Every week, VA sends a newsletter that is jam-packed with resources like free concert tickets, farming assistance, workout programs, national park passes and Veteran discounts on hundreds of services.

VA makes no endorsements of the privately offered resources, but we share them to generate awareness of all that’s available to the Veteran community.

Here are the Top 10 most popular Veteran resources from 2022:

  1. Veterans, Gold Star Families get free lifetime pass to national parks, wildlife refuges, other public lands

On Veterans Day 2022, the U.S. National Park Service unveiled a lifetime pass providing free entrance to national parks for Veterans and their families. The pass gives them free access to about 2,000 public locations spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands.

  1. Veteran discounts available year-round

A comprehensive list of Veteran and military discounts that are good all year and are updated based on additional awareness.

  1. Record pay increase for Veterans receiving VA compensation benefits

VA announced compensation payment rate increases based on the latest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Beginning on Jan. 1, 2023, Veterans and beneficiaries who receive VA compensation benefits began seeing an 8.7% increase in their monthly compensation benefits—the largest increase in over 30 years.

  1. VALife insurance program coming in January 2023 for Veterans with service connection

In January 2023, VA launched a new life insurance program called Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife). The program provides guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance coverage to Veterans 80 and under, with any level of service-connected disability.

  1. Benefits, resources available to Veterans of OIF, Southwest Asia theater of operations

VA announced that Veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Southwest Asia and other locations may be entitled to compensation for medical conditions presumed to be related to exposure to fine particulate matter. For more information on new presumptive conditions, visit the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Exposures – Public Health page.

  1. Health application aims to transform Veteran heart health

VHA Innovation Ecosystem, in collaboration with Evidation, is encouraging Veterans to enroll in Heart Health. This free application-based program helps educate Veterans about their heart health and chronic conditions using their smartphones and wearable devices. Veterans can track relevant health data, including activity, mood, symptom and weight data.

  1. Free training programs offer Veterans, military spouses path to career techs

Veterans and their spouses are eligible for free training programs offered by NPower, which is now taking applications for spring 2023 classes. NPower’s program has served more than 1,600 Veterans and spouses with free tech training, professional development, social and mental health support, assistance navigating VA benefits, paid learning opportunities and job placement.

  1. Disability compensation and benefits available to Vietnam War Veterans

Vietnam Veterans or eligible survivors of a Veteran with a presumptive disease linked to exposure to Agent Orange may be eligible for VA disability compensation. You can file a claim or appeal a decided claim on your own or with help from an accredited attorney, claims agent or Veterans Service Officer (VSO).

  1. Commissary shopping privileges for Veterans

The following groups have shopping privileges at commissaries: Veterans with a service-connected disability according to VA; Veterans who are Purple Heart recipients; Veterans who are former prisoners of war; and people assessed, approved and designated as the primary family caregivers of eligible Veterans under VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

  1. VA Outreach & Events Calendar

VA benefits can help Veterans and their families buy homes, earn degrees, start careers, stay healthy and more. Join an event for conversation and information.

If you do not receive the #VetResources weekly newsletter, sign up today at www.VA.gov/VetResources. Past newsletters can be found here, and all #VetResources blog posts are online at https://news.va.gov/category/vets-experience/vetresources/.

Know of a Veteran resource we should share? Post it in the comments box below.

The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on the part of VA.

Link Disclaimer

This page includes links to other websites outside our control and jurisdiction. VA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-VA Web sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy or terms and conditions of those sites to fully understand what information is collected and how it is used.

Statement of Endorsement

Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Leave a comment

The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

9 Comments

  1. Stan Lester January 27, 2023 at 21:59

    Any tax preparation services for veterans in Apple valley ca

  2. William tillman January 13, 2023 at 04:29

    Don’t understand why a Vietnam vet cannot have commissary privileges even though I was drafted and served my 2years. I still fought for this country. Doesn’t seem very fair to me.

  3. James Bower, The Veterans Friend™ January 12, 2023 at 15:22

    There is a FREE fesource website run by a Vietnam era veteran http://www.VeteranBargains.com The site lists alomost 900 businesses that offer discounts and special promotions, events. organization that help and much more. There is also a free eNewsletter sign up at:
    https://gem.godaddy.com/signups/30c561339b3c460b9903660a282384ba/join

  4. Chris January 12, 2023 at 12:55

    Equine- Assisted Therapy programs for Veterans are all over the US. Most of these programs have a free or reduced cost for Veterans, as many of them have grants and other options to support Veterans. You can look on either https://naturallifemanship.com/practitioners/ or https://www.eagala.org/programs;d=None to find an EAP Program close to you. Several programs also offer Retreats and/or Intensives (2-3 days) if you do not live close by.

  5. Richard Warner January 12, 2023 at 04:54

    Your page for veteran discounts is extremely out of date. Much of the information is old/incorrect.

  6. Anne January 11, 2023 at 20:22

    Lululemon discount is now 15%, not 25%.

  7. Richard Norton January 11, 2023 at 20:01

    Commissary and exchange privileges are useless except on the internet as veterans are not allowed on bases regularly.

  8. John Auld January 11, 2023 at 19:25

    Where do I find information on what VA benefits are available for my spouse upon my death? I am 100% disabled and my major concern is VA assisted living facilities, there availability, qualification for survivor, etc. Thank you.

  9. john lyon January 11, 2023 at 19:13

    Thank you!

Comments are closed.

More Stories