Some of the 'Services' and 'Programs we have available
Welcome to Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida 'a Source for Veteran Resources'
180 W. Idaho Ave, Ontario, Oregon 97914
541-889-1978
VETERAN ADVOCATES THRIFT EMPORIUM
HEY FOLKS........ THIS EMPORIUM AND THRIFT STORE IS FANTASTIC AND SUCH AN ARRAY OF ITEMS AND CLOTHING!!!!!! GIVE US A SHOT AND COME ON DOWN TO CHECK US OUT YOU'LL HAVE A GOOD TIME!!!!
Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida has a rathar very nice Thrift Emporium with an excellent selection of donated items !! The prices range from 50 cents up - depending on the kind of items you are shopping for - We have an absolutely WONDERFUL staff of Volunteers eager to help you find items... it is open from 9am to 4pm Monday thru Friday - and you can bring donations Monday thru Friday from 9:30 am to 3:30pm.
Any Questions call 541-889-1978
BI-MONTHLY ARTICLES AND A FEW STORIES OF INTEREST
Veteran Articles published Bi-monthly
The Chairman of Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida, Ronald Verini, writes two articles every month for publication in a Regional Newspaper, this article ."Outsourcing Our Foxholes?"
will be published MAY 27, 2026 Here is a part of Mr. Verini's article, and you can read the full article by clicking the red bar below.
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Outsourcing Our Foxholes?
May 27th, 2026 Veterans Column by Ronald Verini
I was looking at the budget of our government and amazed that the amount of work that is done by outside contractors within the military. I wonder if we are getting so soft that we are going to have contractors dig our foxholes? Trading grit for private equity.
There was once a time when the most dangerous thing an American soldier faced in the rear was a dull paring knife and a mountain of Idaho’s finest Russets. Kitchen Police, or the dreaded "KP duty," was the great equalizer of the ranks. Whether you were a high-school dropout or a college-bound recruit, if your boots weren't shined or your salute was lazy, you found yourself at 0400 hours elbow-deep in lukewarm dishwater, restoring "order" to the mess hall. It was a tedious, back-breaking, and humiliating rite of passage that taught every service member two things: how to be humble and exactly how much grease it takes to feed a battalion. Today, that mountain of potatoes is gone, not because the soldiers got better at saluting, but because we’ve outsourced the paring knife to the highest bidder.
In the modern military, the "Kitchen Police" have been replaced by "Professional Support Services." As of 2025, the Department of Defense is operating with a budget of roughly $919 billion, a figure so astronomical it becomes difficult to visualize until you see where our tax-money flows. While we spent approximately $182 billion on "Military Personnel”, the actual paychecks and healthcare for the 1.3 million active-duty men and women standing the watch, we committed over $508 billion to private contracts. We have effectively created a "Shadow Force" where the ratio of contractors to soldiers in some operational theaters has approached one-to-one. The foxhole is still there, but the person digging it, the person feeding the soldier in it, and the person maintaining the drone overhead might very well be a civilian earning a corporate salary.
The humor of the situation is as dark as a burnt pot of mess-hall coffee. In the old days, if a soldier messed up the logistics of a supply run, they faced a reprimand or an Article 15. Today, if a private firm experiences "contractual delays" or "cost overruns," the taxpayer simply writes a larger check. A recent GAO report highlighted that the cost of a single facilities sustainment contract more than doubled in 2024 due to administrative delays, ballooning from an estimated $579,000 to over $1.4 million. One can only imagine what an old-school First Sergeant would say to a contractor who explained that "foreign exchange rates" and "shifting timelines" meant the breakfast chow would now cost three times as much and arrive two days late.
Legally and fiscally, we are entering uncharted territory. The "Total Force" concept argues that contractors allow soldiers to focus on "lethal" tasks, but the financial data suggests we are paying a premium for the privilege of not having our troops do their own dishes. In FY2025, while the base pay for an E-3 (Private First Class) hovered around $30,000 to $35,000, the fully burdened cost of a private security contractor or a specialized tech consultant can easily reach six figures. We have traded the grit of self-sufficiency for the convenience of the spreadsheet, and the result is a military-industrial complex that is more "industrial" than "military."
Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication
A Rule by the Veterans Affairs Department on 2/17/2026
Department of Veterans Affairs
- 38 CFR Part 4
- RIN 2900-AS49
AGENCY:
Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION:
Interim final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends 38 CFR 4.10 within the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD). This amendment clarifies VA's longstanding interpretation of § 4.10 and, in doing so, amends the text to correct judicial interpretations that VA has concluded misconstrue the role of medication and treatment in evaluating functional impairment. Specifically, this amendment clarifies that veterans should be compensated for the actual level of functional impairment they experience and, therefore, that the ameliorative effects of medication should not be estimated or discounted when evaluating the severity of a veteran's disability at the time of the disability examination. This regulation is needed immediately to minimize the negative impact of an erroneous line of cases culminating in the recent decision of Ingram v. Collins, 38 Vet. App. 130 (2025), which could be applied broadly to over 500 separate diagnostic codes, requiring re-adjudications of over 350,000 currently pending claims. This in turn would overburden VA's claims adjudicatory capacity. In addition, Ingram requires VA to retrain all of its medical examiners and adjudicators to make assessments and decisions based not on the evidence before them but instead based on what they hypothesize the evidence would show if a veteran's disability were left untreated. For these and other reasons explained below, this regulation is critical to the integrity of the VA disability claims system.
DATES:
This interim final rule is effective February 17, 2026.
VA PTSD AWARENESS MONTH CALENDAR
Department of Veterans Affairs PTSD Awareness Month Calendar
Spread the Word. Raise Awareness.
June 1: Take the pledge to raise PTSD Awareness.
June 2: Use the VA’s PTSD image as your Social Media profile pic.
June 3: Share resources like the Veterans Crisis Line.
June 4: Download PTSD Coach or PTSD Family Coach apps.
June 5: Text a Veteran.
