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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogExpert Answers to Your GI Bill Benefits Questions Topic: Veterans Education Benefits
January 31st, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Recently I posted a blog where retiree John asked if there was a group that could help him transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. As we all know there is not. Also, we know there have been a couple pieces of legislation that if passed, would have allowed it. However, not only did the legislation not pass, neither one ever came up for a vote; subsequently both pieces expired once they reached their time limits.
I decided to start a petition on behalf of all eligible veterans who retired after December 10, 2001 but before August 1, 2009. Because these vets retired before the “magic” date of August 1, 2009, they never had the opportunity to make a transfer request.
Now is your opportunity. If you want to try and get this wrong righted, sign the petition.
You can read the preamble of the petition which gives the background information and defines the veterans in each affected group, if you are not already aware of the situation. The petition part reads:
“We, the undersigned, call on the President of the United States to initiate a Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer-of-Benefits equality and fairness initiative to 20+ year retired military veterans, in both groups as defined in the Preamble, retiring between and including December 10, 2001 to July 31, 2009, by allowing them a one-time opportunity to transfer unused Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to dependent family members.”
You do not have to be in one of the affected veteran groups to support this petition. I can’t guarantee it will be successful, but it is obvious this thing isn’t going to resolve itself, so let’s take it to the Commander-in-Chief and see what happens.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions in this post are solely those of the blogger, not necessarily those of www.gibill.com and/or its owner, QuinStreet Inc.
January 27th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My son was discharged from the Navy after 3 years and 8 months of service (2007 – 2011). His discharge was classified as “other.” Is he eligible for any benefits of the GI Bill? Thank you for taking our question. – Sara
I can’t speak for all of the GI Bill benefits, because they are not my specialty, but as far education, he will not be able to use his 36 months of entitlement. But, the good news (if there is any) is he did not lose his benefits – he still has them, but can’t use them.
So, the next step he should consider is does he have enough justification to support a discharge upgrade request. The Board will automatically consider his discharge correct, so his job is to convince the Board it is not correct and provide evidence to support his upgrade request.
That is usually best left to a lawyer experienced in military discharge upgrade proceedings. If he wants to pursue an upgrade request, he has to start by submitting DD Form 293 to the Navy Discharge Review Board.
Just as a warning, it can take up to a year to hear back and there isn’t a guarantee that it will be upgraded, but it is the only avenue of appeal he has. Plus if he hires a lawyer to represent him, he will have to pay for that expense also, whether his upgrade is approved of not. I don’t want to discourage him, but for Army soldiers, only 41% of the requests are approved. I don’t have statistics for Navy personnel, but I don’t imagine they are much different.
November 23rd, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hello. I have a question. I’m in the North Dakota National Guard, but I’m attending school in the state of Minnesota. I was wondering which GI Bill that I apply for – the MN Bill, or the North Dakota GI Bill? If you could help me find this answer I would be greatly thankful. — Joleen.
Hi Joleen. I’m very familiar with your situation as I lived in west central Minnesota for many years and spent a lot of time between Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN.
The answer is actually easy as you have to use the GI Bill in the state where you are a member of their National Guard. So in your case, that would be North Dakota. However, because the State of North Dakota offers a tuition waiver, they require you to attend a school in the state of North Dakota, so you would not qualify for that tuition waiver by going to school in Minnesota. Normally, with state-provided benefits, they want you to stay within the state which makes sense.
So as long as you are a ND ARNG member and going to school in Minnesota, you will have to stick with your federal GI Bill benefits, which if you only have the Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR), you only get $345 per month and you have to pay all your own education expenses.
If you have deployed at least once, then you most likely qualify for at least 60% of the Post 9/11 GI Bill – a much better deal for you. The VA pays 60% of your tuition (regardless of which state school you attend) and you get a monthly housing stipend that averages $1,200 per month and a book stipend paid at the rate of $41.67 per credit (up to $1,000 per year).
August 11th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have recently heard that I might be getting discharged from the military, under a General Discharge. I was told that since this is my second enlistment, I did not qualify for it until I wait 6 months after I was discharged to ask the VA to change it to a Honorable Discharge so that I may be eligible for the GI Bill. The question that I was told to ask was that if I served my first enlistment Honorably, do I qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, the one I originally paid for when I came into the service? Please let me know. — Joey
First Joey, the VA is not the one that changes discharges – it is the Discharge Review Board or the Board of Military Record Corrections of your service branch. Also, there is no 6-month rule. If you want to send in a request to upgrade your discharge, the sooner, the better. It can take 6 months to one year to hear back on a decision.
However, with your first term of service ending in an Honorable discharge, you would not need an upgrade of your most recent one, because you still can use your Montgomery GI Bill benefits, providing you signed up for the MGIB and made your $1,200 contribution. If you declined the MGIB in writing, then you are not eligible for it (but you may be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill depending on when your term of Honorable service ended.
Many who want to request an upgrade do it just for the pride of having it and maybe to right a wrong. Mistakes are made and this is your avenue of appeal as long as you have the proper proof to support your case.
You have up to 15 years to submit to the Discharge Review Board using DD Form 293. If it gets to be over 15 years, then you have to go to the Board of Corrections and use DD Form 149. The Board of Corrections is also your avenue of appeal if the Discharge Review Board rules against you and you want to appeal it. The Board of Corrections appeal is the end of the line.
