Wednesday, March 26, 2008
GI Bill Increase 2000
VA Secretary Backs GI Bill Increase
May 11, 2000
(Printable Version)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West Jr. today praised an administration proposal for a 25-percent increase in Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance for veterans and active-duty military personnel. If approved by Congress, it would be the largest single benefits hike in the programs 16-year history.
"This administration continues to show leadership on veterans issues," said Secretary West. "This proposal would nearly double Montgomery GI Bill benefits from their level in 1993 when President Clinton took office."
The Clinton-Gore proposal would permit veterans to use their Montgomery GI Bill benefits for certain licensing and certification. The plan also provides the same percentage increase in education benefits for survivors and dependents.
The administration plan, unveiled May 10 by Vice President Gore, would increase payments under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program from $536 to $670 monthly. The higher rates would take effect October 1.
"By having the increase take effect immediately, instead of phasing in over several years, participating veterans will get help sooner," Secretary West said.
The increase would narrow the gap that has developed between Montgomery GI Bill benefits and the cost of higher education. In 1985, the $300 monthly benefit covered 70 percent of the average college tuition. The current rate of $536 only pays 58 percent of the average tuition.
Under the Montgomery GI Bill, active-duty participants have a $100 monthly deduction from their paychecks for their first 12 months in uniform.
"Since 1944, the GI Bill has eased the transition of millions of military personnel back to the private sector, where they became the backbone of our economy," Secretary West said. "Improving the Montgomery GI Bill is an investment in the future."
May 11, 2000
(Printable Version)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West Jr. today praised an administration proposal for a 25-percent increase in Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance for veterans and active-duty military personnel. If approved by Congress, it would be the largest single benefits hike in the programs 16-year history.
"This administration continues to show leadership on veterans issues," said Secretary West. "This proposal would nearly double Montgomery GI Bill benefits from their level in 1993 when President Clinton took office."
The Clinton-Gore proposal would permit veterans to use their Montgomery GI Bill benefits for certain licensing and certification. The plan also provides the same percentage increase in education benefits for survivors and dependents.
The administration plan, unveiled May 10 by Vice President Gore, would increase payments under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program from $536 to $670 monthly. The higher rates would take effect October 1.
"By having the increase take effect immediately, instead of phasing in over several years, participating veterans will get help sooner," Secretary West said.
The increase would narrow the gap that has developed between Montgomery GI Bill benefits and the cost of higher education. In 1985, the $300 monthly benefit covered 70 percent of the average college tuition. The current rate of $536 only pays 58 percent of the average tuition.
Under the Montgomery GI Bill, active-duty participants have a $100 monthly deduction from their paychecks for their first 12 months in uniform.
"Since 1944, the GI Bill has eased the transition of millions of military personnel back to the private sector, where they became the backbone of our economy," Secretary West said. "Improving the Montgomery GI Bill is an investment in the future."
The Kicker
Increase Your GI Bill by $5,400
A $600 investment gets you an additional $5,400 instantly! You can't beat that...
Did you know that all current active-duty servicemembers who joined for the first time after June 30, 1985 are eligible to participate in the GI Bill Buy-Up program?
Add $5,400 to Your GI Bill! Did you know that for an addition contribution to your GI Bill account you can earn an extra $5,400 in education benefits?
Here's How If you are an eligible active-duty servicemember the GI Bill Buy-Up program can help you get up to an extra $150 a month added to your standard MGIB "pay rate." This could increase your total benefits by as much as $5,400.
Participating in Buy-UpTo apply you must have joined the military for the first time after June 30, 1985, still be on active duty, and elect to contribute up to an additional $600 before you separate. You may elect to contribute any amount from $20 to $600 in increments of $20. Each $20 contributed earns you an extra $180 in total benefits. To participate you must contribute through your military branch using form DD-2366-1 to process your request.
A $600 investment gets you an additional $5,400 instantly! You can't beat that...
Did you know that all current active-duty servicemembers who joined for the first time after June 30, 1985 are eligible to participate in the GI Bill Buy-Up program?
Add $5,400 to Your GI Bill! Did you know that for an addition contribution to your GI Bill account you can earn an extra $5,400 in education benefits?
Here's How If you are an eligible active-duty servicemember the GI Bill Buy-Up program can help you get up to an extra $150 a month added to your standard MGIB "pay rate." This could increase your total benefits by as much as $5,400.
Participating in Buy-UpTo apply you must have joined the military for the first time after June 30, 1985, still be on active duty, and elect to contribute up to an additional $600 before you separate. You may elect to contribute any amount from $20 to $600 in increments of $20. Each $20 contributed earns you an extra $180 in total benefits. To participate you must contribute through your military branch using form DD-2366-1 to process your request.
GI Bill Rates Increase
GI Bill Rates Increase for 2008
The Fiscal Year 2008 GI Bill rates have been announced.