June 6: Like the VA’s PTSD Facebook page.
June 7: Get key information on trauma, PTSD and treatment.
June 8: Find or host a PTSD Awareness Event.
June 9: Share the VA’s video about PTSD symptoms on Facebook.
June 10: Learn about and compare PTSD treatment options.
June 11: Take an online course or program.
June 12: Share stories of Veterans who have been there.
June 13: Subscribe to the VA’s PTSD Monthly Update.
June 14: Watch “What is PTSD?” PTSD explained in 4 minutes.
June 15: Share the VA’s PTSD social media posts.
June 16: Retweet one the VA’s #PTSDAwareness tweets.
June 17: Find a local PTSD therapist.
June 18: Practice mindfulness.
June 19: Ask a Veteran how they are doing.
June 20: Follow the VA PTSD profile on Twitter.
June 21: Read “Understanding PTSD and PTSD Treatment.”
June 22: Order the VA’s “What is PTSD?” card to share.
June 23: Share the VA’s PTSD photo on Instagram.
June 24: Hear what PTSD is like for family members.
June 25: Learn how to talk to your Veteran about mental health care.
June 26: Share the VA’s PTSD webpage with a Veteran.
June 27: Subscribe to the VA’s PTSD YouTube Channel.
June 28: Hear what PTSD is like for Veterans.
June 29: Mail or give out an AboutFace postcard.
June 30: Explore the VA’s PTSD website to learn even more about PTSD
JUNE IS POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER MONTH TO UNDERSTAND & HELP THOSE WITH PTSD
Help Raise PTSD Awareness
There are currently about 12 million people in the United States with PTSD.
Even though PTSD treatments work, most people who have PTSD don't get the help they need. June is PTSD Awareness Month. Help us spread the word that PTSD treatment works. Everyone with PTSD—whether they are Veterans or civilian survivors of sexual assault, serious accidents, natural disasters, or other traumatic events—needs to know that effective treatments can reduce symptoms and lead to a better quality of life.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can develop after an individual experiences or witnesses a terrifying, life-threatening, or deeply distressing event. While it's historically been associated with combat veterans, and their experiences are undeniably significant, PTSD can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background.
The types of traumatic events that can lead to PTSD are varied and intensely personal. They can include, but are not limited to:
- Combat exposure and military experiences
- Physical or sexual assault
- Childhood abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual)
- Serious accidents (e.g., car crashes, fires)
- Natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, floods)
- Terrorist attacks
- Torture, kidnapping, or hostage situations
- The unexpected death of a loved one
- Life-threatening medical diagnoses or experiences
It's important to remember that experiencing trauma doesn't always lead to PTSD. Many people will experience short-term distress, which is a normal reaction. However, for some, the symptoms persist, intensify, and significantly interfere with daily life, leading to a PTSD diagnosis.
Shielding U.S. Forces from Spies that Use Location Tracking
MILITARY FAMILY FOOD INSECURITY ISN’T NEW, BUT THE SHUTDOWN MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE
Americans serving abroad often carry devices that can share precise location data across .multiple commercial apps, services and data-broker systems, frequently in ways users do not fully understand. They may not know it. Our adversaries do.
This is not hypothetical.
In 2018, Strava, a popular GPS-based fitness app, drew a map of one of America’s most sensitive military installations. Soldiers had simply gone for a run. When the app published an aggregated “heat map” of user activity, the GPS trails of service members illuminated base layouts and operational routines for anyone with an internet connection, not through espionage, but through data.
That vulnerability has multiplied since then. In March 2026, reporting indicated that a French naval officer’s public fitness-tracking activity exposed the location of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
During recent tensions involving Iran, viral warnings circulated online claiming that location-enabled mobile applications could expose U.S. personnel movements, underscoring how credible and persistent this concern has become, even though military officials later said that specific message was false.
U.S. policymakers increasingly recognize that foreign adversaries, including China, can exploit commercially available sensitive data about Americans, including military personnel. These incidents reflect a simple but consequential truth: location data, when aggregated, leaked, or otherwise compromised, can reveal patterns of life, operational routines and sensitive infrastructure
MILITARY FAMILY FOOD INSECURITY ISN’T NEW, BUT THE SHUTDOWN MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE
MILITARY FAMILY FOOD INSECURITY ISN’T NEW, BUT THE SHUTDOWN MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE
By: Olivia Brinsfield, Content Manager
.When military pay is delayed or disrupted, families across the country feel the effects immediately. For some, it means deciding which bills to pay first or how to stretch what is left in the pantry.
The government shutdown did not create food insecurity among military families; it exacerbated what was already there. Each missed or partial paycheck shows what many have long understood: too many families are living on the edge, where even a short disruption in pay can threaten their stability.
The Crisis Beneath the Headlines
We’ve been hearing from military families everywhere who are worried about how to make ends meet. Some are rationing what’s left in their refrigerators; others are postponing bills, and many are turning to community food pantries.
Their experiences reflect a broader truth. Studies estimate that nearly one in four military families experience food insecurity, a statistic often overlooked in discussions about readiness and national defense.
Whether caused by a government shutdown, the high cost of living near military installations, or persistent challenges with spousal employment, the result is the same: families who serve the nation are struggling to meet basic needs.
A Hidden Struggle Made Visible
For Army spouse Amy C., the frustration runs deeper than a missed paycheck.
“This situation exposes how financially vulnerable many military families are. Too many are sunk if they miss one or two paychecks. It is disturbing that missing two weeks of pay can break so many people. This should be inconvenient, not life-changing.”
Army orders rifle-mounted smart scopes
to down small drones
BY Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose
The Army is buying rifle-mounted smart scopes that soldiers can use to shoot down small drones, similar to the advanced fire control systems being used by Marines.
Smart Shooter recently announced that it had received a $10.7 million contract from the Army for its SMASH 2000LE fire control systems and related support services, a company news release says. The smart scopes are scheduled to be delivered between July and September.
