More than 21 million veterans and service members live in the U.S., but only about 6% of them bought a home using a VA home loan in the past five years. That percentage could be much higher. Eligible veterans often bypass the program for a number of reasons. First, they may not know all the advantages. Second, they may think getting a VA loan is an arduous process to be avoided. Last, some lenders don’t take the time to teach veterans about the program, or don’t know much about it themselves. The VA home loan is a program non-military home…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to announce Wednesday that he will cut general and admiral positions across the military by 20%, effectively doubling the reduction he ordered last year as part of a broader plan to reshape the senior ranks by Jan. 1, 2027. Hegseth is scheduled to lay out the plan during a “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, according to Pentagon officials cited by several news outlets, including Fox News, which first reported it. Quantico is the same site where the secretary gathered the United States’ highest ranking generals and admirals…
Being a police officer is tough. I wouldn’t do it for three times the top-end pay for an officer, much less what they actually get paid. Growing up around the profession, I saw just what kind of toll it could take on a person, and that’s without losing a number of your colleagues in a single day. Just one was enough to rattle a lot of police officers’ families deeply. Officers in Charlotte, NC, dealt with that back in 2024 when four of their colleagues were gunned down by a convicted felon armed with a…
LONDON (AP) — The U.K. has “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident that saw five men arrested near a U.S.-run military air base in England late at night, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday. Burnham said U.K. and U.S. officials are carrying out a “complex and serious” investigation into how and why five men and three vans were near the perimeter of RAF Fairford, a base that has been used by American bombers striking Iran during this year’s war. Five British men in their 20s were arrested Sunday on suspicion of explosives offenses and planning an…
Can you be convicted of a crime when you act in self-defense but an errant shot strikes a home or another person? The answer may vary from state to state, and even from case to case, as the Ohio Supreme Court recently decided. This particular case involves a man named Timothy Bradley, who was originally charged with a variety of crimes after shooting a contractor named Zachary Burch at Bradley’s home in 2024. Bradley had hired, and then fired Burch, and the pair started arguing when Burch showed up to collect his tools. Video and audio…
Separating from the military sets off a series of financial deadlines that don’t run on the same schedule, and most of them aren’t automatic. Health coverage, life insurance, Department of Veterans Affairs disability filing and retirement account decisions all run on their own separate clocks, and missing any one of them can mean a gap in coverage or a benefit that closes for good. Here’s how the sequence goes, from before separation through the end of the first year. Before Separation: 90 to 180 Days Out The window to start planning opens well before your separation date. Veterans and service…
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has already successfully gone after the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department over its unreasonable delays in processing concealed carry applications and recently targeted San Jose, California over its excessive fees for concealed carry permits, but now the division is seeking to strike down another local law on the books in San Jose. The Justice Department filed its first complaint against the city’s $1591 application fee a couple of weeks ago, but on Tuesday the agency filed an amended complaint this week that challenges San Jose’s requirement that concealed carry applicants undergo…
The U.S. Marine Corps is following the Department of Defense (DOD) and Air Force, issuing new deadlines for service members to revise their religious affiliation as part of a major shift in the U.S. Armed Forces that began months ago. On Tuesday, the Marine Corps published its own official Marine Corps Administrative Message (MARADMINS) implementing the policy change that will affect personnel. This MARADMIN “announces implementation of the revised Department of War Religious Affiliation Codes (RAC) and directs Marines to review and update their religious affiliation information.” Military.com was the first to report how DOD dramatically reduced its official number…
Post from MilitaryByOwner Each time we make a move with the military, we have one huge decision to make: Do we live off base, or do we live on base? In my experience, there are 7 things to consider before living in military housing—both pros and cons. 1) You may give up some privacy. We can be a nosy community. Combine that with living a few feet from each other, and you soon have a community that knows everything about you, right down to your daily routine. But don’t be fooled; you’ll soon know just as much about your neighbors,…
