria

What is your best advice for veterans when it comes to applying for VA disabilities? So here's my biggest one, and it sounds like a trick to get rated higher, but I don't want you to use it for that. I want you to use it to make sure you get rated appropriately because what I want you to do is look up what is the criteria for the percentage rating for certain injuries because that is how they're going to determine if you're 10%, 50% or whatever for specific injuries. And the reason why I tell you to look up the specific criteria is you may not know the right answers to certain things. The doctors may not even ask the right questions. Let me give you like one example. Let's say just as an example, not saying this is an exact thing, but let's say you have knee problems, right? Your knee bothers you and it even affects your ability to sleep and get a good night's rest. And if you don't mention that part of it being a good night's rest, it could be the difference between you only getting rated 10% compared to 40% and the doctor may not ask you those questions. You may not even know to bring that up. So find out what is the criteria for each percentage.

Look up the criteria for each percentage rating for certain injuries and make sure to mention any other factors that may affect the rating, even if the doctor does not ask about them.

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My best advice for veterans applying for VA Disability is to research the criteria for percentage ratings related to specific injuries. This will help ensure that you are rated appropriately and receive the compensation you deserve. Sometimes, doctors may not ask the right questions or you may not know what details to mention. For example, if you have knee problems that affect your ability to sleep and get a good night's rest, failing to mention this could result in a lower rating. By familiarizing yourself with the specific criteria for each percentage rating, you can provide comprehensive information during your application process. It's important to note that this advice is not intended to manipulate ratings but rather to ensure accurate assessment of your disabilities.

Would you rather be freezing or be hot while on duty?

Military Veteran Reveals: I'd Rather Be Hot Than Cold on Duty

Would you rather be freezing or be hot while on duty? I have a much better tolerance for heat than I do cold. I've been deployed to Iraq. There's been times where the temperatures were like upper hundreds degrees. I don't remember exactly, but especially on like windy days, it felt like standing in front of a hairdryer. And I have a better tolerance for heat, even though some people might say that, oh, you can always, you know, add more layers to get warmer. You can only take so much off to get cooler. But the key thing with like me, you know, you're wearing all that gear and everything in the army and you know, you're a hot environment kind of a thing. It's miserable. It sucks maybe, but with the cold, you know, you can put on certain amount of stuff to keep you kind of warm, but the cold brings pain and it's painful being really cold. You're in like Colorado, for example, doing training and you're freezing out there in the snow and everything. And eventually it gets painful. Heat, it just becomes miserable. So I would definitely rather be hot than be cold in the military.

I would rather be hot than cold in the military because I have a better tolerance for heat and being too cold can be painful.

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For me, I have a higher tolerance for heat compared to the cold. I've experienced extreme temperatures during my deployment to Iraq, with temperatures reaching the upper hundreds. Even on windy days, it felt like standing in front of a hairdryer. While some may argue that you can always add more layers to keep warm, there's a limit to how much you can take off to cool down. In the army, wearing all that gear in a hot environment can be miserable and uncomfortable. On the other hand, the cold brings about pain and discomfort. Being out in freezing temperatures during training in places like Colorado can become painful over time. Heat may be exhausting and unpleasant, but for me, it's preferable to enduring extreme cold while on duty in the military.

What was going for a promotion like in the military?

Insider shares the process of military promotions

What was going for promotion like in the military? So obviously I can only speak for what it's like for the United States Army on active duty. So from my experiences, well first of all for E1 through E4, that's automatic. If you're in the United States Army and you're not getting into trouble, you're automatically you go from private to specialist automatically in a certain time frame. But to go to the next higher up, to get to sergeant, to get to E5, that does take a little bit of work. That requires your leadership to nominate you, to go to the board, and then actually try to, you know, kind of present yourself and answer a bunch of questions. So from my experience, I, you know, was sent to the Soldier of the Month board to get a little bit of practice. A lot of people still do that today even. And then a practice for the board, then I went to the actual promotion board, give my answers to all the questions, ran confident is usually the key thing, and then hopefully you pass. And then you have to make points, you have to go to a leadership school, and then you get promoted. And that kind of continues for both E5 and E6, and then after E7 it's all about what you've done in the military to be looked at to see if you qualify to get promoted. So there you go. That's how you get promoted.

Promotion in the US Army requires your leadership to nominate you and then you must pass a promotion board, demonstrate your knowledge and remain confident. You also have to make points and go to leadership school for higher up promotions.

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Going for a promotion in the military, specifically in the United States Army on active duty, is a process that varies depending on the rank. For ranks E1 to E4, promotion is automatic as long as one remains out of trouble within a certain timeframe. However, advancing to the next rank, such as sergeant (E5), requires additional effort. Leadership nomination and participation in a promotion board are necessary steps. Many soldiers, including myself, were sent to the Soldier of the Month board for practice before facing the actual promotion board. The key is to present oneself confidently and answer questions effectively. Passing the board is crucial. Accumulating points and attending leadership schools are often required for promotions at E5 and E6 ranks. Beyond E7, promotions are based on one's achievements and qualifications in the military. This process continues to determine eligibility for further advancement.

How much free time will I have in the military?