Neither the company nor the Army specified how many systems the service is buying under the contract. In March, a Pentagon task force ordered just over 200 of the scopes in a $6.1 million order.
The SMASH 2000LE is mounted on the top of a rifle like a traditional optical scope but its fire control system allows shooters to detect, track, and hit both ground and aerial targets, such as small drones, the news release says.
The system can be added to any type of assault rifle, said Scott Thompson, vice president and general manager of U.S. operations for Smart Shooter.
“Once the user identifies the target (independently or using the detection system guidance) and locks on it, SMASH tracks its movements and synchronizes the shot,” Thompson said in a statement to Task & Purpose. “This is done using computer vision, AI, and advanced algorithms.”
The system is resistant to jamming and can be used to destroy tethered drones — such as those controlled by fiber optic cables instead of radio waves — during both day and night, Thompson said.
WHY VA MENTAL HEALTH CLAIMS ARE STILL SO DIFFICULT IN 2026
disabledamericanveterans.org
By-Benjamin Krause
Attorney. Journalist. Activist.
The Invisible Nature of Mental Health Conditions
Unlike a visible physical injury, many mental health conditions don’t leave behind obvious evidence. There may be no scar. No X-ray. No single moment that clearly documents the beginning of the condition.
Instead, veterans are often left trying to explain:
- chronic anxiety
- panic attacks
- emotional numbness
- sleep disruption
- hypervigilance
- trauma responses
- depression
- or survivor’s guilt
… Inside a system built around documentation and evidence.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs outlines PTSD and mental health eligibility requirements through its official mental health and disability resources on VA PTSD eligibility page and VA mental health services. But understanding the requirements and successfully navigating them are two different things.
Why These Claims Can Be So Challenging
Mental health claims often involve a combination of:
- medical documentation
- personal statements
- service records
- behavioral evidence
- and psychological evaluations
In many cases, veterans must also establish a clear connection between their condition and military service. That can become complicated when:
- symptoms appeared years later
- treatment was delayed
- records are incomplete
- or the veteran never sought help during service
And that last point matters more than many people realize
The Legacy of WWII Tattoos:
Stories of Ink, Sacrifice, and Memory
By - Bridget Gibbons
Bridget Gibbons is an institute intern at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.
Each tattoo inked on the skin of those who lived through World War II tells a unique story, reflecting both personal experiences and collective history.
March 25, 2025
Life in the service during World War II was trying and difficult in the best of times. We know this from heartfelt letters sent home by young men to their wives and mothers, from the countless pieces of intense literature and art that emerged during and after the war, and from the depictions in famous movies and TV shows that continue to grace our screens.
But what about the men themselves? What stories of war can we glean from their faces and skin? At first glance, you may only see the tired face of a young man aged by war, but a closer look reveals a very different story. In fact, just a look at the arms, legs, or chests of these troops would remind us of their patriotism, their pride, and, in many cases, the naivety of youth. After all, how might an 18-year-old sailor explain the half-nude woman tattooed on his arm when he returned home to his mother after the war.
Today, it is typical—even expected—that servicemembers have tattoos. But this underappreciated art form was still rare in the 1940s. During World War I, troops tattooed their service numbers, and later social security numbers, on their skin as a means of identifying them in the event of injury or death in battle. However, during World War II, tattoo culture began to change as ink became a source of expression rather than survival—especially amid fears that the intimate details of identification tattoos could fall into enemy hands.
AMERICA’S GREATEST TATTOO ARTISTS
Honolulu became an epicenter for the growing tattoo culture in the United States during the war. In fact, the tattoo industry dominated the city. An American reporter who traveled to Honolulu in 1944 estimated that the city’s eight tattoo parlors brought in around $60,000 each year. At one establishment known as Miller’s Tattoo Emporium, the 15-year-old operator, Eugene Miller, tattooed around 300 people a day; prices ranged from 25 cents to $30 for larger pieces. The Hawaii native was the self-proclaimed “world’s youngest and greatest tattoo artist”1 and represented one way that Hawaiians engaged with the servicemembers who had become new inhabitants of their islands. Around 65 percent of Miller’s clientele were US Navy men stationed in Hawaii before being sent overseas, and tattoos offered wearable evidence that the individual was “salty,” or a sea-faring man. Many sailors preferred the simple “USN” with an anchor through it to demonstrate their devotion to their branch and country. An additional 25 percent of Miller’s clients were enlisted US Army men who opted for more traditional phrases like “Remember Pearl Harbor” or simply “Hawaii 1944,” a reminder of their time there during the most consequential conflict in history.
Senators introduce bill to abolish military draft agency
By Tanya Noury - Military Times
A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday that would dismantle the government agency responsible for maintaining the military draft database of young, eligible men.
The bill — advanced by Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. — would phase out the Selective Service System,citing its annual operating cost of more than $31 million per year. The senators argued that the agency has been largely defunct since 1973, the last time the United States conducted conscription.
“The Selective Service is an outdated program that costs millions of taxpayer dollars to prepare for a military draft that Americans don’t want or need,” Wyden said in a statement. “Our volunteer military forces are the strongest in the world, and there is no need to replicate the same draft that sent two million unwilling young men to war 50 years ago.”
Paul, in a separate statement, added: “I’ve long stated that if a war is worth fighting, Congress will vote to declare it and people will volunteer. This outdated government program no longer serves a purpose and should be eliminated permanently.”
In its 2024 annual report, the SSS acknowledged a recent decline in registration rates, but noted that an automated registration provision could help bolster future enrollment levels.
Congress later incorporated the rule change into the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The shift from a system of self-registration to automation is set to take effect in December, with noncompliance constituting a felony offense.
Veterans Find Strength in Creativity
Healing Through Art
By Nate Dion
Art has a way of breaking down walls, revealing the raw, unfiltered stories of the people who create it.
For many veterans, art serves as a vital tool for processing experiences and building resilience. Through creative expression, veterans often find ways to navigate complex emotions, reduce anxiety, and strengthen their sense of self. The therapeutic nature of art—whether through painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, or custom fly rod crafting—provides a nonverbal pathway for healing and self- discovery that can be particularly powerful for those processing service-related experiences.
