VA Benefit Priority Groups and Copays

​Priority Groups are numbered 1-8, with 8 being the lowest. Official VA website link. 

Priority Group 2

We may assign you to priority group 2 if you have a service-connected disability that we've rated as 30% or 40% disabling.

Priority Group 3

Service connected disability at 10 or 20%. 

Priority Group 6

We may also assign you to priority group 6 if you meet all of these requirements:

• You’re currently or newly enrolled in VA health care, and
• You served in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998, and
• You were discharged less than 10 years ago 

VA copays in 2023

Official VA webpage with copay information. 

Urgent Care copays use through approved network of community providers

Flu shots don’t require a copay. 

Outpatient Care

Disability rating of 10% or higher. - No copay

Services that don’t require a copay. 

TriCare Prime PCM Options for Male Doctors in Bozeman

14 Doctors are options as TriCare Prime PCMs in Bozeman, MT.

Most of them are associated with Bozeman Health, as seen with the 935 and 937 Highland Blvd addresses.

MFRC - Military Family Readiness Center - Logo Highres

Linked below highest-res graphic of this logo I was able to find online.

The center does free financial, life, and marital counseling for military members. They also help members prepare to leave the military and prepare resumes.

The full-res of the linked graphic is 1426x1425, and easily large enough to use in a video.

Packing cubes at Langley AFB BX

Packing cubes for luggage and drawer organization, as seen in the Langley BX.

The brand is Go Travel. The item was somewhere around $20.

Helpful items at a Deployed BX

Body powder - a must have in hot environments to stay dry and odor free.

Good quality face wash.

Command hooks - hang your towels, keys, and other items in your living quarters or at the office. 

Lamp for a desk or side table. When living with a roommate, it can be really helpful to have a little of your own light after it's lights out for them. 

Shower caddie. 

Razor or toothbrush holder

Things to Make Deployed Life Easier

Staying connected with home

- Cellular data device (if your office doesn't have wifi).

- Some offices have Facebook unblocked. WhatsApp is also available on Desktop.

- These websites can be unblocked using Menlo Security

- Earbuds to call home on WhatsApp, Signal, Facebook Messenger, or FaceTime with better calling quality and an easier way to hold the phone

Entertainment and diversion

- Listening to your favorite pod or music with noise canceling headphones. 

- The Airpods Pro have incredible noise-cancelling for such small headphones.

- Sony over the ear headphones feel like they cancel about 90% of the noise around you. 

- An iPad or tablet to play your favorite shows and movies or read books (mobile games, too)

- A Kindle Paperwhite to read books with less eye strain, in all kinds of ambient light.

Easier daily routines

- Shower caddies (metal overhanging type, corner shelves, or wall mounted). Many showers at deployed locations are shared with roommates or several people. Some only have one tiny shelf to store products and body care items have to be carried in/out everyday, reducing time to call home or relax before/after work.

- Electric shaver to make shaving faster and avoiding buying disposable razors and shaving creams/gels

Active lifestyle

- Headphones that wrap around the ear can make running with music easier and more enjoyable.

- Phone armband for running also avoids a bouncing/distracting phone in smaller short pockets 

Free Coursera access for Veterans, military close to retirement, and National Guard

 

How Veterans, military members near retirement, and military spouses can get free access to Coursera to further their career.

Website:

ActNowEducation.com

Requirements to enroll:

• Service Members with over 20 years of service.
• Service Members 1-year out or less from separating from the military.
• Service Members 2-years out or less from retiring.
• A Veteran (currently not serving)
• Spouse of an Active Duty Military member.
• Spouse of a Veteran.
• Active role as a ACT Now volunteer team member
• Reservist
• National guard

Getting Rich with the TSP

 

At the very minimum, you should contribute 5% of your pay to get the free matching money.

However, to get rich using the TSP, you want to max it out each year. In 2022, that maximum is now $20,500 per year. This is the same 2022 limit as a traditional 401K for all people who have one through their job. For 2022, the IRS increased this amount by $1,000.

The employer contributions don't count against your maximum contribution.

For most young servicemembers, ROTH is more advantageous, because at a lower income level this is better. All money you put into a ROTH is completely tax free when you hit retirement. All of the growth your money sees over the decades is tax free. Only ROTHs offer this.

The matching contribution from the government will always go towards traditional.

Ever even year, you'll get a pay raise. If you got a 4% pay raise, maybe you put a little bit of that and increase the percentage being contributed to your TSP. You were living without this money anyway.

If you're not going to do any of your own research, the L-funds (life cycle funds), this will set you up for retirement. Can leave that in the year that you turn 60. The L-funds will automnatically adjust as you age, so you don't have to tweak your investments.

However, if you're younger, you can leverage the C and S funds that will grow a lot more during your career.

