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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 28, 2008) - The latest GI Bill
considerably improves the opportunity for today's servicemembers to
obtain their education, a senior Defense Department official
said.
President Bush signed the Post-9/11 Veterans Education
Assistance Act of 2008 on 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 ew GI Bill is applies to individuals who served on active
duty on or after 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 it 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 Defense Department'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 the initial
year of their enlistment.
The new bill requires that 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
Defense Department officials anticipate the new bill to be, Clark
suggested that 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 that 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 Defense Department 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
Defense Department 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 Office and at www.gibill.va.gov.
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