Recently at the Museum of Art Fort Collins, the Health 4 Warriors exhibition transformed the Community Curated gallery into a vibrant space celebrating resilience, creativity, and healing through art. Featuring works by veteran artists, the exhibit highlighted how artistic expression serves as a powerful tool for personal transformation and recovery. A collaboration between the Healing Warriors Program and Health4Heroes, the exhibit underscored the vital role these organizations play in supporting veterans’ mental health and well-being.
Each piece—created to honor the stories of these veteran artists—provides a glimpse into their lives, offers insight into the struggles they’ve overcome, and makes crystal clear the passion that fuels their creativity. Among the featured artists, nine of the twelve exhibiting veterans shared their stories, exemplifying how an artistic path—no matter the medium—can lead to healing and self-discovery.
News
- Embracing Resilience and Renewal: A Veteran’s Journey into the New Year
- Adam Morgan, Public Affairs KOSI, KKFN, KYGO, KEPN 2-Part Interview with Healing Warriors Executive Director, Corinna Kromer
- Pirate Radio Interview with Healing Warriors Executive Director, Corinna Kromer
- A Place to Heal: Finding Peace and Relief Through the Healing Warriors Program
- Local Air Force Veteran to Receive Donated HVAC Syatem Through Multi-organization Community Partnership
CURRENT IDEAS ABOUT THE USE OF KETAMINE ON PTSD FLASHBACKS
Search Assist
Recent studies suggest that ketamine may be effective in treating PTSD, particularly when combined with psychotherapy. Research indicates that ketamine can enhance the extinction of traumatic memories and improve symptoms more rapidly than traditional therapies.
bbrfoundation.org
Yale Medicine
Overview of Ketamine in PTSD Treatment
Ketamine is being explored as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to its rapid effects on mood and anxiety. It is an NMDA receptor antagonist that can induce changes in brain connectivity, potentially enhancing therapeutic outcomes when combined with psychotherapy.
Mechanism of Action
How Ketamine Works
- Memory Reconsolidation: Ketamine may help modify traumatic memories during their recall, making them less distressing.
- Neuroplasticity: It is believed to temporarily increase the brain's ability to rewire itself, which can aid in the therapeutic process.
Treatment Approaches
Combined Therapies
- Ketamine Infusions: Administered in low doses, ketamine can be combined with exposure therapy to enhance treatment effectiveness.
- Intensive Therapy Programs: Some studies involve a 7-day treatment combining ketamine infusions with trauma-focused psychotherapy, aiming for significant symptom relief.
Study Findings
- Pilot Studies: Research indicates that a single ketamine infusion may enhance the extinction of traumatic memories, improving outcomes for PTSD patients.
- Long-term Effects: While initial results are promising, further studies are needed to understand the long-term benefits and safety of ketamine in PTSD treatment.
Eligibility and Considerations
Who Can Participate
- Age Range: Typically, participants are between 21 and 70 years old.
- Exclusion Criteria: Individuals with certain psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia or severe personality disorders, are generally excluded from studies.
Ketamine represents a novel approach to treating PTSD, with ongoing research aimed at confirming its efficacy and safety in clinical settings.
THERE ARE MANY ARTICLES ABOUT THIS TYPE OF TREATMENT FOR PTSD. SUGGEST YOU GOOGLE "KETAMINE THERAPY FOR PTSD" TO READ ALL THE RESEARCH AND TESTING NOW HAPPENING.
Vietnam War Veteran Triumphs Over PTSD
Through Faith, Salsa
Military.com | By Kevin Damask
Stephen Campos came home from war in Vietnam like many veterans from that era – changed
For decades, he didn’t talk openly about his mental health struggles until realizing he could help other veterans by sharing his thoughts. It led to Campos to becoming an advocate for veterans and a successful business owner, selling his trademark Senor Campos Salsa across the Phoenix, Arizona area.
Campos, an Army veteran, served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969, a particularly intense year of fighting in Southeast Asia. As a member of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, the violence he witnessed, all the horrors of war, he kept locked deep inside until only a year ago.
“I didn’t talk about my Vietnam experience until 2025,” Campos told FOX 10 in Phoenix. “And when I met my Vietnam buddies for the first time... at the Vietnam War Memorial.”
Seeing the names of his fallen comrades triggered memories and raw emotions for Campos he hadn’t experienced in many years. But it also reminded him of the fierce camaraderie he developed with his fellow soldiers, forged in the muggy, wet jungles of Vietnam.
“We were involved in a horrific firefight,” Campos said. “And that firefight, we bonded together at that time because we were scared and we made a vow that we would come back to the end and reunite after the war if we made it out alive and well. We made it.”
Not a Warm Reception
Coming home from the war, Campos didn’t receive the celebrations and adulation his predecessors did following World War II. Many Vietnam War veterans were shunned, called names like “baby killers” and worse.
To add to the disillusionment, the general public couldn’t even comprehend what Campos was dealing with, a mental health battle that wouldn’t even be properly diagnosed until 1980 – post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I was having a lot of problems,” Campos said. “I got picked up for drunk driving and I had living problems. I hadn’t really addressed the things that I had been through in Vietnam. Everything came to a head in 1982, and I had a spiritual awakening.”
Which changed everything.
Military & VA Forms
Where & How to get Military DoD Forms and VA Forms
Military.com by Jim Absher
Accessing military and veteran benefits requires filling out the correct military forms. The following index of official military forms from the DoD, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Department of Veterans Affairs will help you access your earned benefits.
One of the most important documents you need is the DoD form known as the DD-214. Nearly every Department of Veterans Affairs benefit claim and most state veterans benefit applications require vets to submit this military form.
DD-214 Replacement and Military Service Records
Loss of this all-important form is not the end of the world. Most veterans and their next-of-kin can get free copies of their DD Form 214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty - through the eVetRecs website or by mailing or faxing a completed Standard Form SF-180 to the National Archives.