The C fund is large cap stocks (similar to the S&P 500).

The S funds is small cap stocks.

If you want to be a little more aggressive, you could put into the Life cycle fund for 10 years after you hit 60.

Read the book Simple Path to Wealth. They cover the TSP and explain index funds.

Suggested ratio:

75% C fund / 25% S Fund.

Federal Taxes and Montana Taxes for Active Duty or Combat Zones

Military Members in Combat Zones do not pay Federal Taxes

Although any base pay earned by a member of the armed services while serving in a combat zone is excluded from federal income tax, it is still subject to Social Security tax and Medicare tax.

• For enlisted service members, the amount of the exclusion from federal income tax is unlimited.
• For officers, the exclusion is limited to the maximum amount of enlisted pay.
• States vary on whether or not the federal combat pay tax exclusion applies to state income taxes.

source: QuickBooks: Combat Pay, Tax Style: Benefits When Serving in a Hot Zone

Montana does not tax active duty pay. 

(2) (a) The salary received from the armed forces by residents of Montana who are serving on active duty in the regular armed forces and who entered into active duty from Montana is exempt from state income tax.

Source: Montana Tax 

Military Officer Pay and GS Pay Scale Similarities

2022 Rates

0-2 First Lieutenant
Four years ---- $724
Five years ---- $739

0-2 with four years of service, monthly: $5,432

Four years per day: $250.72/day (8 hours at $31.34/hour)

Four year annual: $65,192

Four years monthly, less 15% for Roth IRA 15%, FICA deductions at 7% and $25 for SGLI/SSLI.

= $4,212

Same as above, except 20% towards Roth IRA.

= $3,941

0-3 Captain
Six years (drill) - $864
Six years monthly: $6,482

Six years annual: $77,784

O-3 Captain

Six years (drill) --------$841

Six years monthly: $6,482

Six years annual: $77,785

Starting pay yearly: $55,638

Eight years---- $883


Bozeman BAH for O-2 (no dependents)

$1,638 (2022)

The government decreased this, even though the cost of housing in the Bozeman area has increased since 2021 and rentals are very hard to get. This needs to be increased to match the CPI numbers. 

$1,671 (2021)

$1,934 - with dependents

BAH for O-1 (no dependents)

Bozeman (59718) - $1,491

COUNTY COST GROUP 850 (ZZ850)

Great Falls (59404) - $870

MALMSTROM AFB/GREAT FLS MT (MT175)

Livingston (59047) - $1,293

COUNTY COST GROUP 810 (ZZ810)

Missoula (59801) - $1,338

COUNTY COST GROUP 820 (ZZ820)

Helena 

Big Sky (59716) - $1,491

COUNTY COST GROUP 850 (ZZ850)

Billings

Drill Pay 2021

O-1 Second Lieutenant
One year  ------ $438
Two years ----- $469
Three years ----$568

0-2 First Lieutenant
Four years ---- $705
Five years ---- $719

Monthly Pay 2021

0-1 Second Lieutenant

Two years or less - $3,385  ($40,620 yearly)
Over two years - $3,524   ($42,228 yearly)

Three years - $4,260 ($51,120 yearly)

$1,500 of tax free BAH every month is actually like getting paid $1,875 pre-tax.

$4,260 gross base pay

(Less 30% deductions)

= $2,982 net base pay

$2,982 + $1,491 BAH

= $4,473 per month while at Officer tech school in third year of service, O-1 rank. 

Also add in BAS while living on base. This is about $8.85 per day. 

Some members will also get a split dispersement DTS payment for per diem. 

E-5 pay level (2 years or less).
Automatic base for non-priors attending OTS (Officer Training School). Some members will also be given BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) and a BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistence).

Ask Finance at your Guard base to be reimbursed for accrued leave during OTS that cannot be used for actual leave, but will be added to a future paycheck.


GS Pay Scales 2020

GS 8, Step 1 - $41,310

GS 9, Step 1 - 45,627

GS 10, Step 1 - $50,246

GS 11, Step 1 - $55,204

Image of partial 2020 GS Pay Scales:

Airman Fitness and Red Tape

Red Tape, Overweight Troops Hurting Readiness - Air Force Magazine

- Dental scheduling can prevent troops from deploying
- 14 inoculations are required for deployment

Selva said the situation “starts as a unit-level leadership challenge. But the institution is a contributor.” He said the Defense Department “can’t hold the local leader responsible,” if it doesn’t “make the services and treatments available.”

