For the almost 40% of the US military with real jobs.

We talk business, news, and culture for the PART⚡TIME warrior.

This week:

Interested in becoming a featured newsletter sponsor? Want to be highlighted or contribute? Reach out to [email protected]

Our group of dipshits winging it editorial team here at PTH welcomes contributions from the readership. If you have an article you want to right, a topic you want to learn about, or a resource you want to share, let us know.

The community thrives on the knowledge of others. Sharing is caring.

Hit up [email protected] to get in touch.

1) Pentagon drops Anthropic over AI “red lines”: CBS reports DoD talks collapsed after Anthropic refused “all lawful purposes” use without explicit guardrails banning mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. Pentagon officials said existing laws/policies were enough; Anthropic said the proposed language had loopholes. The split spotlights the coming fight over whether defense AI constraints live in vendor terms, contracts, or internal policy. Read more

2) Gulf escalation: U.S.–Iran conflict widens: AP live updates say strikes and counterstrikes are intensifying, with expanding target sets and rising regional spillover risk. U.S. officials acknowledge American casualties and warn the conflict may get worse before it ends, as markets and allies watch for escalation beyond the immediate battlefield. Read more

3) Equal work, unequal benefits: reservists gap under scrutiny: Air & Space Forces reports new policy changes and a pending bill aim to reduce benefit disruptions when reservists perform active-duty-like missions—especially around medical coverage and duty status. The push would streamline determinations and align protections more closely with the work performed. Read more

by Matt Brooks

One of the first actions the Continental Congress took after signing the Declaration of Independence was to codify our most sacred obligation: caring for those who fought for our freedom. On August 26, 1776, the first pension act was passed, providing a pension to soldiers who had been injured in the service of the colonies. During the following 249 years, we have repeatedly seen a pattern: wartime promises, then a post-war expansion of benefits, which is subsequently followed by efforts to cut or limit benefits, and then ultimately ends with a revival of support for veterans’ benefits.

Currently, as we have now passed the three year-anniversary of the signing of the PACT Act, we are experiencing a concerted effort to cut federal spending by limiting the expenditures for the men and women who have already sacrificed so much for our great nation. Over the years, various arguments have been floated as to why we are giving veterans too much in benefits. This time, the theme is veterans are fraudsters stealing from the Government. The data and my personal experience as both a former federal prosecutor and federal fraud investigator prove otherwise.

The recent articles led by the Washington Post highlight egregious fraud and then insinuate the identified criminals are representative of all veterans. This assertion does a grave disservice to the millions of men and women who have already sacrificed so much for us all. Far too many know first-hand how difficult it truly is to obtain the benefits promised to them for their service. That said, there is no doubt, all federal programs, including VA disability benefits, have some level of fraud. According to the Government Accountability Office, somewhere between 3% and 7% of all federal spending is fraudulent. In fact, although it is not often discussed, the Government implicitly and occasionally explicitly accepts a certain amount of fraud as a necessary cost of ensuring benefits go to the intended recipients without overly burdensome rules and regulations.

In the 2025 fiscal year, the VA OIG operated with a budget of approximately $300 million. This budget is used to oversee multiple priorities including implementation of the PACT Act, modernization of the VA’s IT systems, healthcare quality and safety, and fraud, waste, and abuse investigations. It is unclear exactly what portion of VA OIG’s budget is dedicated towards fraud investigations but given the multiple competing and important priorities the office has, it is fair to estimate less than half goes toward this goal. In every investigative office within an OIG the limited resources necessitate a focus on identifying the most egregious and harmful fraud. There is no question the fraud highlighted by the Post exemplifies precisely that, but these examples represent an infinitesimal sliver of all veterans receiving payments

According to the Washington Post, since 2020, VA OIG opens an average of 63 cases into suspected disability fraud annually. There are approximately 5 million veterans currently receiving disability benefits. This means VA OIG opens an investigation for approximately 1 out of every 80,000 veterans receiving disability benefits. It is clear the amount of VA disability benefit fraud is significantly higher, but without more resources dedicated towards investigating fraud, we cannot determine whether the handful of fraudulent criminals caught by VA OIG is in any way representative of the majority of VA disability benefit recipients. Any suggestion otherwise is misleading at best and nefarious at worst. To get a decent estimate of VA benefit fraud we must analyze the documented criminal activity of veterans outside of the VA benefit arena.

