Combat Veteran Benefits: What Extra Benefits Apply

Combat veterans may have access to benefits beyond standard veteran programs, including enhanced health care eligibility, Combat-Related Special Compensation, and more.

If you served in a combat zone, you may qualify for benefits beyond what's available to all veterans. Combat service may bear on eligibility for enhanced health care, special compensation programs, and presumptive conditions. Many combat veterans don't realize they may qualify for these programs.

The most time-sensitive benefit is enhanced eligibility for VA health care. Under 38 U.S.C. 1710(e)(1)(D), a veteran who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War, or in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998, is eligible for VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any illness, even when the evidence is not enough to tie it to that service, unless VA finds the condition resulted from some other cause. Section 1710(e)(3)(A) limits this to veterans discharged or released after September 11, 2001, for the 10 years beginning on the date of discharge or release.

VA says it will enroll you right away and place you in priority group 6 unless you qualify for a higher group. It says care and medications are free for any condition that may be related to your combat service, but you may owe copays for care VA determines is clearly not related to your service unless you qualify for a copay exemption, so this is not free care for everything. VA also says you stay enrolled after the 10 years end, but if you wait to apply until after the period ends, it will not count your combat service in deciding your enrollment. The one-year enrollment window that 1710(e)(3)(B) opened on October 1, 2022, for veterans discharged after September 11, 2001, and before October 1, 2013, who had not yet enrolled, has ended. Separately, VA says veterans who meet the basic service and discharge requirements and were exposed to toxins or other hazards are now eligible for VA health care, including all veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan or any other combat zone after 9/11. If you served in a combat theater and haven't enrolled, check where your 10 years stand, and know that the toxic-exposure eligibility VA describes may apply even if they have passed.

Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) is a monthly payment, tax-free as DFAS describes it, for military retirees with a combat-related disability. Under 10 U.S.C. 1413a(e), that is a disability VA compensates that is attributable to an injury for which the member was awarded the Purple Heart, or that was incurred as a direct result of armed conflict, while engaged in hazardous service, in the performance of duty under conditions simulating war, or through an instrumentality of war. Retirees who receive VA compensation normally waive an equal amount of retired pay. CRSC does not end that waiver; it is a separate payment equal to the VA compensation for the combat-related disabilities, up to the amount of retired pay waived, with a further cap for some chapter 61 disability retirees under 1413a(b)(3). You apply through your branch of service, and a retiree who qualifies for both CRSC and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay receives one or the other under 10 U.S.C. 1414(d), not both.

The PACT Act established burn pit and airborne hazard presumptives for veterans who served in Southwest Asia and other locations. Gulf War illness presumptives cover medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses. If you served in a combat theater and have health conditions that may be related to environmental exposures, check the current presumptive conditions list — a presumption can make a disability claim simpler to prove.

Some states differentiate between combat and non-combat veterans when determining eligibility for property tax exemptions, education benefits, and employment programs. Some states offer enhanced benefits specifically for veterans who earned a combat action ribbon, badge, or medal.

If you served in combat and haven't had your benefits reviewed recently — especially in light of the PACT Act — use Vet Debrief's free briefing tool to see the full picture of what may apply.