Spouse Tuition Assistance Halted

[Fred]

It's about the same amount of people that are/were eligible to us MGIB... do you have any hard numbers or just a gut feeling to back up your assertions?

I disagree that same amount of people that are/were eligible to use the MGIB are eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill but I don't have the hard numbers to back it up. With the MGIB the member had to opt in during boot camp/OCS, pay $1200, and serve 36+mo of any enlistment/obligation over 3 years. Except in extremely rare circumstances it was not transferable to spouses or children. (I believe only the Army did this for a FEW choice MOS’s at reenlistment time) U.S. Service Academy graduates and ROTC scholarship graduates were not eligible.

Now anyone who has 36mo of cumulative service post 911 and was on active duty Aug 1, 2009 is eligible for the full benefits including Service Academies and ROTC scholarships. Those who have less time are still in most cases eligible, but receive a lesser percentage. The biggest change and why so many more are now eligible is the option to transfer the benefit to spouses and children after serving 6 years, and agreeing to serve 10+.

Purely anecdotal….but we plan to use my husband’s benefit to pay for two years of college each for two of our kids. He is an ROTC scholarship graduate, who wasn’t eligible for the MGIB. I can name several kids who are now in college and using the new bill this school year. None of their fathers were eligible for the old one.

 

[scoolbubba]

I disagree that same amount of people that are/were eligible to use the MGIB are eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill but I don't have the hard numbers to back it up. With the MGIB the member had to opt in during boot camp/OCS, pay $1200, and serve 36+mo of any enlistment/obligation over 3 years. Except in extremely rare circumstances it was not transferable to spouses or children. (I believe only the Army did this for a FEW choice MOS’s at reenlistment time) U.S. Service Academy graduates and ROTC scholarship graduates were not eligible.

Now anyone who has 36mo of cumulative service post 911 and was on active duty Aug 1, 2009 is eligible for the full benefits including Service Academies and ROTC scholarships. Those who have less time are still in most cases eligible, but receive a lesser percentage. The biggest change and why so many more are now eligible is the option to transfer the benefit to spouses and children after serving 6 years, and agreeing to serve 10+.

Purely anecdotal….but we plan to use my husband’s benefit to pay for two years of college each for two of our kids. He is an ROTC scholarship graduate, who wasn’t eligible for the MGIB. I can name several kids who are now in college and using the new bill this school year. None of their fathers were eligible for the old one.

Fairly certain anyone could opt in for the MGIB, even ROTC/USNA grads.

 

[Scoob]

Fairly certain anyone could opt in for the MGIB, even ROTC/USNA grads.

Nope.

 

[navy09]

As a military spouse, I have to say that I find it hilarious when anyone plays the "spouses have it worse than the military member", with the implication being that just being married to someone in the military is harder than being in the military. Navy spouse > Navy member is total BS. It sounds like a platitude used by someone whose wife complains too much about how hard her life is. :lol "Yes dear, you *do* have it even worse than I do!"

Rep.

 

[Fred]

Fairly certain anyone could opt in for the MGIB, even ROTC/USNA grads.

No, they were not able to.

http://www.eustis.army.mil/Education_Center/va_htm.htm

Not Eligible

U.S. Service Academy graduate or ROTC scholarship graduate (unless separating from active duty under the provisions of Public Laws 101-510 (Involuntary Separation) or 102-484 [Voluntary Separation Insensitive/Special Separation Benefit]).

Reservist on active duty for training.

Anyone entering active duty as a prior-service accession (excluding active duty for training and those who have made prior contributions to the MGIB).

Individuals entering active duty under the Army Loan Repayment Program must specifically disenroll from the MGIB.

 

[EM1]

Also, rumor has it that they halted the program due to rampant fraud. If true, it will likely be reinstated eventually, with better safeguards to ensure that only people who actually qualify are getting this money, and I think everyone can agree that's a good thing.

That's what we heard too. I'm not sure it was necessarily fraud either, but that some spouses have not maintained the minimum required GPAs for the classes and they need to go back through and recoup funds.

On the other hand, compared to the budget $6k per spouse is a drop in the hat. There's other places we can cut funds, one would be to make bubbas in drydock stop taking $70 an hour to blow off painting all day, and then get "overtime" at time and a half pay at night (when then finally decide to work) because the work isn't done when it's supposed to be.