According to the Bureau of Justice statistics, approximately 1% of the veteran population is incarcerated for a crime. Roughly 1/10 of this group is incarcerated for a property crime which, in addition to fraud, also includes theft, burglary, etc. That means less than 0.1% of veterans are incarcerated for fraud. Incarceration numbers, however, do not capture all crimes committed. To make the estimate more accurate we need to evaluate what portion of crimes ultimately result in incarceration. This is a harder number to pin down because a good portion of felonies are undetected or unreported. Nevertheless, most estimates range somewhere from 5% to 10% of felonies result in incarceration. Assuming for arguments sake it is only 5%, we end up with a VA disability fraud rate of 2%. This estimate indicates the VA disability benefit system is likely no worse and potentially experiences less fraud than the multitude of other Government programs. The only way to get a more accurate picture would be for Congress to either authorize more funding for VA OIG or direct the VA OIG to prioritize this over its other priorities.

To understand the complete picture concerning the current state of VA benefits, it is worth reviewing some historical context regarding federal expenditures on veterans as a portion of the federal budget. Over the past 3 years funding for VA disability benefits has increased substantially due to the passage of the PACT Act and decades of continuous wars. Although deployments and wars may be temporary, frequently the scars can last a lifetime. Taking this increase into account, veterans currently compose approximately 5% of the population and all veterans’ benefits (not just disability payments) compose approximately 5% of the federal budget. Historically, in post war-time eras like the one we are in now, we have spent a larger portion of the federal budget on veterans than their portion of the population. After the civil war, over 1/3 of the federal budget went towards veterans benefits while only 3% of the population was a veteran. After WWII, we spent approximately 17% of the federal budget on veterans benefits to provide for the nearly 14% of the population that was a veteran. The one major outlier that occurred was during the post-Vietnam era when veterans composed over 12% of the population but were only receiving approximately 3.5% of the federal budget. The combination of political and economic factors contributed to the post-Vietnam era and serves as a reminder we must stay vigilant in our efforts to ensure we are fulfilling our obligation to care for those who have fought for us.

There is no question Congress needs to get its financial affairs in order. Part of this includes a review of all federal expenditures, including VA disability benefits, to ensure they are being administered appropriately and that fraud is limited to the greatest extent possible. Nevertheless, we must resist the political temptation to balance the federal budget on the backs of those who sacrificed their health and futures for our nation. Based on historical context and actual data the allegations of widespread fraud are a baseless smear that dishonors the overwhelming majority of veterans. Our focus must remain on the sacred, centuries-old obligation recognized first by the Continental Congress and later by President Lincoln during his second inaugural address “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and orphan.”

You can be VA Disability rated and continue to serve and deploy in the Guard/Reserve!

Got knee pain? Anxiety? Peyronie's Disease? You may qualify for VA disability now. And can start collecting now.

Don't wait until you're out and your records are scattered and you have to track a million people down. A VA-accredited attorney like Matt Brooks will assess your case, gather evidence, and build the strongest claim possible.

Former federal prosecutor. Direct VA access. No "claim shark" games. No bullshit.

Talk to Matt now for free—mention PTH. Find out what you may be entitled to.

Boss giving you grief about your military commitments? Call Brian Lawler.

If you’re running into problems with your employer due to your military service, contact Brian Lawler.

Brian’s a former Marine pilot, reservist, and one of the top USERRA attorneys in the country. He knows the law better than your HR department, and he’s made a career out of holding employers accountable.

Free consult. No win, no fee.
If your job’s on the line, Brian’s the guy you want in the fight.

Set up a meeting here.

A living list of stuff we like—tactical, grooming, whatever, with discounts.

Got a product you want us to test out? Hit us up.

1) Black Wool Cap: Cool black wool caps, use discount code GRAYMAN for 15% discount

2) OTB Boots: Baller tactical footwear company, use this link for discount

If you want to make baller ass unit gear repping our logo suite, check out The Fratty Guard Unit Collab Store.

Or for the GOAT classics, head over to The Fratty Guard.

If you support the work that Friendly Forces does, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help keep the lights on. Every bit helps. Turns out stuff is expensive and we put countless man hours into the work.

Absolutely massive things coming.