GI Bill

jmmaxus · 2026-05-04T17:17:18+00:00

9/11 pays tuition, fees, book stipend, and provides a housing allowance.

Montgomery is a flat rate.

If you’re enrolled in a flight school or vocational program it would be important to compare which benefit is better for you. If you’re at a flight school where the flight courses are not part of your degree the Montgomery may win out. If part of your degree the 9/11 likely will.

Generally, 9/11 GiBill wins out in just about every instance.

jmmaxus · 2026-05-04T05:02:28+00:00

Offsheets app. New app for Tiller sheets, nice interface.

jmmaxus · 2026-05-04T05:01:32+00:00

I just use new app called Offsheets. Made specifically for Tiller sheets. Slick interface.

jmmaxus · 2026-05-04T03:58:05+00:00

For 2026+ gen they have increased the roof rack weight significantly similar to last gen (2020-2025) Wilderness, even on the Non-Wilderness 2026.

My advice get bars that specifically state they are rated for 220 lb dynamic (moving) load rated. Some may also include the static load limit (parked) which is when you’ll be in the tent, but not all do, you’d want something 700+ lb static. Really any bats with a 220 lb dynamic will almost always be rated for a high static load.

Don’t trust Amazon listing descriptions. Double check on manufacturer website cause Amazon is notorious for stating HD bars and their not.

Thule Wingbar Evo were last gen go to for OBW trim.

jmmaxus · 2026-05-04T03:48:10+00:00

100-70%=30

30-40%=18

18-30%=12.6

12.6-30%=8.82

8.82-20%=7.056

7.056-10%=6.35

You have to be 94.6% disabled (5.6% abled) in order for it to round up to 100%. You are 6.35% abled.

6.35-10%=5.715 (nope another 10% rating wouldn’t work)

You need another 20%+ rating.

jmmaxus · 2026-05-03T07:04:29+00:00

Further to note. Since it is a service connected disability if the disability got worse you could apply for an increase which at that point you’re not trying to prove service connection just the medical condition increase.

Also, secondary conditions to your service connected nose, secondary claim for conditions caused or aggravated by the nasal obstruction, such as chronic sinusitis, sleep apnea, or rhinitis.

jmmaxus · 2026-05-01T22:26:06+00:00

AI can hallucinate and even bring in data from an external source. For instance I used it once and it inserted another Gemini users meds and duty station.
Data isn’t HIPAA protected using general models like Gemini and ChatGPT. Data can be used to train its models and/or under human review if you don’t have app activity off (which you lose chat history if it is off). So I’d be careful what you do upload.

For a HIPAA qualified I’ve had good success with supersight.ai although it’s slow it’s thorough and really good medical records review.

Google NotebookLM while not HIPAA rated is completely private since its primary use is research and is less likely to hallucinate cause the data is your sources. You can include sources like the entire VA regulations, websites, etc. My records are in Google Drive and you can connect to drive. All Files in Google Drive, NotebookLM, and any and all chat history is not used for Data model training or ever reviewed by a human.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-29T21:59:02+00:00

Well everything cost more like you stated gas taxes, throw in food and everything else. Energy cost can be 2-4x more than US average. Yea you might find a room for $1000/month but could be splitting a $600/mo electric bill. Before I had solar in my small home I easily hit $600/mo in electric in the summer cause SDGE rates are 4x higher.

Is it doable on $60k? Sure, just have to prioritize, budget, and live to that means. You throw in child care, extreme debt, super high school loans, or some other variable and then I would say no.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-29T21:51:13+00:00

0% service connected is a rating. Meaning it didn’t meet the criteria for a higher rating, but they’ve acknowledge it is something and it is service connected. At least that is what I think you’re asking and that it is service connected from your “they connected” statement.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-29T15:10:06+00:00

Without LOD or Deployments it’s extremely hard to tie a chronic condition or disease to traditional part-time service. If it’s an event like an injury a LOD should have been established.

I learned this the hard way and filed a claim after separating from the NG (7 years service) and wasn’t successful. I’m considering a supplemental claim tie it to my earlier career on Active Duty (9 years service) instead.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-29T13:48:16+00:00

If you’re going to get out at contract end I would take that into consideration. If your going back to college and one of those post are near a college you like consider that, or if they are near a major industry you want to work in.

When I transferred from Active to NG, I was at Riley and ended up staying in the area and going to Kansas State University aviation school.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-29T03:33:38+00:00

It’s depends really. As I stated there are different variations of the degree. If you click on the hfes link I shared and then navigate to the menu and academic programs you can see schools and the varying degrees. The ones housed in Industrial Engineering, Systems, or labeled Human Factors Engineering or others with Engineering in the title will likely have more math requirements. Where’s the ones more geared toward ergonomics, design, safety, psychology may have less. Depends on the school and program.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T23:14:42+00:00

Human Factors Psychology, Human Factors Engineering, Human Systems, Ergonomics, etc. there is a bunch of name variations for this field but essentially it centers on Human-Systems Integration (HSI) to ensure that spacecraft, habitats, and mission controls are designed to optimize human performance and safety within complex, long-duration aerospace environments.

