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TAP, the income-gap budget, the GI Bill decision, and the questions to bring an accredited VSO: organizers and drafts for the money side, never a substitute for official guidance.
Builds a personalized preparation checklist for the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) based on your situation: branch, time until separation, and post-separation goals. Use it before your TAP appointment so you show up with the right documents and the right questions, not starting from scratch in the room.
Builds a sequenced action plan for terminal leave and final out-processing based on your branch, station, and separation timeline. Use it at least 90 days before your terminal leave start date to avoid scrambling at the end.
Builds a simple worksheet to map the income gap between your military pay and your first post-separation paycheck, so you can identify what you need to cover and what questions to ask a financial counselor. This is not financial advice.
Frames the decision between the Post-9/11 GI Bill and VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E, also called Chapter 31) by organizing what you know and building the specific questions to ask the VA. Use it before your VA education or VR&E appointment, not as a substitute for it.
Helps you draft your own factual personal statement for a VA disability claim in your own words, organized around what you actually experienced. Take the draft to an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) before submitting anything to the VA.
## Context
You are helping [YOUR NAME], a veteran, draft a personal statement (also called a lay statement or buddy statement for yourself) to support a VA disability claim for [CONDITION OR CONDITIONS]. This statement is in the veteran's own words and describes their own experience. It is not a medical opinion and does not represent them legally. The veteran's account: [YOUR ACCOUNT, describe in your own words when the condition started, what you experienced in service, how it affects you now in daily life and work, and any events you believe are connected]. Service branch and approximate dates of service: [BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES]. Military occupational specialty or role: [MOS OR ROLE].
## Task
Draft a personal statement organized into four sections:
1. Introduction: who the veteran is and what condition they are describing.
2. In-service account: when and where the condition started or the event occurred, in the veteran's words as provided.
3. Current impact: how the condition affects daily life, work, sleep, or relationships, as the veteran described.
4. Connection statement: a plain statement that in the veteran's opinion these in-service events or exposures are connected to the current condition.
## Standards
- Write only what the veteran described. Do not add symptoms, diagnoses, or exposures the veteran did not mention.
- Do not invent events, dates, locations, or medical facts.
- Do not claim a diagnosis the veteran did not state. Describe symptoms and functional impact in plain language, not clinical terms the veteran did not use.
- Do not exaggerate severity. Write what the veteran actually said.
- Do not imply this statement constitutes legal representation. The veteran represents themselves in this statement.
- This draft is for the veteran's own use. Tell the veteran to review it carefully, correct anything that does not accurately reflect their experience, and take it to an accredited VSO before submitting.
- VA claim preparation and representation are regulated under 38 CFR. An accredited VSO or accredited attorney can help at no cost for initial claims. No one may charge a fee for initial claim preparation.
- If [YOUR ACCOUNT] is missing or too vague to write a meaningful statement, ask for more detail before drafting.Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:
Veteran: Dana Reyes. Condition: left knee pain. Account provided: I hurt my left knee during a training exercise in 2019 at Camp Lejeune. I was a hospital corpsman running a tactical casualty care training course. I slipped on a wet surface while carrying a litter with a training casualty and fell on my left knee. I went to sick call the next day and they told me it was a sprain. I never had any follow-up. Since I got out in 2022 my knee swells when I stand for more than an hour and I have to take stairs one at a time. I cannot do the physical job I want to do in emergency services because of it. Branch: Navy, 2016 to 2022. Role: Hospital Corpsman (HM).
Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:
Personal Statement of Dana Reyes
In Support of VA Disability Claim: Left Knee Condition
Introduction
I am Dana Reyes. I served in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman (HM) from 2016 to 2022. This statement describes my left knee condition, how it started during my service, and how it affects me today.
In-Service Account
In 2019, while assigned at Camp Lejeune, I was running a tactical casualty care training course. During the training, I slipped on a wet surface while carrying a litter with a training casualty. I fell onto my left knee. I reported to sick call the following day. I was told it was a sprain. I did not receive follow-up treatment beyond that visit.
Current Impact
Since separating in 2022, my left knee has continued to give me problems. It swells when I stand for more than approximately one hour. I have to take stairs one step at a time because of the pain and instability. The condition has limited my ability to pursue work in emergency services, which requires physical mobility I no longer have reliably.
Connection
In my opinion, the knee condition I experience today is connected to the fall I described above during my service at Camp Lejeune in 2019. I had no prior knee problems before that incident.
Note: This is my personal statement in my own words. I reviewed this draft and confirm it accurately reflects my experience. I will take this to an accredited VSO before submitting it to the VA.Run this prompt once per condition, not for all conditions at once. Focused statements are clearer and easier for reviewers to follow. If you have buddy statements from fellow service members who witnessed the event, note that in your account so your VSO can advise on gathering them. For conditions related to military sexual trauma (MST), mental health, or toxic exposure, your VSO can advise on additional evidence and presumptive conditions. Do not rely on this prompt alone for those claims.
Organizes your factual symptom and functional impact notes into a structured log for your own records. Use it to keep a consistent account of how a condition affects your daily life, which you can bring to medical appointments or share with your accredited VSO.
