Which GI Bill do I use?

By Capt. Michelle Baer

Wisconsin Army National Guard

At age 20, I enlisted in the Wisconsin Army National Guard for the education benefits. At the time I knew that the National Guard paid my college tuition and gave me money towards books and housing. I learned the requirements to receive benefits and I was off to the races.

Twelve years later, I returned to the Wisconsin Army National Guard after completing a six year tour on active duty and a 15-month deployment. I am now ready to complete my Master of Business Administration, but I was confused on my education benefits.

I knew there were new education benefits such as the Post 9/11 GI Bill and Wisconsin GI Bill. I was unsure on which GI Bill chapter I had already used, or even the difference between a tuition grant and the GI Bill.

After talking with Capt. Dustin Cebula, the Wisconsin Army National Guard education service officer, I learned there are four programs that pay for tuition and four programs that pay a monthly stipend while attending school.

 The four tuition programs include:

 •Wisconsin Tuition Grant pays up to the UW-Madison rate for eight semesters of full-time study for currently serving service members.

 •Federal Tuition Assistance pays $250 per semester credit ($4,500 max per fiscal year), limited to 130 credits for undergraduate and 39 for graduate degrees for currently serving service members.

 •Wisconsin Tuition Remission (GI Bill) reimburses qualifying veterans 100 percent tuition for eight semesters or 128 credits at UW System or Wisconsin technical schools and can be used after separation from military.

 •GI Bill Post 9/11 payment is based on total days of qualifying Title 10 active duty and Title 32 AGR service on or after Sept. 11, 2001. Benefits include: tuition and fees payment, housing and books stipend. In addition, benefits can be transferred to a spouse or children.

 The four stipend programs include:

 •Chapter 33 GI Bill Post 9/11 is the only program that pays tuition and stipend.

 •Chapter 1606 GI Bill Selected Reserve pays $345/month for full-time study.

 •Chapter 30 GI Bill Active Duty enroll while in the regular Army or AGR program.

 •Chapter 1607 GI Bill REAP where payment is based on continuous days of active duty.

 In order to find out how many months I had left of my GI Bill benefits I called 1-888-442-4551. I could have also gone to www.gibill.va.gov in order to find out the payment rates and months of eligibility.

The rule is that you can use a maximum of 36 months of one GI Bill but no more than a total of 48 months of combined GI Bill benefits if eligible for more than one.

Capt. Cebula helped me decide the best course of action on how to maximize my benefits. I have decided to attend a private university, so I will be using my Federal Tuition Assistance and then I will transfer my GI Bill 9/11 benefits to my son. In addition, I plan to contact the veteran certifying official at the college if I have any other questions.

I learned that everyone has a different military experience and is eligible for different military benefits. In order to fully utilize your education benefits you should contact the Wisconsin Army National Guard Education Service Office at 608-242-3447 or your battalion career counselor.