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The year winds down fast, and several financial deadlines matter for veterans and service members. Miss them, and you could lose money, face penalties or forfeit tax benefits you’ve earned.Here are four deadlines to handle before Dec. 31, plus two more that can wait until April if needed.1. Max Out Your TSP ContributionsActive-duty and federal employee veterans have until Dec. 31 to contribute to their Thrift Savings Plan for 2025. The annual limit is $23,500, with an extra $7,500 catch-up for those 50 and older; or $11,250 for ages 60-63.This deadline hits differently if you’re under the Blended Retirement System.…

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Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers follow federal holiday schedules, which means most clinics and administrative offices close for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. But emergency care doesn’t stop, and veterans need to know what services stay available when regular operations shut down.Planning ahead for prescriptions and knowing where to go for urgent care can save headaches during the holiday weeks.What’s Closed at VA During the HolidaysAll VA outpatient clinics, administrative offices and routine services shut down on federal holidays. For Christmas 2025, that means facilities close Wednesday, Dec. 25, and reopen Thursday, Dec. 26. The same pattern repeats for…

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Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

If you are preparing for military service that involves intense physical training, you will want to be a cardio machine. Here are three standard methods of movement in the military: running, rucking and swimming. Depending on your job and branch of service, you may need to prepare only for running and rucking, but swimming is also used in some jobs and makes for a great non-impact cardio activity regardless.The following workouts are more about building aerobic and anaerobic systems for longer-distance movement than for shorter-distance timed events, such as fitness tests — though you will see longer-distance runs, rucks, and…

After a volunteer “peacekeeper” shot and killed an innocent bystander at a No Kings protest in Utah earlier this year, a pair of Democrat lawmakers are hoping to use the incident to make some changes to the state’s self-defense statutes.  State Sen. Kathleen Riebe and State Rep. Rep. Verona Mauga are offering up legislation that they say would prevent a repeat of the shooting this past summer, which eventually led to Matthew Scott Alder being charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of protest attendee Arthur “Afa” Folasa Ah Loo. Alder said he fired his weapon…