Jim Absher

Jim Absher is Military.com's former benefits editor and columnist. He joined the Navy to see the world and later realized the world is two-thirds water. He also worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs in field offices and Washington, D.C. before coming to Military.com in 2015.

Latest Articles

How to use your military life in a college essay

Montgomery GI Bill User Guide

The Montgomery GI Bill can be hard to understand. Cut through the confusion and access the benefits you deserve.

Montgomery GI Bill Rates

Each year in October, the Montgomery GI Bill payment rates increase to meet the growing cost of education.

The year 2024 appears painted on a street

Just What Is Open Season and Why Should You Care?

It's time to review and change your health insurance, if necessary.

Specially Adapted Housing Details

Veterans with certain service-connected disabilities may get a grant from VA to build or modify a home to meet their needs

Specially Adapted Housing Program

Specially Adapted Housing grants are available to veterans who have specific service-connected disabilities

Continued Health Care Benefit Program

Temporary health insurance is available after you get out. You can buy up to 18 months of temporary coverage.

Transitional Health Care Programs (TAMP)

There are several Health Care programs available to assist veterans and retirees as they transition into the civilian...

Thrift Savings Plan Overview

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) offers service members flexibility in investment planning.

Most Military Retirees Will See Medicare Costs Increase in 2024

Medicare costs will go up 5.9% on average for 2024

US Family Health Plan

The Uniformed Services Family Health Plan option is available near selected civilian medical facilities around the country.

Tricare Select Overseas

The Tricare Select Overseas program serves those stationed overseas and their families.

Tricare for Life

Is Tricare for Life for you? Find out if you qualify for Tricare for Life (TFL) and how it can help pay for your Medicare...

CHAMPVA Program Overview

CHAMPVA is a health benefits program in which the VA shares the cost of certain services and supplies

CHAMPVA and Medicare Part D

If you are enrolled in the CHAMPVA program should you choose to participate in Medicare Part D.

VA improves telehealth services for veterans

Continued Health Care Benefit Plan

Individuals who lose TRICARE eligibility or other coverage are eligible for the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP)

Military News

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Most Popular Military News

the seal affixed to the front of the Veterans Affairs Department building

VA Plans Outreach to Screen 3 Million More Veterans for Toxic Exposures

The PACT Act requires the VA to attempt to screen all veterans enrolled in VA health care; to date, 4.8 million veterans have...

DoDEA America's Chief of Staff Arrested in Human Trafficking Sting Operation in Georgia

Stephen Hovanic, 64, of Sharpsburg, Georgia, was arrested Nov. 15 in a sting that netted 25 additional suspects on charges...

Pentagon's AI Initiatives Accelerate Hard Decisions on Lethal Autonomous Weapons

The Pentagon is intent on fielding multiple thousands of relatively inexpensive, expendable AI-enabled autonomous vehicles by...

Marines in Dress Blues Who Brawled with Civilians in Texas Bar District Not Facing Punishment

Video posted on YouTube shows a confrontation that quickly escalated between a group of men and the uniformed Marines among...

President Donald Trump watches the first half of the 121st Army-Navy Football Game

Trump Hints at Expanded Role for the Military Within the US. A Legacy Law Gives Him Few Guardrails

Experts in constitutional law and the military say the Insurrection Act gives presidents tremendous power with few restraints...

Military spouses networking with prospective employers at the MilSpo Career Expo at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Texas Tried to Block an Air Force Spouse's Occupational License. She Sued and Won, Setting a Legal Precedent.

A federal judge in Texas ruled that the Texas Education Agency violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Latest Military Videos

White House Hails Extension of Truce Between Israel and Hamas

The White House on Monday hailed the extension of the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days, which will result...

Buildings in City in Northern Gaza Strip Bear Horrific Scars of Intensity of Israel's Offensive

Almost every building in Beit Hanoun has been left destroyed by the intensity of the latest war between Israel...

Pentagon Boosts AI Program as Lethal Autonomy Looms

For years, U.S. military services have continued to increase their use of AI technology. But only in the past...

Houthi Rebel Video Said to Show Hijacking of Israeli-Linked Ship in the Red Sea

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels released a video on Monday said to show their forces seizing an Israeli-linked cargo ship...

Investigations and Features

What the Pentagon Has, Hasn't and Could Do to Stop Veterans and Troops from Joining Extremist Groups

The military and its transition programs have largely failed to provide what experts say is necessary to steer troops and...

Poisoned Water: How a Navy Ship Dumped Fuel and Sickened Its Own Crew

A years-long investigation reveals that the Boxer unintentionally compromised its own water supply in 2016.

Army News

U.S. Army nurses pose for an undated photo during the Spanish-American War.

How Four Nuns Became the First Native American Women to Serve in the US Military

Today, American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average — with the women...

Another High-Profile Firing at West Point, This Time Due to Criminal Sexual Conduct Allegations

A senior civilian staffer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has been fired after being arrested on a felony charge...

Navy News

Navy P-8A plane that overshot a runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and landed in shallow water offshore

US Navy Removes Fuel from Plane that Overshot Hawaii Runway and Is Now Resting on a Reef and Sand

The U.S. Navy says it has removed nearly all of the fuel from a plane that overshot a Hawaii runway and landed in an...

Navy Sailors try to retrieve the flight recorder from a downed P-8A Poseidon

Navy Plane Still Resting in Shoal of Kaneohe Bay

The lack of public information over the botched landing and its environmental impact on Kaneohe Bay and the ocean has...

Air Force News

Senior Airman Sean Ryan Stevenson poses in front of an airplane

'Broken and Alone': Father Pens Scathing Letter to Top Brass After Losing Airman Son to Suicide

A grieving father who lost his son -- an airman at Cannon Air Force Base -- to suicide this month has written an open letter...

Laser pointed at an HH-60 Pave Hawk in safety demonstration

As Laser Pointer Incidents Spike, Airmen Are Getting Updated Eyewear That Provides Better Protection

The  Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Human Systems Division is starting to field new, upgraded eyewear that can...

Space Force News

Space Force Reports 2 Suicides This Year, Marking the First in the Service's Short History

Until this year, the relatively tiny and new Space Force had been an outlier among the other services as they have struggled...

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks to reporters in the Capitol building on Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Tommy Tuberville Is Just the Face of a 'Broken' Confirmation Process, Critics Say

Anger over Sen. Tommy Tuberville's blockade of high-ranking military promotions may have hit a boiling point as a handful of...

Marine Corps News

physical training uniform prototype at Marine Corps University

The Marine Corps Tried to Redesign Its Physical Training Uniform. After 3 Years, It's Abandoning the Project.

The Marine Corps has ended a plan to revamp its physical fitness uniform, according to the service. The initiative lasted...

No One Was Injured when a US Navy Plane Landed in a Hawaii Bay, but Some Fear Environmental Damage

Concerns about environmental damage are looming a day after a large U.S. Navy plane overshot a runway and landed in a Hawaii...

Coast Guard News