As for the new GI Bill and more people using it, the proof is in how many more applied and recieved benefits this year. The VA didn't hire on extra people to handle the load and shut down the call center 2 days a week because they were sitting around doing nothing. Despite all their efforts they're still really behind. According to the VA August and September of last year they amassed 245,000 claims for the post 9/11 GI Bill....and previous years there were only around 25,000 for the same time period for the MGIB.
www.gibill.va.gov

 

[phrogpilot73]

It's about the same amount of people that are/were eligible to us MGIB... do you have any hard numbers or just a gut feeling to back up your assertions?

Ummm, no. Without any "concrete proof", I can realize that it's simple math. Take who was eligible for the MGIB come 9/11, and add in all the service academy graduates per year that stayed in past their commitment (to include aviators - and time spent paying back your winging commitment pretty much forces you to be eligible for 100% post 9/11) that weren't previously eligible, as well as all NROTC scholarship recipients that have stayed in past their committment. The number is larger than you think. So much so that the VA is desperately trying to catch up, as in - of the 8 guys in my class of 15 that are using Post 9/11, only 2 of us have received payments thusfar.

 

[HAL Pilot]

My spouse is currently enrolled at TAMU Corpus and is using this program. She left her job as an attorney in Florida and we are living off my income. Guess what, she is going back to school and getting a degree that will enable her to eventually put a uniform on.

if your wife was (is) an attorney, she has a degree that will let her put on a uniform as an officer. It doesn't even have to have JAG insignia.

 

[scoolbubba]

Is adding another military member to a marriage a viable option in most cases, or even srqwho's? Probably not... betting on spousal co location is one of the things everyone says "don't count on" all over these boards.

 

[srqwho]

if your wife was (is) an attorney, she has a degree that will let her put on a uniform as an officer. It doesn't even have to have JAG insignia.

She had considered that, but ultimately wanted to pursue medicine. After working a law firm for a few years she has decided that she doesn't want to go that route, although working in a firm vs. the Navy are two very different animals (just an assumption). She met with a few JAG types and talked with a recruiter about it. Her undergrad is in a biological sciences type degree and law never really was her thing. Who knows why she decided to go that route...

scoolbubba:
I think Fester can help with that question... I asked him about it while ago in API. I think I recall him telling me that he had a NFO buddy doing something SAR related out West somewhere because his wife was stationed there. I may really be jacking up the details of that story, but his point I think was to illustrate that the military will work with you if they can. Like you said the colocation thing can work and from what I've encountered the majority of couples are together at a duty station, but it's not guaranteed. I am pretty sure they alternate your deployment cycles, so there is a chance that you'll come home from a deployment and she'll go out potentially meaning you have 12 months of not being home at the same time.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Generally for colocation to work, one of you has to be willing to step off the normal career path - or at least decide who's career takes priority.

 

[xmid]

Wait, so if you paid in to the MGIB shouldn't you get that $1200 back if the new program does not require you to buy in to it?

 

[srqwho]

Generally for colocation to work, one of you has to be willing to step off the normal career path - or at least decide who's career takes priority.

That is what we were told. Obviously there are a lot of different variables at work, not to mention the fact that if my she does go through with med school, she won't even being going to ODS for another 6-7 years or so. Whether or not she decides to put on a uniform is one thing, but the nice thing about healthcare is that it seems to work well with the military. We have quite a few buddies with spouses who are RNs, CNAs, etc...

 

[OnTopTime]

Wait, so if you paid in to the MGIB shouldn't you get that $1200 back if the new program does not require you to buy in to it?

In certain circumstances, yes. If you paid your $1200 into the MGIB and then became eligible for and switched to Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits (making the benefit switch from MGIB to Post-9/11 is an irrevocable decision), you would receive with your last Post-9/11 GI Bill payment a refund of your MGIB buy-in that is pro rated for any unused MGIB benefits.

 

[Recovering LSO]

The knife may be cutting deeper. See email from ERAU WorldWide folks at Whidbey.

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Hi Military Students;

If you still have TA funds remaining, I recommend processing your TA funding ASAP for courses that you are planning to take. I have heard various possibilities concerning TA, specifically that it will likely run out of money prior to the end of the fiscal year. Navy VOLED is also supposedly considering a monthly allocation for TA funds, in which TA vouchers are produced on a first-come, first-served basis until the monthly funding is depleted. None of this is official yet, but I did get this "rumored" information from the local NCO counselors.

You may already be aware that MYCAA funding for military spouses stopped suddenly and without warning on 16 Feb!

V/R, XXX

XXXX XXXXXX
Director of Academic Support
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide
Whidbey Island Campus