A 37-year-old Indian national who is living in the U.S. on a student visa has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding a Vietnam veteran. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Venkateswara Chagamreddy, of San Antonio, Texas, to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He’s ordered to pay $99,496 in restitution to the unnamed veteran after he defrauded him in a series of scam text messages. Chagamreddy communicated with the veteran, of Delaware County, Okla., via text message in April and told him to liquidate his bank account and purchase…
It’s no wonder that so many people are asking what is prepping and how it can help them to navigate life’s uncertainties with confidence and resilience. After all, in our ever-changing world filled with unexpected challenges, being prepared is an obvious and essential priority. The bottom line up front is that beyond the misconceptions and stereotypes, prepping is a lifestyle that embraces self-reliance, essential skills, and maximizing our chances of survival and success. Join us in this comprehensive guide, “What is Prepping,” as we delve into its goals, fundamentals, and purpose, equipping you with valuable insights and practical advice to…
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If you think the Air Force Reserve just chills on the sidelines, you just might want to read on. As reservists, along with their active-duty cohorts, prepare to ring in the Air Force’s birthday, it seems fitting to point out some of the major moments the Reserve has been involved with over the decades. Reserve airmen have stared death in the face for more than 100 years — going all the way back to the formation of Reserve Air Power in 1916, before the official formation of the Reserve in 1948. Here are five major Air Force Reserve moments and…
Lt. Col. James Harvey had one wish for much of his Air Force career. He wanted the 332nd Fighter Group — the Tuskegee Airmen — to be recognized for winning the Air Force’s first-ever aerial gunnery competition. “We were the original ‘Top Gun,'” he told AARP Studios. “Our competitors didn’t think we were real. We were Black and flying this obsolete aircraft. We weren’t supposed to win it.” Harvey was drafted into the Army in 1943 as an Army Air Corps engineer. Just a few years earlier, he’d seen a group of Curtiss P-40 Warhawks flying over his home in…
Stand Your Ground laws are good things. However, thanks to the media hype around them, many seem to have the wrong impression of what the laws protect and what they don’t. For example, it means a DA can’t come behind you and decide you could have run away, so you’re prosecuted for murder.That’s not supposed to happen.You can, however, be prosecuted because you say you were in fear for your life, but a reasonable person wouldn’t think so. That includes being, say, knocked on your butt because you started an altercation, or it can involve…
If, as expected, the Supreme Court strikes down bans on so-called assault weapons when it issues its verdict in Viramontes v. Cook County next year, the gun control lobby isn’t just going to give up on its efforts to make AR-15s and other centerfire semi-automatic long guns inaccessible to we the people. Instead, we’re likely to see a concerted effort to put “permit-to-purchase” schemes in place, like the one in Colorado that took effect last month. The author of the new law has stated on the record that “in essence” it’s a gun ban by another…
A PCS move involves lots of moving parts, like housing decisions and relocation logistics. One area that’s easy to overlook is homeowners insurance. While most homeowners assume their coverage remains in place during a move, PCS orders can create insurance gaps that leave your home, personal belongings, and finances at risk. Whether you’re selling your home, renting it out, or leaving it vacant during deployment, your insurance needs often change. Understanding how PCS moves affect home insurance can help you avoid denied claims, unexpected costs, and coverage gaps. Key Takeaways Notify your insurer as soon as you get PCS orders;…
Former U.S. Coast Guard contractor Peter Souders is allowed to proceed with his First Amendment lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming he was fired over posts related to the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Sounders, an engineer and project manager for government contractor Advanced Concepts Enterprises Inc. (ACES) who began working at the Coast Guard in July 2025, alleges that he was fired in September 2025 “in retaliation for his private speech on a matter of significant national interest and attention,” citing a violation of his First Amendment rights. In November 2025, he filed a lawsuit in U.S.…
Everytown for Gun Safety is not the organization I’d go to for practical advice on using a firearm. They’re not big fans of you even owning one, much less pulling the trigger, and it’s only a matter of time before they actually admit it. But for years, we’d hit them over the “gun safety” nonsense by pointing out that their view of “gun safety” was just gun control, and we knew it because they made no effort to actually teach gun safety.Then they did, and it was hilarious.Now, it seems they’re teaching a gun safety…
