None of these are not likely to pass this year, says Geoffrey Collver, minority counsel to the House Veteran Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Benefits. “With tax cuts the way they are, we don’t have any money,” he says. “We have a lot of activity (with bills), but because they are cost-prohibitive we can’t move anything right now.” Instead, he and other Congressional observers see non-spending measures getting through, such as adding more flexibility to the education benefits’ applicability, streamlining on-the-job training and apprenticeship accreditation and removing the time limit for benefits.

Montgomery GI Bill advocates are concerned that, with sharply increasing educational costs, many veterans and Reservists will opt out of using the benefit because the overall price of going to school is ever-rising. They also argue that increasing the benefit will positively impact the economy in terms of job creation and income increases. “The original GI Bill saw a return of investment (for the government) of six to 10 times,” Douglass says. “For the Vietnam era program, we heard the return was six times the investment.” He notes that the Montgomery GI Bill program probably would not reach that level of return because the American work force itself has evolved so much since the ’50s and ’70s. Nevertheless, the 321,837 benefits paid in Fiscal Year 2003 through the active duty program, and the 88,342 paid through the Selected Reserve program (an increase of more than 2,500 Reservists from 2002) likely is having some economic impact.

At the least, it’s having a positive impact on those taking advantage of their GI Bill benefits. Even at the current levels, the Montgomery GI Bill education benefit is a great value for both Active Duty and Reserve personnel. Whether you aspire to send an astronaut to Mars, or become the first Iron Chef American, the Montgomery GI Bill is priceless

How to use it

To use the Montgomery GI Bill to help pursue your second calling, start by visiting the Veterans Affairs GI Bill web site, www.gibill.va.gov. This links you to easy-reading fact pages plus the full law, to current payment rates plus application forms, and to the toll-free counselor numbers plus the regional offices’ web sites. Click through to the “Education Benefit Programs” for an overview of the Tuition Assistance Top-up benefit.

To use the Top-up program, you first must get tuition assistance. If you are Active Duty, visit your installation’s education office for information on college and training programs and whether you can get tuition assistance (most programs qualify).

If you are a Guard or Reserve member, start with the VA GI Bill Web site, www.gibill.va.gov and click on the “Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve” link.

GI Bill Top Up

The Kimes are a two-generation military family. They also are two-generations smart.

Steve Kime, a retired U.S. Navy officer, earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate from Harvard while he was serving on active duty. His son was a Marine officer who, while teaching at Quantico’s Officer Basic School, attended the University of Virginia, earning his master’s of education. The younger Kime is now a teacher; the elder Kime is president of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC), a national program that smooths transition of credits and coursework among the nation’s colleges for military servicemembers on the move.

As such, you can find no better expert than Steve Kime on the merits of using your Montgomery GI Bill education benefit for Tuition Assistance Top-up. Signed into law in October 2000, the provision permits the Veterans Affairs to pay a portion of the eligible member’s GI Bill benefit as an add-on to the services’ own tuition assistance programs. When you do the math, you just might find that all your schooling costs will be covered.

Thanks to SOC and on-base education programs, now enhanced by improved distance learning through on-line and correspondence courses (you can even earn post-graduate degrees while serving on board ships), the opportunities available for you to take college and professional licensing courses are vast. Furthermore, the military encourages it. As Kime says, whatever the coursework you choose the military will likely grant tuition assistance; and if you get that, you automatically can take advantage of your existing GI Bill Top-up benefit.

Of course, you have to attend classes on your own time. We know you are busy juggling duty schedules, family responsibilities, hobbies and social work. But guess what? You will have no better opportunity to further your education than now while serving in the military, where you can count on the support of your superiors. “While the services run hot and cold about whether you need a master’s degree, it does become one of those distinguishers” at promotion time, Kime says. The additional schooling, whatever it is, will probably improve your work skills and leadership ability while serving out your active duty commitment. As for your post-discharge days, an additional degree today will enhance your marketability tomorrow. “Go ahead and get your master’s in business administration; a lot of officers do that,” Dr. Kime, three-time Harvard graduate, says. “I’d be a lot more marketable today if I had an MBA.”