GI Bill Benefits have increased, and as of October 1, 2007, full-time students with GI Bill benefits may now be eligible for over $1101 per month to cover the cost of their education.
This increase could mean you have as much as $39,636 to pay for your education. The GI Bill provides up to 36 months of education benefits for:
• College, Business, Technical or Vocational school
• Tuition Assistance: “Top-Up”
• On-the-Job Training and Apprenticeship Programs
• Correspondence Courses
• Remedial, Deficiency, and Refresher Training (in some cases)
• Flight Training (in some cases)
• The cost of tests for licenses or certifications needed to get, keep, or advance in a job
• National Tests
Your monthly MGIB payment depends on your category (Active, Selected Reserved, etc.), course of study, how long you have served, and money put aside for you by the Department of Defense (MGIB Fund, or “kickers”). In most cases, you are eligible for MGIB support for ten years after you join the program.
You may still be able to benefit from the GI Bill if you are no longer active if you:
• entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985;
• received a high school diploma or equivalent (or, in some cases, 12 hours of college credit) before the end of your first obligated period of service;
• received an honorable discharge;
• continuously served for 3 years, OR 2 years if that is what you first enlisted for, OR 2 years if you have an obligation to serve four years in the Selected Reserve AND entered Selected Reserve within a year of leaving active duty.
You may not be eligible for MGIB if you have a general, “under honorable condition,” or early discharge: Eligibility under an early discharge requires an acceptable separation reason. Call the number below or check with your Education Services Officer for more information.
The Fiscal Year 2008 GI Bill rates have been announced.
GI Bill Benefits have increased, and as of October 1, 2007, full-time students with GI Bill benefits may now be eligible for over $1101 per month to cover the cost of their education.
This increase could mean you have as much as $39,636 to pay for your education. The GI Bill provides up to 36 months of education benefits for:
• College, Business, Technical or Vocational school
• Tuition Assistance: “Top-Up”
• On-the-Job Training and Apprenticeship Programs
• Correspondence Courses
• Remedial, Deficiency, and Refresher Training (in some cases)
• Flight Training (in some cases)
• The cost of tests for licenses or certifications needed to get, keep, or advance in a job
• National Tests
Your monthly MGIB payment depends on your category (Active, Selected Reserved, etc.), course of study, how long you have served, and money put aside for you by the Department of Defense (MGIB Fund, or “kickers”). In most cases, you are eligible for MGIB support for ten years after you join the program.
You may still be able to benefit from the GI Bill if you are no longer active if you:
• entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985;
• received a high school diploma or equivalent (or, in some cases, 12 hours of college credit) before the end of your first obligated period of service;
• received an honorable discharge;
• continuously served for 3 years, OR 2 years if that is what you first enlisted for, OR 2 years if you have an obligation to serve four years in the Selected Reserve AND entered Selected Reserve within a year of leaving active duty.
You may not be eligible for MGIB if you have a general, “under honorable condition,” or early discharge: Eligibility under an early discharge requires an acceptable separation reason. Call the number below or check with your Education Services Officer for more information.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Shame of a Nation
The Shame of a Nation
by: ThisDudesArmy
Tue Jan 29, 2008 at 20:27:05 PM EST
There exists a mantra so cliché, so endlessly hollow that it practically holds little meaning in 2008, as interest in the duel wars has waned considerably since the respective invasions many years ago. I speak, of course, about "Support The Troops." Countless people throughout the country slapped yellow ribbons on their car adorned with the slogan with scarcely a thought, absolving themselves of the guilt of being the nation that sent their soldiers to one war of reason (Afghanistan) with numbers too few, and another war (Iraq) that no one can rationally explain. Hey, don't look at me, I support the troops.
There are organizations out there who have taken an active interest in the lives of soldiers, post service. The Fund For Veteran's Education is a non-profit that awards scholarships to war veterans that are currently enrolled in college or a technical school. One of the biggest misconceptions civilians have about the military is that education is completely paid for once you leave the service. The common phrase used is "free college," and that is a myth that The Fund For Veteran's Education wants to bust wide open.
That was the case, lo, so many years ago. The G.I. Bill of 1944 sent eight million veterans of World War II to college, creating what is now called the middle class. The success of it was two-fold: the nation gave its veterans a shot at a successful life after they got home from the battlefields of Europe and Japan to pursue higher education. Save the world and go to school - not a bad deal. The result was a staggering boon to the economy: for every dollar contributed to education for veterans, the country got back five to twelve dollars back in renvenue and other taxes.