Military DoD Forms and VA Forms
Department of Defense Military Forms
- DoD Military Forms Program Registry of available Department of Defense military forms also includes monthly updates for new and revised forms. You can browse by number of alphabetic title.
- U.S. Army Publishing Directorate The Department of the Army (DA) offers a form search engine, a publications database and downloads in six formats.
- Air Force Publications Electronic Forms The Air Force catalogue is organized by divisions and major commands.
- Naval Forms Online Navy personnel forms online.
- Marine Corps Publication Electronic Library Includes a search of the Marine Corps database for military forms by keyword, SSIC category, service branch, and type.
- National Guard Bureau Publications & Forms Library Lists all forms for the National Guard Bureau (NGB), including the Air National Guard (ANG) and Army National Guard (ARNG). Download in PDF format, requires Adobe Acrobat reader.
Department of Homeland Security Military Forms
Coast Guard Electronic Forms Library Contains all Coast Guard forms. Requires download in PDF format, requires Adobe Acrobat reader
Department of Veteran Affairs - VA Forms
VA Forms Library searchable database features all available Department of Veteran Affairs forms. Download materials in PDF. Important forms include VA disability claims forms, Post-9/11 GI Bill Eligibility forms and VA healthcare forms.
You can also find information on the VA Home Loan Certification Application and request your certificate of eligibility. The Veterans Administration uses the VA Form 26-1880 to determine your eligibility for participation in the VA Home Loan Program. Military.com can help you get the process started by providing you with the proper form and helping you complete the paperwork.
Once you have submitted your VA Form 26-1880, Military.com can help you take the next step -- finding a VA approved lender.
Our VA loan finder can match you with up to five rate quotes from different lenders.
Know All Your Legal Rights and Benefits
SOME OF THESE STORIES MIGHT CATCH YOUR ATTENTION...
Why troops secretly relate to SpongeBob’s ‘I’m a Goofy Goober’ spiral
Observation Post by Clay Beyersdorfer
It happens about 80 minutes into “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.” SpongeBob, denied a promotion and humiliated in front of his co-workers, wanders into the Goofy Goober Ice Cream Party Boat. He proceeds to spiral.After a binge of sundaes and shame, he stumbles on stage, belting out a shredded guitar solo rendition of “I’m a Goofy Goober (Rock!)” in front of a confused crowd. There’s glitter. There’s foam. There’s full-throttle emotional release.
And if you’ve spent any amount of time in uniform, you’ve likely seen that clip — or at least a meme of it — shared with eerie sincerity. Maybe you laughed. Perhaps you rolled your eyes. But maybe, just maybe, it hit a little too close to home.
For all its absurdity, SpongeBob’s “Goofy Goober” breakdown has become an unlikely touchstone in military circles, particularly among those who know what it feels like to carry more than they’re allowed to say.
It’s the screaming catharsis that never happens in a formation. The ridiculous meltdown captures the quiet, internal ones that don’t make it into war movies. Every service member who’s ever needed to cry and didn’t, who’s ever felt out of place in their own civilian life and who’s ever tried to joke their way through pain that had no good language. SpongeBob just says it louder.
Military culture breeds stoicism. You learn quickly not to complain, hesitate or show weakness. And when the mission ends and the uniform comes off, all that armor doesn’t just evaporate. It calcifies. You carry it home, to your relationships, jobs and silence.
SpongeBob, in contrast, is absurdly open. He is the emotional inverse of everything military training drills into you. He’s hopeful. He’s naive. He wears his feelings on his sleeves — and when those sleeves get dirty, he cries about it in a room full of strangers.
And that’s the point. Strangely, that scene feels honest. Honest about what it feels like when you’ve been holding it together for too long. Honest about what happens when the ridiculousness finally outweighs the rules. SpongeBob’s meltdown is a stand-in for the veteran who doesn’t drink to party, but to forget. It’s the laugh-before-you-snap moment familiar to anyone who’s ever been “fine” until they weren’t.
The song “I’m a Goofy Goober” isn’t just silly. It’s defiant. When SpongeBob shouts, “I’m a kid, you say? When you say I’m a kid, I say: Say it again!” he’s rejecting the labels people assign to him. He’s rejecting the structure. He’s saying, “I’m still me, even if I don’t fit what you think I should be.”
That hits hard when you’ve gone from commanding missions to being told to use the kiosk at the DMV. When you’ve gone from decision-making in high-pressure scenarios to being passed over for jobs because “you don’t have corporate experience.” When you’ve buried friends, you get asked to “tone it down” in staff meetings.
It’s easy to laugh at SpongeBob’s dramatics. But a lot of veterans would tell you it’s the closest thing to what their emotional breakdown might look like — if they ever let themselves have one.
When the military tried to give soldiers personal flying platforms
NICHOLAS SLAYTON Task & Purpose
UPDATED JAN 1, 2026 12:53 PM ESTIn the 1950s the Navy and Army worked on small VTOL machines to make troops go airborne. They worked, just not well enough.
For decades the United States military has dreamed of developing jetpacks to ferry troops around. Personalized flying machines could turn an infantryman into an airborne fighter. But alongside rocket-propelled soldiers, the U.S. military also once gave personal vertical take-off and landing machines a shot.
They are better described, and are classified as flying platforms. Soldiers would stand on a small platform, which itself was over a large fan that would generate lift and get troops airborne. Steering itself would actually be simple: soldiers would lean, tilting the platform and directing it where they wanted to go, almost like a surfboard.
In the mid-1950s the Office of Naval Research, in a joint project with the Army, began to see if flying platforms would be both feasible and practical. And it turns out, the personal VTOL machines worked. Troops did fly on them
According to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the idea for flying platforms started in earnest in the late 1940s. In 1953 the Army began its flying platform projects, contracting with Hiller Aircraft and de Lackner Helicopters. The Office of Naval Research was already working with Hiller, so a joint-service venture started. De Lackner created its DH-4 Aerocycle (designated the HZ-1), which had a smaller platform right above spinning rotors. It worked but was shelved due to the risk.