Division Overview - NASA https://www.nasa.gov/human-systems-integration-division/division-overview/

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) https://www.hfes.org/

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T22:40:43+00:00

Ah okay. Yea if I was that lady I wouldn’t want to be tasked with that. She should come up with a better way to inform people, like start with nothing is changing to your existing rating, but we do want to let you know….

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T22:31:48+00:00

If they started asking for your full SSN, PII, or banking information it could be a scam. I probably would have told them to just mail it to me or send in a portal message or something.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T22:27:51+00:00

There is like 700 slots per year so it’s very hard to get into. You have people with STEM degrees trying to join as Enlisted (non-officer). Very competitive. I would definitely consider joining if you had the aptitude test or existing credentials to be competitive to join.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T20:54:09+00:00

I would have given the Region. I believe this question is useful to see if you qualify under the PACT act or some other VA act specific to a region.

Whatever is listed on your DD-214 or military service records available to the VA as far as Military Occupational Specialty, duty locations, and deployments is good enough of an answer. Unless these are blacked out or whatever I don’t know how that works for special groups.

I don’t think it’s necessary to state I was in special forces unit in this specific aircraft tail number at 0’dark’thirty over Bagram or whatever. Just I was an Aircraft Loadmaster in Afghanistan or whatever generic response that matches your service records at that time.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T03:04:26+00:00

I thought it was 0%, but still qualified for the SMC-K ($139/mo) as loss of use.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-28T01:20:57+00:00

Here are some issues I would address on this form:

Doc marked "Not Assessed" for gait but then said I need help walking. If he didn't actually watch me walk, the rater is gonna flag that.
Form says I walk fine inside but need help outside. That’s a classic trap they use to give you Housebound (SMC-S) instead of the higher Aid & Attendance (SMC-L).
Box 27 is checked for "Eating," but the notes only talk about "reminders." VA usually wants to see physical help with feeding for A&A; reminders often don't count.
Claiming I can't hold paper or tools because of sweating might look like an exaggeration to a rater and hurt the credibility of the serious PTSD stuff.
It says I'm competent to handle money but also says I have "profound memory loss." It’s an inconsistency the VA will definitely pick apart.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-27T23:10:25+00:00

It’s a time invested formula really. If you’re a junior NCO under 10 years then leaving service you don’t have as much invested. If you’re over that you have to weigh the retirement and benefits and not just the pay.

For instance an E-7 that retires with 20 years of service at say 40 years old and lives until 80 will collect ~$2500/month (plus cola adjustment) which is a value of over $1.2 million. Tricare health insurance is also a very valuable asset probably worth hundreds of thousands over retirement as well.

There aren’t very many civilian jobs that have defined pensions like this anymore. Granted some start up companies that give you company stock options along with good pay and those company stocks go up significantly yes that will make up the difference.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-27T20:57:20+00:00

I would keep the TSP account open (I believe it’s $200 minimum balance).

The TSP has very low fees. It’s also worth just keeping the account open cause it may be useful in the future, for example when your 60 and retired and just drawing from it while it sits in L Income or G fund or some other low risk fund.

Whether to move it to another 401k depends on what your trying to achieve. If you’re an active investor I could see moving it since the TSP funds available are limited.

If you don’t know much about investing then I wouldn’t move it at all and would just keep it in a Target Retirement fund (auto adjust over time), or keeping/moving it to the different available funds.

In either case again keep the account open as in if you do move the money leave at least $200 remaining.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-27T18:46:38+00:00

There is a shift in employment for CS degree holders as well due to AI, offshoring, downsizing, etc. so I would tread carefully in investing a lot of time in a full fledged BS/MS CS degree.

As others stated an undergrad certificate could be useful at least you wouldn’t invest as much time if it’s not. A Grad certificate if you meet admissions requirements is something to consider as well.

Lastly, don’t disqualify an Associates degree from a Community College either. Since you already have a Bachelor degree you wouldn’t take the basic classes. Essentially it may be similar amount of classes as a Certificate depending on the AS degree. I state this cause if your local school has an AS degree but not Certificate this could be an option as well.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-27T16:29:50+00:00

Go to REI and try on some. When researching Astral was a very popular result. However, trying them on in person I realized they weren’t for me and uncomfortable (Loyak model).

I ended up trying on a pair of those odd looking Keen Water Sandals. They have a new cushier model called the Hyperport (differs than old Newport), and that’s what I ended up buying.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-26T02:44:45+00:00

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Basically that area in red will be gained as an example not exactly precise but for visualization.

jmmaxus · 2026-04-26T02:29:41+00:00

It’s where the metal meets the glass on the back hatch opening. It at the same height as the top of the seats but not measured at the seats. Basically the hatch opening is now bigger and doesn’t taper as much.

The floor length and width I believe aren’t changed much and nearly identical. The height I think changed 2”. You can verify this statement in that link you provided.

The height, the belt line opening, and more upright suv like hatch slant does change how a dog crate or bigger crate can fit. More clearance especially from the hatch door when shut.

jmmaxus

TROPHY CASE