Details Emerge on Post-9/11 GI Bill

[livvy]

Details Emerge on Post-9/11 GI Bill

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jan 18, 2009 9:22:49 EST

A simple, Internet-based enrollment system is planned for the Post-9/11 GI Bill to take care of everything from initial qualification to transferring benefits to family members, for those who want that option.

“We want it to be pain-free, we want it to be simple and fast,” said a senior defense official who asked not to be identified because many details remain undecided.

Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs officials are preparing to implement Aug. 1 the biggest increase in veterans education benefits since World War II. The program promises to cover full tuition, with additional stipends for books and living expenses, for full-time students attending the public college or university of their choice.

On average, the combination of payments adds up to more than $85,000 in college benefits over four years, and it is possible that some people attending private schools could get far more under a program in which VA will pay more if expensive schools agree to discount tuition rates for people using the new GI Bill.

Pentagon officials believe the option of sharing these benefits with family members could be the most significant across-the-board retention bonus ever offered to military members, and could radically transform the career force.

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http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_gibillrules_011809w/%2e

[sam sarrha]

1. my nephew joined the Marines, went to iraq, his benefits wont pay enough to go to school, he was

was going to sign up as a mercenary to make enough money to feed his family and go to school