More success came with the Hiller projects. The Office of Naval Research got Hiller’s first design, the 1031-A-1 flying platform. It stood 7-feet tall, with an 8-foot-in-diameter platform, with the fan almost as wide. With two engines, it could hit a top speed of 16 miles per hour. The flying platforms were meant to be stable enough and easy enough to control that soldiers on them could still aim and fire small arms while airborne. Photos from some of the tests of the 1031-A-1 show service members aiming and firing rifles while in the sky
The Army, after giving up on the Aerocycle, turned to Hiller, getting a larger version of the 1031-A-1 with more thrust. The Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee began testing in 1957, with three engines. However the increased size made the idea of kinesthetic control impractical. Soldiers could not easily steer or maneuver on the Pawnee. Attempts to adjust the power and size didn’t resolve the issue.
That time the US military burned down one of its own bases with a ‘bat bomb’
WILD BATS WITH NAPALM,
WHAT COULD GO WRONG????
by Joshua Skovlund, Task & Purpose
Bats use echolocation to find food and places to rest. Add in an incendiary device glued to their chest, and you now have a firestorm that can wreak havoc on any enemy. Or so Pennsylvania dental surgeon Dr. Lytle S. Adams thought during World War II.
The problem is that you don’t know where they will go once released. Add to it that it’s generally a bad idea to mix explosives, adhesives, and wildlife.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Adams made a fateful trip to the Carlsbad Caverns National Parkduring a vacation to New Mexico. He was awed by the hundreds of thousands of bats that nested in the caves.
The bats were still on his mind later in day as he drove away when news came across the car’s radio of the attack on Pearl Harbor. According to the National Institute of Health, he was “outraged over this travesty, [Adams] began to mentally construct a plan for U.S. retaliation.
The idea Adams came up with — a ‘bat bomb,’ with 1,000 bats carrying napalm into a city full of wooden buildings — led to one of the U.S.’s most bizarre weapons development programs of all time, one that Adams believed could bring about a quick end of the war but did little more than burn down a flight training base in the U.S.
Adams knew that buildings in Japanese cities were predominantly built of wood. His idea was to develop an empty bomb case that, rather than hold explosives, would hold 1,040 bats toting napalm-like incendiary gel with timed fuses. Dropped over Tokyo, the bats would create a hellish cyclone with incendiary devices throughout Tokyo, hopefully bringing about an end to World War II
Adams put his idea in a letter to the White House, where he had professional contacts who got the letter to President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was interested, if cautious, telling staffers, “This man is not a nut. It sounds like a perfectly wild idea but is worth looking into,” according to author Jack Couffer’s book, “Bat Bomb: World War II’s Other Secret Weapon.”
Couffer was a young filmmaker who had grown up studying bats and other birds as a teenager. He would go on to a career making dozens of nature documentaries, but he was drafted into the Army early in World War II and assigned to the bat bomb project and witnessed much of its three-year development.
The development and testing, dubbed Project X-Ray, was based in New Mexico. The program developed a metal bomb casing with three horizontal layers, similar to upside-down ice cube trays, where bats would nest. To keep them docile — or as docile as a bat strapped with a bomb can be — they would be placed in an artificial cold-induced hibernation. The “bat bomb” was designed to be released from high altitudes just before dawn, when bats naturally seek out a place to sleep during the daylight hours.
Tips to achieve the ultimate dirty Navy-style coffee mug
Sarah Sicard MilitaryTimes
The Navy may have the most complicated rank structure when it comes to its ratings system, but there is another, much more uncouth method for establishing hierarchy among sailors: Filthy coffee mugs.
It is a commonly-held truth in the seafaring service that one can tell a higher-up from a newbie based on the amount of sludge that lives in the bottom of one’s coffee cup.
So, in the interest of salt, here are some professional tips, from Navy veterans, to get an optimally seasoned mug.
1. Always drink black coffee. Milk or creamer curdles and introduces bacteria into the mix. Sour lactose creates a hostile environment — not ideal for going years without washing your mug.
2. Drink the whole cup of coffee. Don’t leave even a drop behind. You want to season the mug with a faint film, not swigging day-old coffee every morning.
3. For extra flavoring, take the leftover coffee grounds from the filter and let them rest in the cup for a few days before dumping it out. Treat your mug like a cast iron skillet.
4. If you need to, rinse it lightly with just a little water. This is only to be done in cases where the buildup is starting to become untenable.
5. Don’t wash the mug with the soap. Ever. You might be tempted every now and again to give it a good soak. Don’t. You will lose all the flavoring, respect from your near-peers and any chance at an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy.
VA's updated list of Agent Orange sites outside of Vietnam
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released in January an updated Department of Defense (DOD) list of locations outside of Vietnam where tactical herbicides were used, tested or stored by the United States military.
“This update was necessary to improve accuracy and communication of information,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “VA depends on DOD to provide information regarding in-service environmental exposure for disability claims based on exposure to herbicides outside of Vietnam."
DOD conducted a thorough review of research, reports and government publications in response to a November 2018 Government Accountability Office report.
“DOD will continue to be responsive to the needs of our interagency partners in all matters related to taking care of both current and former service members,” said Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper. “The updated list includes Agents Orange, Pink, Green, Purple, Blue and White and other chemicals and will be updated as verifiable information becomes available.”
Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service may be eligible for a variety of VA benefits, including an Agent Orange Registry health exam, health care and disability compensation for diseases associated with exposure. Their dependents and survivors also may be eligible for benefits.
How a WW2 banana shortage changed the course of Twinkie history
by Sarah Sicard, Observation Post
Is there anything sweeter — literally or figuratively — than biting into the plastic-wrapped chemical compound of luxuriously spongey cake with vanilla cream that is a Twinkie?
