Veterans Benefits GI Bill

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is by no stretch of the word complete. Take a look at un-finalized issues like family transferability and the Veterans Educational Equality Act of California. Readers of the Veterans Benefits GI Bill blog arrive daily asking, “Are these rulings absolute? Do they apply to me? Who can I contact to get more information?”

This confusion is understandable. With August 1, 2009 looming just around the corner–we’re talking so close, colleges are asking for applications for the approaching fall term–active duty, reserve, and veterans alike are trying to make preparations to utilize their new and exciting financial aid benefits. Some of these military personnel want to know if their spouse or child get to go to college with their GI Bill this year; others want to know if they get to attend college in their home state, California.

Ultimately, military personnel want to know if the kinks are going to be resolved in time.

On the other side of the fence, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense work thoroughly, and expeditiously, to try to accommodate every member of the Armed Forces. This is not a battle of government versus military students, but a cooperative effort that has taxes the patience and resilience of everyone involved.

So what happens when, in the middle of the hustle and bustle, information gets misconstrued?

The Veterans Benefits GI Bill blog has discussed weighing your options between the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Montgomery GI Bill. For some military personnel, it is more beneficial to stick with the Montgomery GI Bill than the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Once you switch from the Montgomery GI Bill to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, it also means no going back.

Or does it?

If you happen to make an irreparable decision based on misleading information from a government source, such as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, you may apply for “equitable relief.” This is an appeal that is contingent on you being misinformed by a member of the VA staff, thereby allowing you to withdraw a decision that otherwise would have been a financial impairment–like jumping on the Post 9/11 GI Bill bandwagon when it turned out it wasn’t what you were told it would be.

Equitable relief is not a term reserved solely to the VA. This is a legislative process universal in our system that has specific guidelines within the VA for military personnel concerned with their decisions regarding their GI Bill.

In the past, the VA received maybe ten of these requests a year. With all the confusion surrounding the Post 9/11 GI Bill, however, this number is expected to soar.

The Veterans Benefits GI Bill stresses that military personnel not only receive their information from this blog, but from government sources. Make sure, when you speak to someone at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs or the U.S. Department of Defense, you write down exactly what information you were told, the name of the person you spoke to, and what day and time your topic was addressed. This is a security blanket in case you get tangled up in the evolving Post 9/11 GI Bill and need to later seek equitable relief.

An even more secure method of getting your questions answered and keeping a record is by asking your questions through the online Q&A system at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affair’s website. This Q&A system leaves a virtual paper trail on both your side and their side.

Equitable relief is, of course, is a drastic measure that most applicants to the Post 9/11 GI Bill will never have to worry about; but it’s good to know, as things become resolved and the kinks get worked, that there are methods for solving any arising problem. If you have made the switch from the Montgomery GI Bill to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and find as these rulings get hashed out that it was not the best decision, the VA will still work with you to get you back on track to the best financial aid situation possible. They want you to get the most out of the financial aid for your education.

Cheers to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense for all the hard work going into the Post 9/11 GI Bill!