About this tool
With a presumption, the proof moves to your personnel file. Covers what you still have to establish, where to get your records, and a fillable service timeline worksheet.
Details
- PDF, 8 pages, 51 fillable fields
- Free download. No email, no account.
Pairs with
- A VA Disability Claims Manual for the Rest of Us (book, coming soon)
- After the DD-214 (book, coming soon)
- BDD Claims Guide (book, coming soon)
- Filed (book, coming soon)
- Left Standing (book, coming soon)
- Never Too Late (book, coming soon)
- Nexus Letters for VA Claims (book, coming soon)
- The PACT Act Playbook (book, coming soon)
- VA Claims for Guard and Reserve (book, coming soon)
- What He Earned (book, coming soon)
Never a cut of your claim.
In crisis? Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255. Free, confidential, 24/7.
About the author: J. Erickson is a service-disabled Air Force veteran. He served as a military firefighter and as a veteran service officer, where he spent years walking veterans through the same claims process he writes about now. He holds an MBA and writes plain-language guides for veterans who want to understand the system without a translator.
Keep building your plan
Keep using the free resources. A book is optional, not a requirement for preparing your claim or getting accredited help.
Read the free guide
Optional reading on this topic
Field guides focus on a task; books offer a longer reading format. PDF book editions are coming to this site, with Kindle and paperback editions coming to Amazon. Purchases are not open yet. Free guides and worksheets need no purchase, email, or account.
Written by J. Erickson, a service-disabled Air Force veteran and former veteran service officer. Last reviewed October 2026.