August 8th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have two sons that I would love to put through college but told them I couldn’t afford it, but my uncle could. So my first son joined the U.S. Air Force and now he’s on his way after his tour and honorable discharge. My other son on the other hand was not interested in joining and wasn’t healthy enough, but damn he’s extremely smart. I sure do hate to see all this talent go to waste. Is there any way to get this boy in a college of some sort even if the GI Bill won’t cover it, is there an alternative, some sort of gov. grants anything to get this young man an education. I mean I gave 20 YEARS AND MY FIRST BORN TO THIS COUNTRY! – Oscar
My first recommendation would be to have him fill out and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFAS) to see what he qualifies for in education funding. I would also further recommend he searches the Internet for other scholarships, grants and loans.
Many organizations offer scholarships including many service organizations, so if you belong to the American Legion or VFW, that would be a good place to start. Some of the colleges themselves offer their own scholarships along with work study programs. A work study program is where he would do some type of job for the school for a certain number of hours per week in exchange for a certain amount of his tuition forgiven. A nice thing about a scholarship is it doesn’t have to be repaid.
Grants are another source of funding not require repayment. An Internet search using the search phrase of “college grants” will bring up a long list of available grants. Third on the list are loans. Many have low interest rates and long pay-back periods.
The bottom line is if there is a will, there is a way. However, the will has to be in the boy himself and not you, so make sure he really wants to go to college. If he is as bright as you say, he will find a way.
May 6th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Yes, my dad served in the military 20 years ago and a friend of mine was able to go to school on his father’s GI Bill. Would I be able to as well if he agreed to it? Thanks! – Stephen
Most likely not Stephan. Your friend’s dad has a different GI Bill. The only GI Bill having a transfer of benefits to dependents option is the Post 9/11GI Bill. To qualify for that bill, your friend’s father served for at least 6 years in the Armed Forces, of which at least three years for active duty personnel and 90-days for Selected Reservists had to be after September 10, 2001. Also he would have to agreed to serving for another four years and then while still in the Armed Forces, he could have made a transfer of benefits to his son.
When your dad was in 20 years ago, he most likely had the Montgomery GI Bill. That particular Bill did not have a dependents transfer option to children – only a spousal transfer, if the servicemember bought that option out of their reenlistment incentive money.
So while your dad and your friend’s dad each had the GI Bill, they are different GI Bills each with their own set of rules. Before the New GI Bill was drafted, one of the most asked for benefits from servicemembers was the ability to transfer benefits to a spouse or dependent children. Congress listened, but unfortunately, it doesn’t help you out.
March 18th, 2011
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
Is it possible to use the GI Bill for civilian flight training after I retire from the military? — Shaun
The basic answer is yes, but you may have some difficulties, depending on your situation.
If you are eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty, you may use your benefits to pay for flight training, as long as the flight school is listed in the VA’s database. You can check this by using the search form on the WEAMS Institution Search page.
If you are using the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, you can currently only use your benefits to cover the courses if the school that provides the flight training is listed in the database as an “institute of higher learning,” meaning that it also confers traditional academic degrees (associate, bachelor, etc.). This is undergoing a change due to an amendment to the GI Bill, and beginning on October 1, 2011, the new GI Bill will cover flight school programs as it does other educational programs, but only up to an annual maximum of $10,000 in tuition and fees.
March 18th, 2011
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
I was told that the GI Bill offers a payment of $3,000 for full time students of the service member or spouse. I am enrolled, but not full time, but my wife is full time. She doesn’t work and we have to pay some of her fees. I would like to know if this is true. We could use the help. — Albert S.
This is a misunderstanding of the policy that you heard about.
In the fall of 2009, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs was experiencing very serious delays in processing GI Bill applications. Because of this delay, a lot of students waiting for their GI Bill to come through were being forced to pay for their tuition up-front. Because of this, the VA offered a one-time-only advance to pay for up to $3,000 in tuition to students that were experiencing this delay. Repayment of this advance was arranged between the student and the VA.
This offer was only during that particular period, and has not been offered since.
March 18th, 2011
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
My husband is getting out soon and I am a veteran. If we are both going to school full time, will we both get the housing allowance? And if we take summer or winter classes (courses between regular semesters) will be continue to receive the allowance? Krystyne
Hi Krystyne, If you and your husband are each using your own Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits at approved schools and are full-time students, you should both be eligible for the housing allowance. If you both are eligible for full Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, you should each receive the full allowance as full-time students.
Your second question is a little tougher. The Post 9/11 GI Bill will no longer provide Break Pay between semesters as of 1 August 2011. Many schools offer a full summer semester and by taking enough classes during that semester to be considered a full-time student, you should be eligible for the housing allowance during that period. I am not sure how the VA would consider taking one or two classes during the winter break, but my guess is that you probably would not get the allowance during that period.
You might want to talk to the VA Certifying Official at your school to get a clarification on how their winter and summer class programs will be classified for VA housing allowance purposes. If you are only taking a couple of classes during each period, you may not receive the allowance.
March 17th, 2011
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
Can the benefits be used for two schools at once? I have a 22-1995 form, but I don’t want to change my school. I would like to take add my credit hours together from these two schools this semester to allow me to receive full time benefits. — Stephen
It is possible to take courses from two ore more different institutions at once under the GI Bill. One school will be your primary institution, which will determine whether courses count toward completion of your degree program. Any other courses will be additional to this, and you will transfer the credits to your primary school after you complete them.
The process of doing the paperwork for this situation varies depending on the version of the GI Bill you are using. I recommend that you ask for information from either your school’s veterans’ affairs office, or from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs via their toll-free GI Bill number: 1-888-442-4551.
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