The VA has a lot to offer veterans. When I got home from Iraq, I just went about my life as if I hadn’t been away. I moved back in with my parents and started attending Glendale Community College. I was young and as far as I could tell, quite healthy. I didn’t have any severe injuries from the war, and I wasn’t thinking about healthcare or benefits. But what I didn’t realize was that everything wasn’t the same. Not only was it difficult moving back in with my parents, but I spent two years suffering symptoms that I knew nothing about. Sleep problems, moodiness, irritability: they were all consequences of readjustment; I just didn’t know it. Twenty-six months after being discharged from the military, however, my girlfriend’s mom made an important call for me: she contacted the VA. 

Registered for over six months now, I’m thankful for the support the VA provides. Despite having missed the two-year free period, I had a physical done, and my doctors found that I had service-connected hearing loss. They also put me in an OIF counseling group, which I wouldn’t have expected liking, but I’ve actually found it helpful. Best of all, it’s free.

Even if you’re not sick, you can only gain by joining the VA. Eventually, you’re going to have problems, but 10 years down the line, the two years of free healthcare they guarantee won’t be possible. Now is the time to get free medical care and now is the time to learn about educational benefits and vocational opportunities. And hey, if you’re fast-enough (within 90 days of discharge), you’ll even get dental care, and who doesn’t want a free teeth cleaning?