Perhaps not. But the original Hostess delicacy was once something else entirely. The preservative-filled dessert that many once believed could withstand nuclear war got its start as a banana cream shortcake, until World War II changed everything.
In 1930, a baker named James Dewar began experimenting while serving as manager of Continental Baking Company’s Chicago area plant in River Forest, according to the Chicago Tribune. He wanted to prove that shortbread could serve a purpose outside strawberry shortcake.
“The economy was getting tight, and the company needed to come out with another low-priced item,” he told the paper. “We were already selling these little finger cakes during the strawberry season for shortcake, but the pans we baked them in sat idle except for that six-week season.”
While in St. Louis on a work trip, Dewar saw a billboard for “Twinkle Toe Shoes,” and thus found the name for his compact confections.
Some Stories that Inspire, and have 'Positive Energy'
‘Comedy saved my life’ — Veterans are turning to stand up comedy
U.S. military’s longest-serving woman 4-star general retires from Air Force
U.S. military’s longest-serving woman 4-star general retires from Air Force
Dakoda Potter stepped onto the stage in the nearly empty Blackthorn Bar in downtown Joplin, Missouri. For the past three years, the Army infantry veteran attended open mics like this one in Joplin and throughout the Midwest. This comedic rite of passage is where Potter goes to try new material and hone established punchlines.
“It’s where you really find out if you have a good premise or not,” Potter said.
Like most Sunday open mics, the audience was small and made up of mostly comics. Potter seemed unfazed as he paced along the small stage with ease and an air of comfort.
“So you can imagine the amount of shit I got with the last name Potter,” he started. “J.K. Rowling ruined my childhood using only a pen and a napkin. I thought I heard it all growing up but I learned quickly the Army takes bullying to a whole new level. They’d say, ‘let’s go Hufflepuff,’ when I’d fall behind on runs.”
His set was well-timed and punctuated with laughter, though he’ll be the first to tell you, that hasn’t always been the case.
“I bombed a lot when I first started,” he said. “That’s kind of how you figure things out as a new comic. Everything is funny in your mind but on stage you learn what is and isn’t funny when you say it.”
Potter has grown accustomed to figuring things out through diversity. After transitioning out of the Army, he felt at odds in his hometown.
“I was unemployed, and it was driving me into a depression,” he recalled. He was forced to find something to do, something that would justify his leaving a steady paycheck, a feeling common amongst veterans.
U.S. military’s longest-serving woman 4-star general retires from Air Force
U.S. military’s longest-serving woman 4-star general retires from Air Force
U.S. military’s longest-serving woman 4-star general retires from Air Force
by Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose
The first woman to lead the U.S. military’s massive logistical enterprise and one of just a handful to ever reach the rank of four-star general in the U.S. military retired Friday. Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost passed command of U.S. Transportation Command to Gen. Randall Reed in a ceremony at Scott Air Force Base attended by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Promoted to General in August of 2020, Van Ovost was the senior officer in that rank among the four women four-star generals and admirals across the U.S. military.
As the head of TRANSCOM, Ovost was responsible for coordinating nearly all movement of U.S. troops, weapons and supplies around the globe. The logistics command dispatches hundreds of military and civilian-owned planes, ships, trains and trucks every day.
“Just a few days ago, we celebrated the 37th birthday of TRANSCOM — a command that was born out of necessity that was built to deploy U.S. forces. Over time, our mandate has expanded to project, maneuver and sustain the joint force at a time and place our nation’s choosing,” Van Ovost said at the change of command ceremony. “If we were a necessity, we are indispensable now.”
At the ceremony, Austin spoke of Van Ovost as a trailblazer for women in the service.
“You’ve always had a message for women in uniform. And that message is: ‘Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it,’” Austin said. ”Every time that you encountered an obstacle, you kept at it.“
CBS News reported in 2023 that only 10 women have ever reached the four-star rank across the military, including the Coast Guard. Of those, Van Ovost was the fifth woman in the Air Force to reach the rank. However, the military she retired from Friday holds far more opportunities for women than when she joined, an era when women not yet allowed to fly fighter jets, Van Ovost’s lifelong goal.
So she found a workaround.
“You wanted to fly Mach 2. But back then, women weren’t allowed to fly fighters. So once again, you made the path wider,” Austin said. “You became a test pilot. And you flew more than 30 aircraft, including F-15s and F-16s.”
Van Ovost retired with more than 4,200 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft.
100 Marines showed up for an Iwo Jima veteran’s 100th Birthday
U.S. military’s longest-serving woman 4-star general retires from Air Force
100 Marines showed up for an Iwo Jima veteran’s 100th Birthday
by Matt White - Task & Purpose
Eddie Vincek landed on Iwo Jima about an hour after the first wave of Marines hit the beach. A member of 1st Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, it was his first taste of combat, he told an interviewer with his Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
“Working on a dairy farm,” he told the VFW, “I was used to seeing animal blood, but not human blood covering over the ground.”
On Sept. 29, Vincek celebrated his 100th birthday at a Ruritan Club in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he was a farmer for most of his life after leaving the Marine Corps in 1946.
For the party, 100 active-duty Marines showed up to help him celebrate. The Marines came from Training Company, Marine Corps Security Force Regiment, in Yorktown, Virginia, about an hour from Chesapeake.
The Marines stood in formation to sing Happy Birthday for “Corporal Vincek.”
On Feb. 19, 1945, Vincek was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division for the Iwo Jima landing. In fierce fighting, the 28th Regiment was the only Marine unit to reach its objective for the day at the base of Mount Suribachi.
It was also Marines from the 28th Regiment — though not Vincek’s battalion — who first planted a flag on top of the mountain (and a second one the next day), leading to the iconic photograph and design of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial.
Two men from Vincek’s 1st Battalion were awarded the Medal of Honor at Iwo Jima. Of the battalion’s 22 officers, only two emerged from the battle uninjured.
“I was one of the few that walked off carrying my own gear,” Vincek told the VFW. “So many others had been killed or wounded and weren’t able to carry their own gear off the island.”
