What's New on MILCONNECT.AI: Recent Tool Releases

The Duffle Bag is a set of free tools built for military spouses, covering the parts of military life that fall on the spouse's shoulders more often than not: reading a Leave and Earnings Statement, building a household budget around BAH and BAS, understanding SCRA protections during a PCS or deployment, and prepping for job interviews after yet another move. It's organized into four categories: Money & Military Pay, Career & Employment, Education & Training, and Life Admin & PCS, with 22 tools across them.

None of the Duffle Bag tools require handing over sensitive information to use. They run in the browser, are free, and don't require an account to get value out of a single tool. You can find the full set at /active-duty/spouses/duffle-bag.

Life Basics is a separate set of tools built for military family members who are teenagers or young adults, covering the practical, first-time-doing-this skills that don't usually get taught anywhere in particular: decoding a first paycheck, filling out a W-4 correctly, building a first budget, understanding a lease before signing it, comparing a trade school path against a four-year degree, and recognizing red flags in a contract before agreeing to anything.

The category has grown to 31 tools, organized around the moments that actually come up: first paycheck, first apartment, first car, first FAFSA, first job offer. It's free for any signed-in account, not gated behind a specific membership type, so it works whether the person using it is a military dependent or just someone in the household who wants a plain-English answer.

• Money & Paychecks: paycheck decoding, budgeting, saving, credit cards, investing basics
• First Job & Career: resume building, interview prep, know-your-rights basics
• Education & Loans: FAFSA, student loans, and comparing post-high-school paths
• Housing & Lease, Transportation, Health Insurance, Civic Life, and Safety & Smart Choices

Alongside these two toolkits, we've continued building out resources aimed at the broader household, not just the service member. The Dependent Benefits Finder helps surface education, healthcare, and support benefits that dependents are eligible for but often don't know to look for. The State Veterans Benefits tool compares veteran benefits, including tax exemptions, education, healthcare, and bonuses, across all 50 states, DC, and five U.S. territories, which is useful if a PCS move is on the horizon. And the TRICARE Plan Navigator helps families compare plan options against their actual situation rather than guessing.

We're continuing to build out both the Duffle Bag and Life Basics based on what people actually ask the platform's assistant about, which tends to surface the gaps faster than any planning document would. If there's a tool or topic that's missing, the feedback options on the site go directly to the team building this.