Organizes the benefits you may be eligible for based on your service and separation situation into a structured list with the key questions to ask before you apply. Use it to build the question list for your accredited VSO or transition counselor, not as a final determination.
Builds a focused question list for an appointment with an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) or benefits counselor, based on your specific situation and goals. Use it before any VSO or TAP counselor appointment so you get answers to what actually matters to you.
Builds a focused list of questions about your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) options so you walk into any conversation with a financial counselor or TSP representative knowing what to ask. This is not financial advice.
## Context
You are helping a separating service member or recent veteran prepare for a conversation with a financial counselor, TSP representative, or benefits advisor. The member has a TSP account and needs to understand their options at separation. They are not asking you to give financial advice. They are asking you to help them build the right questions.
Separation timeline: [SEPARATION DATE OR TIMEFRAME]
Years of service: [YEARS OF SERVICE]
Current TSP balance (approximate, optional): [TSP BALANCE OR "PREFER NOT TO SAY"]
Retirement system (Legacy / BRS / other): [RETIREMENT SYSTEM]
Civilian employer lined up or job status: [CIVILIAN JOB STATUS]
Specific concerns or topics to cover: [SPECIFIC CONCERNS]
## Task
Produce a structured question list the member can bring to a financial counselor, TAP (Transition Assistance Program) financial counselor, or TSP representative. Organize by topic: account options at separation, rollover considerations, withdrawal rules, loan payoff, beneficiary, and anything raised in [SPECIFIC CONCERNS].
## Standards
- This output is a question list, not financial advice. Do not recommend a course of action, predict account growth, or suggest the member keep or move funds.
- Use plain language. Spell out acronyms on first use.
- Do not invent contribution limits, withdrawal penalty ages, required minimum distribution ages, or any dollar threshold. Flag where an official source (TSP.gov or a licensed advisor) should confirm specifics.
- Include a note at the top reminding the member that TSP rules and tax law change and that a licensed financial advisor or TAP counselor should review before they act.
- Do not invent experience, benefit amounts, eligibility rules, or outcomes.
- If [RETIREMENT SYSTEM] or [YEARS OF SERVICE] is missing, note that those affect which questions apply and ask before drafting.Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:
Note: TSP rules and federal tax law change. Review these questions with a licensed financial advisor or your TAP financial counselor before making any decisions.
TSP Question List for Separation
Prepared for: Marcus Hale, E-6 logistics, separating November 2026, 9 years of service, BRS, civilian logistics job starting December 2026.
Account options at separation:
- Can I leave my TSP account in place after separation, and if so, for how long without penalty?
- What happens to my agency automatic and matching contributions if I leave before vesting is complete under BRS?
- Is there a window after separation when I must decide, or can I leave the account untouched indefinitely?
Rollover:
- If my new employer offers a 401(k), can I roll my TSP balance into it? What is the process?
- Can I roll my TSP into a traditional IRA instead? What are the tax differences to ask my advisor about?
- Are there any TSP-specific advantages I would lose by rolling out (fees, loan access, certain funds)?
Withdrawals:
- What is the early withdrawal penalty if I take money out before a certain age, and what exceptions exist for separating military?
- What is the rule of 55, and does it apply to TSP?
Outstanding loan:
- I have a TSP loan. What is my deadline to repay it after separation, and what happens if I cannot?
Beneficiary:
- Does my TSP beneficiary designation carry over from active duty, or do I need to resubmit?
Specific concern (civilian job timing):
- If there is a gap between separation and my first civilian paycheck, what are my TSP options during that gap without triggering penalties?If you are retiring with 20 or more years rather than separating, add retirement pay specifics to [SPECIFIC CONCERNS] so rollover and withdrawal questions account for retirement income. If you are in BRS with less than two years of service, flag vesting questions as a priority. Members with a spouse or dependents should add estate-planning questions about beneficiary designations. Adjust for target: a one-time TAP session versus an ongoing relationship with a fee-only advisor.
Maps your health coverage situation at separation into a question list for HR, a benefits broker, or a TRICARE representative. Use it 60 to 90 days before separation when you are comparing TRICARE Transitional Coverage (TRS) and civilian options.
Organizes your Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or final move into a budget worksheet with categories, questions to ask the transportation office, and a tracking structure. Use it 60 to 90 days out when you are planning the move.
Breaks down a VA rating decision letter into plain language so you understand what was decided, why, and what your options are. This is not legal advice. Always review your decision with an accredited VSO or accredited claims agent.
All 120 prompts in this library are free with a VetsLearn account: every prompt, every checklist, synced to your account.
Unlock free with an account →Turns your confusion about a VA claim decision into a focused question list you can bring to your VSO or accredited representative. This is not an appeal brief and not legal advice.
Helps you size and build a cash buffer for the transition period, working from your real numbers. Use it 60 to 120 days before separation when you are figuring out how much of a runway you need.
Builds a question list about veteran benefits in your target state so you walk into a conversation with your state veterans affairs office prepared. State benefit rules vary widely and change, so this output drives research, not decisions.
Helps you read your first civilian paycheck and benefits enrollment elections so nothing catches you off guard. Use it the week you receive your first stub and your benefits confirmation.
All 120 prompts in this library are free with a VetsLearn account: every prompt, every checklist, synced to your account.
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