The origin of the military’s iconic mantra: ‘Embrace the suck’
The origin of the military’s iconic mantra: ‘Embrace the suck’
100 Marines showed up for an Iwo Jima veteran’s 100th Birthday
by Sarah Sicard, Observation Post
One of the best pieces of advice, for people in careers both in and out of service, is to learn to deal with things or take the bad in stride.
But the military, famed for its ability to turn a phrase or ruin anything with an absurd acronym, came up with its own colloquialism for making the best of any situation: “Embrace the suck.”
Though it’s impossible to trace back the phrase definitively to its first user, it became popularized in 2003 by Marines in Iraq.
Retired U.S. Army Reserve Col. Austin Bay authored a book in the mid-2000s called “Embrace the Suck,” in which he explains the meaning of the phrase.
“The Operation Iraqi Freedom phrase ‘embrace the suck’ is both an implied order and wise advice couched as a vulgar quip,” Bay wrote.
He likens the slang phrase back to legendary military strategist Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz and his views on “friction.”
“Clausewitz went to war when he was 12 years old,” Bay wrote. “Over the last few decades, critics have argued that his treatise ‘On War’ is a bit dated in terms of theory. However, everyone with military experience agrees that Clausewitz understood ‘the suck.’ He called it ‘friction.’”
For Clausewitz, it’s this “friction, or what is so termed here, which makes that which appears easy in war difficult in reality.”
Troops, in their resilience, in effect, mitigate the chasm of difference between training or planning and the often harsh realities they face on the ground. And they do it with aplomb, because they must.
Marines: 0, Samurai sword: 1
The origin of the military’s iconic mantra: ‘Embrace the suck’
Air Force Veteran Finally Graduates 50 Years Later
The U.S. military may be a professional war-fighting organization, but it is also filled with people, and people can be very stupid sometimes. That’s why last week, Task & Purpose put out a call for readers to share the dumbest moments they had in uniform. We were not disappointed.
From drunken samurai sword fights to bored forklift drivers, a clear theme emerged: boredom is one step away from a chewing-out by the nearest platoon sergeant.
The best example of this is a story that one Marine veteran named Mike Betts sent us about the time he and his buddies got drunk on salty dogs (a cocktail of gin or vodka and grapefruit juice) in Vietnam. One of the Marines pulled out “a cheap samurai sword he got in Japan,” Betts recalled. Our reader then took the sword and, as one does while inebriated, “commenced my best samurai impression, slashing at anything and everything in the hooch.”
You can see where this is going: at some point during the demonstration, our brave Samurai smacked something that loosened the blade and sent it flying from the handle, striking the sword owner in the chest “and inflicting a pretty nasty wound.”
Nobody wants to have to explain that kind of trouble to someone in charge, so our reader and his fellows snuck the wounded Marine past the officer and sergeant on duty that night and “hustled him off to the hospital” before anyone could notice. Luckily, he was “stitched up and pronounced fit for duty,” Betts said.
“Needless to say, I felt terrible about hurting him,” he added.
Air Force Veteran Finally Graduates 50 Years Later
The origin of the military’s iconic mantra: ‘Embrace the suck’
Air Force Veteran Finally Graduates 50 Years Later
Vietnam War kept Bob Kroener from walking across stage with USC classmates in 1971.
Having to wait an extra year to participate in his graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic paled in comparison to the 49 years that had already passed for Bob Kroener, 78, who finally attended his graduate-school commencement on May 17.
The now-retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and civil engineer missed his pomp and circumstance in 1971 due to his deployment during the Vietnam War. So, when he was thumbing through the University of Southern California's alumni magazine a few years ago and saw pictures of that year's graduation festivities he felt it was finally his time to walk across the stage.
"I was sitting there looking at it and I thought, You know, I never got to go through graduation,” he said. “So I picked up the phone, and I called over to the Marshall School of Business."
During the call, USC officials inquired if he had received his diploma and whether he had other information that would help them locate his decades-old records. The school also asked for his student ID number, to which he replied, “I'm too old for that, we only had a Social Security number."
Back to school
The road to Southern California started north of the border. Then a captain in the Air Force after receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Detroit, Kroener was stationed at a military base in Canada when he learned that he secured one of 26 government-funded spots offered to Air Force officers for graduate school. From a snow-covered mountaintop in Newfoundland he was informed of the schools he could apply to.
"I heard the University of Southern California and I said, ‘I'll take it. I'm going back to sit on the beach after being in 110 inches of snow for a year.’ It wasn't too hard of a decision to make,” said Kroener.
However, it wasn't just the weather that Kroener appreciated about going to school in Los Angeles. He was able to take advantage of the wide variety of corporations that would open doors to students like himself.
"I went to [oil company] Atlantic Richfield to do a paper, I went to Mattel toy company to do a paper, I went to Continental Airlines to basically write a master's thesis, myself and another captain,” he said. “All you had to do was say you're a student doing graduate work at USC. And I mean, they just opened the doors."
Kroener earned his MBA in 1971, but before the graduation ceremony took place he was deployed to Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. As part of his duties, he managed combat engineering teams by setting up their directives and getting them all the equipment needed to prepare for combat in Vietnam. He eventually retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1993.
Our Campus Headquarters, Ontario, Oregon
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We thank all the Supporters, Businesses and Friends for giving their time and resources in helping and caring for our Veterans, Military and First Responders and their Families.
We really appreciate your interest too, in 'Who we are and What we do'. If you have any questions or suggestions or would like to 'volunteer' or 'donate', well please contact us with an email or a phone call. Our hours are 9am to 4pm, M/F, so come on in enjoy the conversations and coffee and browse our Museum.
We are a "No Dues' nonprofit organization with the coffee pot always on and lots of conversation always available. Bring your questions regarding any veteran services you are concerned about, and we will do our best to steer you in the right direction.
Our phone is 541-889-1978, and we are located in Ontario, Oregon at 180 W. Idaho Ave.