What Special Guides and Resources Does Air Force Times Offer for Military Families?

Updated

Air Force Times publishes several practical guides aimed at service members and their families, covering permanent change of station (PCS) moves, annual benefits changes, insurance basics, and vetted brands. The site's "Special Features" section lists these resources directly, alongside its news coverage and pay and benefits pages. The guides are described as informational overviews; the site does not state that they are free or require no login, so treat access as something to check when you visit.

The guides listed on the site

The homepage's Special Features area names four resources:

Guide What it covers, per the site
2025 PCS Guide Tips and tricks for a Permanent Change of Station move, published by Military Times
2025 Benefits Guide How military benefits have changed in 2025, including health care, retirement pay, and more
Insurance Guide Helpful information on car insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance for troops
Best for Vets: Trusted Brands A program accepting submissions from companies that offer verifiable value to the military community through programs and benefits

PCS Guide

This is the resource to open when you have orders and need to plan a move. The site describes it as a collection of tips and tricks for the 2025 PCS cycle. Use it as a starting checklist for the moving process; for the rules and entitlements that apply to your specific orders, confirm with your installation's transportation office.

2025 Benefits Guide

This guide summarizes how benefits such as health care and retirement pay changed in 2025. It is useful for a yearly review of what your family is entitled to. Because benefit rules change and individual situations differ, verify details against official sources before acting on them.

Insurance Guide

The site says this guide outlines helpful information about car, renters, and life insurance for troops. It works as a primer on the types of coverage a military household typically considers, not as a quote or recommendation for a specific policy.

Best for Vets: Trusted Brands

This is a submission program run by Military Times for companies that can show verifiable value to the military community through programs and benefits. Families can use the resulting listings as one input when comparing brands; the site describes the program as accepting submissions, so listings reflect companies that applied and were reviewed.

Where these fit alongside the news and pay pages

The guides sit next to Air Force Times' regular coverage and its Pay & Benefits section, which links to pages including the Military Pay Center, Military Retirement, Military Benefits, Health Care, Mil Money, and Discount Depot. A practical way to use the site:

  1. Start with the guide that matches your task (a move, a yearly benefits check, or insurance shopping).
  2. Follow the linked Pay & Benefits pages for the underlying topic, such as retirement or health care.
  3. Cross-check any number or rule that affects a decision against your service branch or a benefits office, since the site presents itself as news and guidance rather than an official determination.

What to expect and what to verify

The guides are described in general terms, so expect overviews and tips rather than personalized calculations. Two things are worth confirming on your first visit: whether a given guide or article sits behind a subscription, and how current it is — the PCS and Benefits guides are labeled for 2025, so check for a newer edition if you are planning for a later year.