Welcome to a new blog about veteran's benefits, support, and advice.

It is my pleasure to introduce this new blog that covers issues that are related to Veterans of the United States Armed Forces. I hope to cover many topics such as disability benefits, healthcare, mental health, post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other issues that apply to veterans of all eras. Veterans in this day and age have unique situations compared to the rest of the general public. These issues are addressed by many different service organizations and veteran's groups. It is my commitment to help any veteran access the resources they need to succeed and live happy, healthy and productive lives.


I am not an outsider to these issues presented on this blog. I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps (orahh!) and I served in Operation Enduring Freedom. I've traveled all over the Pacific Rim and the Middle East serving the security goals of the country I love. My job code was 0351. I specialized in assault rocketry and demolitions. My unit was helicopter bourne, attached to an amphibious ready group and marine expeditionary. I sustained injuries in the field and have received a disability rating for these injuries. I was likely one of the first Operation Enduring Freedom veterans to enter the VA system in 2002.

When I first started attending appointments at my Veteran's Hospital in California, I was known as a "youngblood." I recall looking around and noticing that I was always the youngest veteran at the hospital. I was surrounded by peers from wars stretching back to World War II. This slowly changed as I started seeing more troops come into the VA system. It is my hope to impart some of the knowledge that I have acquired with my experiences to these younger vets. This blog is not exclusive to recent veterans. I would appreciate any guidance that the older veterans can offer to us "young bloods."

Thank you for visiting my blog. Let us leave no man behind.

Semper Fidelis,

jCali