GI Bill won't pay after only 5 1/2 yrs out....Why??

Question

My husband was told that after being out of the National Guard for only 5 - 1/2 yrs that he was no longer able to use the GI Bill -- that it had expired for him. What happened to the whole 10 year thing?

Could there have been different rules in the late 90's when he

signed up?

I am wondering how I can find out why this has happened. From everything that I have read he should have had 10 years from the date he was out. Do they consider the years that he served in the guard part of those 10 years? He was honorably discharged in Nov. of 2002.

He paid for the GI Bill and now he has been told that it is not his to use.

He as you can imagine is very disappointed.

Answer 1

your husband needs to contact the V/A about his status.now!

Answer 2

Contact the VA, but the period of time you have to use the GI bill ends 10 years after the date of separation from ACTIVE duty.

Answer 3

A friend of mine had trouble getting some veteran benefit, but one of the guys we worked with was the District Commander of the American Legion and he put the pressure on and got it taken care of.

You might try something like that.

Answer 4

the ten year deal was for ACTIVE duty.  the Guard and Reserves had a different GI Bill with different Regs.  

Answer 5

Up until a few months ago the Montgomery GI Bill Select Reserve (used by National Guard and Reserve members) only applied while you were in a participating status. The 10 year rule that you are thinking of pertains to the Active Duty GI Bill.  Very Recently the rules have changed.  

Was he using the Reserve Select GI Bill or had he been active duty for a period of time and was using that while he was in the Reserve?  These are questions that can lead to the correct answer.

Here is the link to the GI BIll Web page for the VA.  It talks about the recent changes.

www.gibill.va.gov/

Good Luck

Answer 6

There are two routes your husband can take: contact Veterans' Administration and/or contact the veterans' assistance office at the school that he is/will be attending.  Going through the VA can take time, but the people who work at the VA office on campus usually work through issues quickly.  The school's VA office is staffed by students who are veterans themselves, so they are familiar with the current GI Bills and other military college programs.