Tag: Information

GI Bill: What Happens When You Are Mobilized?

If you are receiving the GI Bill and have to drop out of school as a result of reserve or Guard mobilization orders what will happen to your GI Bill? Will you lose your housing allowance? Will you owe the Department Veterans Affairs money?

Different Rules For Mobilizations

Normally, if you drop classes the VA will take back any money, including the tuition and Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) payments you received for those classes. However, different rules apply if you’re dropping them because you’ve been mobilized for military service.

If you drop out due to mobilization, the VA will pay your tuition and fees to the school for the entire term, no matter when you drop out. As a special bonus, VA will also give you back any GI Bill entitlement you used during the term from which you were forced to withdraw.

For instance, if your term began on Jan. 15 and you dropped out on March 15, you used two months of GI Bill entitlement (which is normally 36 months total). VA will pay you for attending school those two months and give you back those two months of entitlement to be used at a later date.

VA will also pay you the MHA through your date of withdrawal, rather than stopping it on the beginning date of the term, which is what normally happens if you drop classes. If you’ve been mobilized under Title 10 or under Title 32 for at least 30 days, your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) will begin on the effective date of your orders, so you will most likely get some type of housing allowance for the entire time.

Effect of Mobilization on Future GI Bill Payments

Being called to active duty may also increase your Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement percentage. The entitlement percentage is based on the amount of time you have served on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001. The entitlement percentage affects how much of your tuition is reimbursed to the school and how much your MHA payment will be.

For example, if you have served 24 months active duty after Sept. 10, 2001 your GI Bill percentage is 80%. If you are attending a public school with a tuition of $10,000 a semester you would have 80% of your tuition and fees or $8,000 paid by the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Active duty orders and mobilizations can add more active service to your base GI Bill percentage. The percentages and corresponding active duty requirements are:

  • 100% – 36 or more total months
  • 100% – 30 or more consecutive days with disability related discharge.
  • 90% – 30 total months
  • 80% – 24 total months
  • 70% – 18 total months
  • 60% – 6 total months
  • 50% – 90 or more days

The entire length of your mobilization will be added to your existing service.

Also, if you haven’t been on active service since before Jan. 1, 2013, your mobilization may give you more time to use your GI Bill.

People who were discharged before that date have 15 years to use their Post-9/11 GI Bill or 10 years to use their Montgomery GI Bill. However, additional active duty of at least 90 days effectively removes that time limit, and your additional active duty will effectively remove any time limits for receiving your GI Bill. Thanks to that new service, you are now covered under Public Law 115-48, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, commonly known as the “Forever GI Bill.”

Veterans Healthcare: Agent Orange

The VA offers health care and disability benefits for veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides during military service. Your dependents and survivors also may be eligible for benefits.

If you were exposed to Agent Orange between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, you may be eligible to enroll in VA health care.

What Is Agent Orange And How Were People Exposed To It?

“Agent Orange” refers to a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed in the jungles of Vietnam and around the Korean demilitarized zone to remove trees and dense tropical foliage that provided enemy cover. Herbicides were also used by the U.S. military to defoliate military facilities in the U.S. and in other countries as far back as the 1950s.

For the purposes of VA compensation benefits, Veterans who served anywhere in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides, as specified in the Agent Orange Act of 1991. These Veterans do not need to show that they were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides in order to get disability compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange exposure.

Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam were used, tested or stored elsewhere, including some military bases in the United States. Other locations/scenarios in which Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange may include:

  • Personnel who served off the coast of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, within 12 nautical miles of the coast of Vietnam and Cambodia, along a line of demarcation spelled out in the lawveterans
  • Korean Demilitarized Zone – Exposure along the demilitarized zone in Korea between April 1, 1968 and August 31, 1971
  • Thailand Military Bases – Possible exposure on or near the perimeters of military bases between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975
  • Herbicide Tests and Storage Outside Vietnam- Possible exposure due to herbicide tests and storage at military bases in the U.S. and locations in other countries
  • Agent Orange Residue on Airplanes Used in Vietnam War – Possible exposure of crew members to herbicide residue in C-123 planes flown after the Vietnam War
  • Veterans with one or more of the presumptive diseases whose claims were previously denied. It also includes those with new claims.
  • Children with spina bifida born to veterans who served in Thailand between January 1962 and May 1975.
  • Veterans who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone between Sept. 1, 1967, and Aug. 31, 1971

What Diseases And Conditions Can Agent Orange Exposure Cause?

VA presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for such exposed Veterans:

  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,
  • AL amyloidosis,
  • Chloracne or other acneform disease similar to chloracne,
  • Chronic B-cell leukemias (including, but not limited to, hairy-cell leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia),
  • Diabetes mellitus (Type 2),
  • Hodgkin’s disease,
  • Ischemic heart disease.
  • Parkinson’s disease,
  • Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset
  • Porphyria cutanea tarda,
  • Prostate cancer,
  • Respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx, trachea),
  • Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
  • Multiple myeloma

VA offers health care benefits for veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service. These services include an Agent Orange Registry health exam and clinical treatment at VA’s War Related Illness and Injury Study Center.

Agent Orange Effects On Children Of Veterans

Children who have spina bifida or certain other birth defects and are biological children of veterans with qualifying service in Vietnam or Korea may be eligible for a range of VA benefits, including:

  • Compensation – a monthly monetary allowance based on the child’s degree of disability
  • Health care benefits
  • Vocational training, which provides up to 24 months of full-time training, rehabilitation and job assistance with the possibility of an extension up to 24 months if needed to achieve the employment goal. The child may not begin vocational training before his or her 18th birthday or the date he or she completes secondary schooling, whichever comes first.

Agent Orange Registry Health Exam

VA’s Agent Orange Registry health exam alerts veterans to possible long-term health problems that may be related to Agent Orange exposure during their military service. The registry data helps VA understand and respond to these health problems more effectively.

The exam is free to eligible Veterans and enrollment in VA health care is not necessary. Although the findings of your exam may be used to inform your subsequent care, they may not be used when applying for compensation as a separate exam is required.

Disability Compensation

Veterans who want to be considered for disability compensation for health problems related to Agent Orange exposure must file a claim. During the claims process, VA will check military records to confirm exposure to Agent Orange or qualifying military service. If necessary, VA will set up a separate exam for compensation.