Discover Your Free Time Options in the Military

How much free time will I have in the military? So speaking from the army standpoint on active duty, it depends on kind of what's going on. So let's say a typical MOS that maybe doesn't have crazy schedules like MPs and cooks and those kind of individuals. If it's like Monday through Friday, you're not in the field, you're not on deployment, then you're typically doing 630 PT until 730, so doing physical fitness during those time frames. Between 730 and nine, you have an opportunity to go get breakfast and shower and everything. And then you're working from like nine o'clock until 435, somewhere around there on average. And then when you're off at five o'clock or 430, then you have your free time to do whatever you need to do in the evenings, whether that's, you know, going and hang out with friends, watching movies, whatever, until you have to be back for physical fitness the next day. You have the weekends off, you have holidays off, so you have that time to be free, right? And then if you're in the field, well, there's probably not a whole lot of free time. Maybe a little bit of time in the evenings, kind of sort of in like your field environment, but nothing crazy where you can go like catch a movie or anything like that, so it's a little bit restricted there. Also on deployments, if it's a combat deployment, very little free time in most environments. In some environments, you might have like some hours here and there, you can do some different things, and then it kind of depends. But if it's maybe a training deployment, then you might still have a kind of similar situation as if you're stateside in your regular unit, you might have some free time in the evenings to maybe check out local sites, to do some things with your friends on base and everything, because it's a little bit more relaxed. So those are kind of some examples of when you might be able to get some free time, at least for active duty army anyways.

Free time in the military depends on what kind of mission you're on or if you're stationed stateside. Typically Monday-Friday, you'll have PT 6:30-7:30, work 9:00 - 4:30/5:00, and then free time in the evenings. On deployment or in the field, there is generally less free time.

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Speaking from the army standpoint on active duty, the amount of free time you have in the military varies depending on circumstances. For a typical MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) that doesn't have demanding schedules like MPs and cooks, here is a general breakdown. On a Monday through Friday schedule, when you're not in the field or on deployment, your day typically starts with PT (physical fitness) from 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM. Between 7:30 AM and 9:00 AM, you have time for breakfast and showering. Then, you work from around 9:00 AM until approximately 4:35 PM. After work, usually by 5:00 PM or 4:30 PM, you have your evenings free to do whatever you need or want to do until it's time for PT the next day. You also have weekends and holidays off for additional free time.

However, if you're in the field for training exercises or on combat deployments, your free time will be limited. In the field, there may be some time in the evenings within the field environment but not enough to go out and watch a movie or engage in similar activities. During combat deployments, there is generally very little free time available, especially in high-intensity environments. Some deployments may offer limited hours here and there for personal activities, but it varies depending on the situation.

On training deployments that are not combat-focused, your free time might be similar to being stateside in your regular unit. You might have evenings to explore local sites or spend time with friends on base because the environment is more relaxed.

These examples provide an overview of when you could expect to have some free time while serving in the active duty army.

Which of the Army's values do you identify with the most?

Army veteran emphasizes the importance of respect

Which of the Army's values do you identify with the most? I would probably say respect. I always wanted to make sure to show my soldiers that were under me respect and everything. I tried to hopefully earn the respect of other individuals as well. Respect was probably a big one because definitely if I had leaders that earned my respect, it made you want to work hard to make sure to not let them down. I had a really good squad leader that I can think of as a good example of that. It was awesome and amazing when I was stationed in Korea. He was an individual I didn't want to let down because he showed me a lot of respect, so I showed him mutual respect back. It motivated me to try hard and make sure I didn't fail him, didn't let him down, because I wanted to maintain that respect. I would definitely go with respect as the top one for me.

Respect is the Army's value that I identify with the most because it motivated me to try hard and not let down my leaders who showed me respect.

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Of the Army's values, the one I identify with the most is respect. It was important for me to show respect to the soldiers under my command and to earn respect from others. Respect played a significant role because when I had leaders who earned my respect, it motivated me to work hard and not let them down. I had an exceptional squad leader during my time in Korea who showed me a lot of respect, and I reciprocated that mutual respect. It pushed me to give my best and ensure I didn't disappoint him because maintaining that respect was crucial. Respect is definitely the top value for me.

Can I take time off for a vacation in the military?

Time off for vacations in the military: What you need to know

Can I take time off for a vacation in the military? So speaking from the Army standpoint, you earn, it's 30 days a year, but that does acquire over the months. So it's not, you don't start off with 30 days, you have to acquire that much time. So you get an X amount of days per month. And then if you were to save up all your vacation time at the end of the year, you would have 30 days. Now those days do have to get used even on holidays and weekends. So if you're trying to take a whole week off and one of those days happens to be a holiday or even weekends, you still have to use seven days of vacation time or leave time to be able to do that. Now, most units are gonna have like set timeframes for people to take leave during. So these are called block leave. And these are usually timeframes that the unit has allocated where they don't have any kind of critical training going on to allow soldiers to take block leave. That's usually like during Christmas timeframe, usually maybe like a week or two during the summertime, but usually it's two weeks timeframe. Usually there's not a lot of environments allow you to take an entire month off. Typically it's gonna be like two weeks.

In the Army, you can take up to 30 days of leave per year. This is accumulated over the course of the year, and includes weekends and holidays. Most units will also have specific block leave times set aside for soldiers to take longer vacations, typically for two weeks at a time.

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In the military, speaking from the Army standpoint, you can take time off for a vacation. However, it's important to note that vacation time is earned over the months. You don't start with a full 30 days, but rather accumulate it gradually. You receive a certain number of days per month, and by the end of the year, you can have up to 30 days. It's important to use these vacation days even on holidays and weekends. For example, if you want to take a whole week off and it includes a holiday or weekends, you still need to use seven days of your vacation or leave time for that period. Most units have designated timeframes for leave called block leave. During these periods, which typically include Christmas and one or two weeks in the summertime, units allocate time when there are no critical training activities happening, allowing soldiers to take block leave. However, it's rare for environments to allow an entire month off. Typically, block leave lasts around two weeks.

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I served almost 11 years on active duty in the US Army. I deployed twice to Iraq. During the day I am a military instructor on Fort Carson where I teach US Army soldiers and have done that for 10+ years. I also create Army related content on my YouTube channel with over 100K subscribers and more than 20 million views. 

Christopher Chaos