The veterans from Iraq and Afganistan have faced multiple tours in an all volunteer military stretched thin by a two front war, yet the promise made by this country to look after them when they return is largely and shamefully unkept. 375,000 men and women separate from the military every year to resume their civilian lives, many with hopes of getting an education. The G.I. Bill was meant to ease that transition and give back to those who honorably served, but that is not the case in twenty-first century America. After a mind boggling amount of paperwork and bureaucratic red tape to cut through to start getting money for college, veterans from active duty are paid a maximum of $1,100 dollars a month for three years, for a maximum of $39,636. This only takes a bite out of tuition costs, which have steadily risen over the years as the G.I. Bill remains largely stagnant. The average cost for a four year ride at an in-state school is $65,428. Out of state costs are $105,216, and if you want to get your money's worth at a private college or university, you'll be hamming it up with the rich kids while you rack up debt with average costs at $133,204.
Ninety percent of enlisted soldiers don't hold a degree and in may cases enlist for the benefits of higher education, which they'll only partially receive thanks to this legislation that lingers in an era of peacetime. But we're at war now, or at least the military is. The country hasn't been asked for a draft while 1.6 million of us do the bidding of a largely ungrateful nation. To move on with our lives we must carry a psychological burden, and because of the current G.I. Bill, we will carry a financial one as well.
The G.I. Bill in its current state is the shame of a nation, a Congress, and an administration that continues to dishonor those who have served. To do your part, contact your Senator to let them know you support S. 22, the Post 9/11 Veterans' Education Assistance Act from Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel. And contribute to the The Fund For Veteran's Education so that a lucky veteran can receive a scholarship thanks to you. If every citizen contributed one dollar to the fund, over four thousand veterans could get a four year degree at an in-state school.
If you really 'support the troops,' you must support them during and after service. That means working toward a new G.I. Bill, the same one that helped the Greatest Generation become great.
The GI Bill gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down. -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
by: ThisDudesArmy
Tue Jan 29, 2008 at 20:27:05 PM EST
There exists a mantra so cliché, so endlessly hollow that it practically holds little meaning in 2008, as interest in the duel wars has waned considerably since the respective invasions many years ago. I speak, of course, about "Support The Troops." Countless people throughout the country slapped yellow ribbons on their car adorned with the slogan with scarcely a thought, absolving themselves of the guilt of being the nation that sent their soldiers to one war of reason (Afghanistan) with numbers too few, and another war (Iraq) that no one can rationally explain. Hey, don't look at me, I support the troops.
There are organizations out there who have taken an active interest in the lives of soldiers, post service. The Fund For Veteran's Education is a non-profit that awards scholarships to war veterans that are currently enrolled in college or a technical school. One of the biggest misconceptions civilians have about the military is that education is completely paid for once you leave the service. The common phrase used is "free college," and that is a myth that The Fund For Veteran's Education wants to bust wide open.
That was the case, lo, so many years ago. The G.I. Bill of 1944 sent eight million veterans of World War II to college, creating what is now called the middle class. The success of it was two-fold: the nation gave its veterans a shot at a successful life after they got home from the battlefields of Europe and Japan to pursue higher education. Save the world and go to school - not a bad deal. The result was a staggering boon to the economy: for every dollar contributed to education for veterans, the country got back five to twelve dollars back in renvenue and other taxes.
The veterans from Iraq and Afganistan have faced multiple tours in an all volunteer military stretched thin by a two front war, yet the promise made by this country to look after them when they return is largely and shamefully unkept. 375,000 men and women separate from the military every year to resume their civilian lives, many with hopes of getting an education. The G.I. Bill was meant to ease that transition and give back to those who honorably served, but that is not the case in twenty-first century America. After a mind boggling amount of paperwork and bureaucratic red tape to cut through to start getting money for college, veterans from active duty are paid a maximum of $1,100 dollars a month for three years, for a maximum of $39,636. This only takes a bite out of tuition costs, which have steadily risen over the years as the G.I. Bill remains largely stagnant. The average cost for a four year ride at an in-state school is $65,428. Out of state costs are $105,216, and if you want to get your money's worth at a private college or university, you'll be hamming it up with the rich kids while you rack up debt with average costs at $133,204.
Ninety percent of enlisted soldiers don't hold a degree and in may cases enlist for the benefits of higher education, which they'll only partially receive thanks to this legislation that lingers in an era of peacetime. But we're at war now, or at least the military is. The country hasn't been asked for a draft while 1.6 million of us do the bidding of a largely ungrateful nation. To move on with our lives we must carry a psychological burden, and because of the current G.I. Bill, we will carry a financial one as well.
The G.I. Bill in its current state is the shame of a nation, a Congress, and an administration that continues to dishonor those who have served. To do your part, contact your Senator to let them know you support S. 22, the Post 9/11 Veterans' Education Assistance Act from Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel. And contribute to the The Fund For Veteran's Education so that a lucky veteran can receive a scholarship thanks to you. If every citizen contributed one dollar to the fund, over four thousand veterans could get a four year degree at an in-state school.
If you really 'support the troops,' you must support them during and after service. That means working toward a new G.I. Bill, the same one that helped the Greatest Generation become great.
The GI Bill gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down. -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
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