WASHINGTON - The latest GI Bill improves the opportunity for today's service members 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 new 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 service members.
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 service member for books and supplies, Clark said.
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 service members 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. Service members discharged due to a service-connected disability are eligible if they served 30 continuous days on active duty. Service members must serve 36 aggregated months to qualify for the full amount of benefits.
Service members 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 will 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," Clark said.
Service members 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," Clark 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 service members 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, Clark said.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill also brings good news for officers and for service members who enlisted under the loan repayment program. Since eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is based on time already served, more service members will be able to take advantage of its benefits, Clark added. Officers commissioned through one of the service academies or through ROTC and enlisted service members participating in the loan repayment program don't qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.
Those service members 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. Service members whose college loans were paid off by the Defense Department as a re-enlistment incentive must finish their initial commitment ñ whether it is three, four or five years ñ 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," Clark 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 new 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 service members.
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 service member for books and supplies, Clark said.
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 service members 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. Service members discharged due to a service-connected disability are eligible if they served 30 continuous days on active duty. Service members must serve 36 aggregated months to qualify for the full amount of benefits.
Service members 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 will 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," Clark said.
Service members 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," Clark 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 service members 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, Clark said.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill also brings good news for officers and for service members who enlisted under the loan repayment program. Since eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is based on time already served, more service members will be able to take advantage of its benefits, Clark added. Officers commissioned through one of the service academies or through ROTC and enlisted service members participating in the loan repayment program don't qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.
Those service members 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. Service members whose college loans were paid off by the Defense Department as a re-enlistment incentive must finish their initial commitment ñ whether it is three, four or five years ñ 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," Clark said.