Video: Petagon Channel Reports on GI Bill Transferability

The DoD's Pentagon Channel recently ran a report on Transferring the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Although light on important details, the story confirms that the DoD plans on making the program available on August 1, 2009 when the Post-9/11 GI Bill goes into effect.

Dod is expected to release the official policy and guidance for transferability in the "near future". Until then, many questions will remain unanswered.

Note: The reporter states that the Post-9/11 will replace the Montgomery GI Bill. This is not true, the Post-9/11 will be added to the list of current GI Bill programs.

Stay tuned for more details...

Comments

[CECILIA]

My husband is a retired Navy and would like to know if he has any benefit for our kids to attend college and how do we get them?
Does his benefits for education for his kids expire and what other help can we get for our boys to attend college.

[Mark]

What I see happening is the DOD which was opposed to the Post 911 GI Bill because they saw it as an anti-retention tool is trying to make it work as a retention tool. The people left out in the cold are the VEAP era service members and their families. We were offered a substandard program which I (and many others) did not sign up for. But we did serve honorably. I would like to know how many VEAP era members there are and how many retired after 911 and are not eligible to transfer the benefits to their dependents? I am 50 years old, retired as an E-8 after 26 years (hyt) and have a 30% disability. I know I am not alone and strongly feel members who served and retired should be eligible to transfer benefits?

[Gary Violette]

How do I find out if I have bennifits or not???

[Velma McRae]

Can Air Force members transfer their MGIB to their dependents? I think all services should be able to transfer their MGIB because we all serve. It's not right for one to transfer and not the other.

[Velma McRae]

Can Air Force members transfer their MGIB to their dependents? I think all services should be able to transfer their MGIB because we all serve. It's not right for one to transfer and not the other.

[Mark]

For personnel who completed retirement / HYT requirements ie 30 years of service that ended after 9/11 (unable to continue service in the military)....Are they able to transfer eligibility to family members?

[Darrell]

As a retired Marine as of Nov of 2005, I have moved on and would like to transfer these benefits to my teenage son and daughter. As members of the armed forces come to here about such benefits years later, I feel it is justified for service members committing to serving 20 years or more to our country and the American public to be able to transfer these benefits to our dependent children in order to provide them a chance at the education benefits. I feel this is important to our children, especially after missing parts of there lives while being deployed at months on end.

[Chuck]

I truly can not believe what I have read on these post. Number 1, you are responsible for your career and the decisions you make are yours. If you blindly make decisions then accept the repercussion. I personally did not get the MGI Bill by choose. But I still completed my BS degree while serving on active duty with the aid of T/A when it paid about 70%. I'm grateful for everything the government has provided and can not stand to see people complain about a program that they signed up for, if you did not know, that is your fault. How tdo you go to school full time and work was a question? Night classes, On-line (If you really wanted to go to class you would probably figure out a way.)

[Mark]

Rick it very clearly will not cover you if you read the requirements. Unfortunately like many others you got screwed

[Rick]

I was in the USMC from 82-86 with the VEAP. When I re-enlisted in 89, I was told VEAP was dead and I didn't rate the MGBI. I took my $$ out of VEAP and spent it. They then had an open season so we could xfer, but we had to fork back the money that I couldn't afford to--ALL of it. So I went without. They then held three other open seasons, at least, that you didn't have to do that--but did NOT inform me of these open season until AFTER they were over. Can you say "breach of contract"? I can. I put in 22 years, and no benefits; so I hope this will cover me!

[Simone]

As a single mom how can one go to school full time and just stop working to receive benefits. Is it possible that online and campus classes are mixed if at the same university. Would you still qualify for the cola expense.

[Philip Raneri]

I to am vey mad about the loss of my GI bill. I had 21.5 years of active duty with the AF and I started using my benifits only to see them stopped before I finished my degree. I could not complete my degree without it and feel that I was taken advantage of and lied to about the whole thing. Government never keeps its promises. Health care for life another lie.

[Dan Downie]

I enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1976 to qualify for the Vietnam Era GI Bill. I served on active duty for almost 10 years, then continued my service in the Army/National Guard completing 28.5 years of service (26 active duty), yet have no education assistance available because of some garbage legislation that has some complex criteria in order to maintain eligibility. If you ever get bored, read the eligibility criteria for it in the VA handbook. What did they do, award a multimillion dollar contract to someone to come up with some rigid criteria that no one could possibly be eligible for? What a crock of...

[Greg]

The POST 911 bill is nothing like it was proclaimed to be at its birth. DOD is now stating that to transfer your benefits not only do you have to be on active duty as of 1 Aug 09, you also must have had 6 years of continuous service at that time and sign on to complete an additional 4 yrs. That hardly recognizes the contributions of veterans that were serving on active duty during the initial ground war as well as all of the deployments that followed for almost 10 years.

[Gwendolyn Gulley-Pleasant]

I think it is a shame that my GI Bill package expired 10 years after retirement instead of indefinately. I retired early because I had a child and I was on Mobility status and my husband was on flying status. When I was able to bo back to school, I was only able to complete my AA. This is not the best way to treat veterans.