Best Military Movies with a Deeper Message

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

The Great Escape (1963)

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Patton (1970)

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Das Boot (1981)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Glory (1989)

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Courage Under Fire (1996)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Thin Red Line (1998)

Three Kings (1999)

Enemy at the Gates (1999)

Black Hawk Down (2001)

The Pianist (2002)

Master and Commander (2003)

Downfall (2004)

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Lebanon (2009)

American Sniper (2014)

Fury (2014)

Lone Survivor (2013)




More options

Stalag 17 (1953)

Paths of Glory (1957)
Stanley Kubrick
World War I

The Train (1964)

Gettysburg (1993)
-- Director: Ron Maxwell

Hacksaw Ridge

Dunkirk (2017)

Top 10 Most Realistic War Movies According to Veterans [YouTube]

Jarhead
Lone Survivor
Black Hawk Down
Full Metal Jacket
Stalingrad
Saving Private Ryan
Come and See
Band of Brothers
Generation Kill

IMDB Top Military Movies fan list

Military BAH for Different Areas of the Country

These rates are for 2020 and increase every year as the government calculates cost of living by including rent and a percentage of utilities.

Studio City, CA 91604

E-5, no dependents - $2,337

O-1, no dependents - $2,430

Oxnard, CA 93030
(Near the Channel Islands Air National Guard)
O-1, no dependents - $2,580


Montgomery, AL 36117

E-5, no dependents - $1,065

O-1, no dependents - $1,119


Bozeman, MT 59718

E-5, no dependents - $1,305

O-1, no dependents - $1,389


Livingston, MT 59047

E-5, no dependents - $1,203

O-1, no dependents - $1,281


Hilo, HI 96720

E-5, no dependents - $1,875

O-1, no dependents - $2,025


Long Beach, CA

E-5, no dependents - $

O-1, no dependents - $

Recommended by a friend:

Galveston, TX
Austin, TX (feels like LA without overbearing taxes, lots of lakes and natural parks)


For some inspiration, these states have the best weather year-round:

California
Hawaii
Georgia
Texas
Florida
South Carolina
Delaware
North Carolina

Retirement Spots With Year-Round Nice Weather [US News and World Report]

Atlanta

Eugene, OR
"Eugene has dry summers that seldom get very hot. The July average high temperature is 82 degrees. Winters tend to be cool and wet, but temperatures seldom dip below freezing. Snowfall is rare and seldom results in much accumulation of snow. The average January low temperature is 34 degrees. The year-round moderate weather allows professional track and field athletes and recreational exercisers to use the city’s bark chip running trails and paved paths all year."

Eureka, CA

Salem, OR

San Diego

Santa Barbara

Santa Maria
"The Mediterranean climate allows for long growing seasons and creates ideal conditions for producing many different types of crops."

Retirees, These 15 Cities Have the Best Weather Year-Round

Hilo, HI

Air Force Officer Training School

Located in Montgomery, Alabama.

This video series chronicles the stages that applicants are put through to complete Officer Training School.

1. Get ready physically for the rigors.
2. Keep an open mind.


When they depart here, they are much more competent, confidant leaders.

Aim High.

Air Guard, Air Force, and Army National Guard Pay Scales

O-1: SECOND LIEUTENANT, 0 YEARS

MONTHLY DRILL PAY $396.32

ANNUAL DRILL PAY $4,755.84

ANNUAL TRAINING PAY $1,486.20

TOTAL $6,242.04

vs. 

E-3: AIRMAN FIRST CLASS, 0 YEARS

UNDERSTAND MY PAY

MONTHLY DRILL PAY $246.28

ANNUAL DRILL PAY $2,955.36

ANNUAL TRAINING PAY $923.55

TOTAL $3,878.91

(Screenshot captured on 2-26-18)



Air Force OTS video series is an excellent, immersive window into what the experience is like for people coming in from the civilian world.



If you join the Army National Guard, or the Air Guard with a Bachelor's degree, you can begin your career as either an E4 rank, or as an 01 Officer rank.

E-4: SENIOR AIRMAN, 0 YEARS

MONTHLY DRILL PAY $272.80
ANNUAL DRILL PAY $3,273.60
ANNUAL TRAINING PAY $1,023.00
TOTAL $4,296.60

O-1: SECOND LIEUTENANT, 0 YEARS

MONTHLY DRILL PAY $396.32
ANNUAL DRILL PAY $4,755.84
ANNUAL TRAINING PAY $1,486.20
TOTAL $6,242.04

Training pay would calculate out to two weeks x 2 for monthly pay would be at least:
$2,972

What is the active duty monthly pay for different ranks?  They list this on the National Guard website pay calculator, but not the Air Guard website.


Federal Benefits

Free Space Available Air Travel
VA Home Loans
Legal Assistance
Military Retirement Plan
Military Recreation Facilities

Montana Benefits:

The Montana State Scholarship offers Air Guard members working toward a Bachelor's degree $100 per credit hour, up to $1200 per semester.