Thursday, August 14, 2008

New GI Bill provides increased educational benefits for servicemembers

The latest GI Bill considerably improves the opportunity for today’s servicemembers to obtain their education, a senior DoD official said.

President Bush signed the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 June 30. The new law mirrors the tenets of the original GI Bill, which gave returning World
War II veterans the opportunity to go to any school they wanted while receiving a living stipend, Bob Clark, the Pentagon’s assistant director of accessions policy, said.

“The original GI Bill was said to be one of the most significant social impacts of the 20th century,” Clark said. “We believe the new bill is going to have a similar impact.”

The new GI Bill applies to individuals who served on active duty on or since Sept. 11, 2001, and offers education benefits worth an average of $80,000 - double the value of those in the previous program. It covers the full costs of tuition and books, which are paid directly to the school, and provides a variable stipend for living expenses. It’s also
transferable to family members of career servicemembers.

Its only restriction is that payment amounts are limited to the most expensive in-state cost to attend a college or university in the state where veterans attend school, he said.
The variable stipend is based on the DoD’s basic allowance for housing for an E-5, which averages about $1,200 a month, and $1,000 a year will be paid directly to the servicemember for books and supplies, he added.

Enrollment into the Post-9/11 GI Bill is free. Eligibility for the Montgomery GI Bill is based on service commitment and requires active-duty servicemembers to pay a $1,200 fee over their enlistment’s first year.

The new bill requires an individual serve at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, and, if discharged, be separated on honorable terms. Servicemembers discharged due to a service-connected disability are eligible if they served 30 continuous days on active duty. Servicemembers must serve 36 aggregated months to qualify for the full amount of benefits.

Servicemembers are entitled to benefits of the new bill for up to 36 months and have up to 15 years from their last 30 days of continuous service to use their entitlements. But, as successful as DoD officials anticipate the new bill to be, Clark suggested new recruits still enroll in the Montgomery GI Bill.

The Montgomery GI Bill gives benefits for higher education, as well as vocational training, apprenticeship programs and on-the-job training, he explained. The Post-9/11 GI Bill focuses solely on higher education and can only be used at institutions that offer at least an associate’s degree, he said.

“We recommend all new recruits think hard before turning down the Montgomery GI Bill, because they will limit their opportunities for additional education without it,” he added.
Servicemembers also are “highly encouraged” to use the Defense Department’s tuition assistance program while on active duty, because the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s full
entitlements, such as the living stipend and book allowance, will not be available, Clark said.

“If you use the Post-9/11 GI Bill while on active duty, it will merely cover tuition or the difference of what tuition assistance will pay,” he explained. “Another downside to that is each month you use (the new bill), you lose a month of your 36 months of eligibility.”

So, if servicemembers serve on active duty on or after Aug. 1, 2009, and meet the minimum time-in-service requirement, they will be eligible for the new GI Bill while also maintaining benefits from the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill also brings good news for officers and for servicemembers who enlisted under the loan-repayment program. Since eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is based on time already served, more servicemembers will be able to take advantage of its benefits, Clark added. Officers commissioned through one of the service academies or through ROTC and enlisted servicemembers participating in the loan-repayment program don’t qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.

Those servicemembers will be able to qualify if they finish their initial obligatory service. Commissioned officers must complete their         initial five-year commitment if they attended a service academy or their four-year agreement if they were commissioned through college ROTC. Servicemembers whose college loans were paid off by the DoD as a re-enlistment incentive must finish their initial commitment - whether it is three, four or five years - before they can apply, Clark said.

“Any amount of time an individual served after their obligated service counts for qualifying service under the new GI Bill,” he said.

Another facet unique to the Post-9/11 GI Bill is that it’s transferable to family members. The feature gives the defense and service secretaries the authority to offer career
servicemembers the opportunity to transfer unused benefits to their family. Though DoD officials still are working with the services to hash out eligibility requirements, there are
four prerequisites that are subject to adjustment or change, Clark said.

Currently transferability requirements are:
- Qualifying service to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill;
• Active-duty service in the armed forces on or after Aug. 1, 2009;
• At least six years of service in the armed forces;
• Agreement to serve four more years in the armed forces.

“We’re really excited about transferability,” Clark said. “That was one of the things about education and the GI Bill that’s come up the most often from the field and fleet.”

Individuals who may not qualify to transfer unused benefits because they leave the service before the new bill’s effective date most likely still will qualify for the bill. As long as the separated servicemembers meet the minimum qualifying time served, they can contact their local Veterans Affairs office and apply for the program. While payments are not retroactive, eligibility is, Clark said.

“This new bill will allow our veterans to chase their dreams,” Clark said. “It will allow them to go back and experience college like they deserve, much like their grandfathers did in World War II.”

More information about the Post-9/11 GI Bill is available at local Veterans Affairs Offices and at http://www.gibill.va.gov.