"Welcome Home" from Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland will help vets from Iraq and Afghanistan navigate the VA system.

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Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.  If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...  The archive of Jim's articles is here...  To find an answer to a specific VA benefits question, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...  And, be sure to use Jim's:  A Military Veterans Guide To Disability Compensation and Pension Benefits -- A Compendium of Resources and Knowledge For The Disabled Veteran -- click here...   JIm's series for new vets, "Welcome Home," is also featured on Military.com. And, you can follow Jim on TWITTER here ...

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Welcome Home! #8 -- New GI Bill Brings New Excitement

by Jim Strickland

It was in 1944 that President Roosevelt gave final approval to the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944". This new law became known as the GI Bill of Rights and later as just the GI Bill.

The Readjustment Act then gave returning WWII veterans access to unemployment compensation, home loans, business loans and a host of other benefits that enabled veterans to adjust and succeed in the post war economy. Not the least of the benefits in the package was money for education. It's long been recognized that education is one of the important factors to success. Higher learning contributes directly to your ability to earn a higher income.

In later years the GI Bill was modified to meet the demands of the times. The post Korean War veterans saw changes that were generally thought to be generous and necessary. Monetary payments were steadily increasing and the program became more focused on education as home loans and other benefits became identified under separate plans and administrations of the VA.

The original GI Bill benefits were assigned to veterans of war. During 1966 the GI Bill was modified once again to award benefits to all those who served whether during peacetime or war. During the 1970's millions of Vietnam era veterans made use of their GI Bill benefits to pursue higher education.

One of the most notable changes to the GI Bill since that day in 1944 when it was signed into law is almost on us.

On August 1, 2009 veterans who have served after 9/11/2001 will be eligible to begin to receive payments for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is as unique as the veterans that it will serve. Major changes, some that are very generous, have been made to enhance the veteran student's learning experience.

There's just no getting around the fact that the Post-9/11 GI Bill is one of the most exciting benefits to ever be offered to a veteran. While the history of the GI Bill has been mostly positive over its 65 year history, this most recent development sets a high new standard.

A few of the details that are important are that The Post-9/11 GI Bill includes both tuition support and a housing stipend. Furthermore, using the Yellow Ribbon program, you may be able to attend a private university at no cost to you.

There seems to be no end to it... you may be able to transfer your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to your dependents, there is an annual book stipend of up to $1000 and you can have up to 15 years after your discharge to use your benefits.

In most federally funded programs there are always details and fine print. The Post-9/11 GI Bill is no different. This program may not be a good fit for everyone and the Montgomery GI Bill is still there for you to use.

This may be the single lost important benefit that the veteran of today will see in their lifetime. The wise vet (or soon to be vet) will spend a good amount of time reviewing the many options and making good choices as you proceed.

As is often the case, the best place to start is the website of the VA itself. From there you can get a lot of the data you'll need and you can even apply on-line. After that, be sure to search around Military.com to check the very latest news of events that may be taking place.

Finally... an internet search to hear what others are saying will be a big help. As usual, certain precautions must apply when conducting internet searches. Only use trusted sites, there is often a lot of misinformation given out for malicious reasons and you'll do well to avoid anything that seems suspicious.

I've started the search for you and a few of my favorites are listed here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SoallqdXAo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wwzie29m5Y

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54151

http://www.facebook.com/gibillEducation

The excitement about this benefit is well deserved. knowledge and education are powerful tools to ensure that your future will be as rewarding as possible.

Don't delay to take advantage of this one. August 1st 2009 is on you right now...get busy!

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Jim Strickland, Veterans' Advocate, Welcome Home, Iraq veteran, Afghanistan veteran