Eligibility for most VA benefits is based upon the status of discharge from active military service. Benefits are available to veterans only if they we discharged from the service under honorable conditions. Active service means full-time service as member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service, the Environmental Services Administration or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Current and former members of the Selected Reserve may be eligible for certain benefits if they meet the criteria. Honorable and general discharges qualify a veteran for most VA benefits. Dishonorable and bad conduct discharges issued by general courts-martial make a veteran ineligible for VA benefits. In addition, eligibility for benefits (especially in health care), are impacted by the cause of the disability. A disability will be deemed to be “Service-Connected” (SC) if it was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the military service. This also applies to a veteran’s deaths, should they be the result of a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of service in the Armed Forces. If the veteran’s disability or death is not shown to be related to military duty, it is defined as “Non service-connected” (NSC). FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

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