Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty

MGIB-AD (ACTIVE DUTY) - KNOWN AS CHAPTER 30

The MGIB-AD program, also referred to as Chapter 30, provides education benefits to veterans and service members. As an active duty member, you can opt to $100 per month for 12 months in order to receive the monthly education assistance. You are entitled to this benefit only after you complete the minimum 2 years of active duty. The benefits provided under this bill are non-transferable.

WHAT IS COVERED UNDER THIS PROGRAM?

The Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty, called "MGIB-AD" for short, provides up to 36 months of education benefits to eligible veterans, which can be put towards the following:

• College
• Technical or Vocational Courses
• Correspondence Courses
• Apprenticeship/Job Training
• Flight Training
• High-tech Training
• Licensing & Certification Tests
• Entrepreneurship Training
• Certain Entrance Examinations

Assistance for remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be approved upon request in certain instances.

HOW MUCH DOES VA PAY?

See: CURRENT MGIB-AD PAYMENT RATES
MGIB-AD payment rates are updated annually, and the monthly benefit paid to you is based on the type of institutional training you take, length of your service, and your category. It also differs if the Department of Defense (DOD) put extra money in your MGIB Fund (called "kickers"). You can access your Montgomery GI Bill benefits for 10 years following your release from active duty, but this time frame can vary in different situations.

$600 BUY-UP PROGRAM

This is an option that you can avail in order to supplement your MGIB-AD benefits. By contributing up to an additional $600 to the GI Bill, you can receive increased monthly benefits that could amount in an extra $5,400 in assistance. To participate in the $600 Buy-Up Program, contributions must be made while on active duty. This table illustrates how your monthly payments could increase with contributions between $20 and $600.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

If you are a serviceman or woman with 2 years of active duty under your belt, you are eligible for education benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty. As a veteran removed from active service, you can generally use these benefits within 10 years following active duty. Since eligibility requirements are complex, they have been grouped into the following four categories. You must fall under one to be considered eligible.

Regardless of which category you fall under, all service members or veterans must meet two mandatory requirements to be considered for the Montgomery GI Bill, Active Duty:

• Veterans must have received a fully honorable discharge to use MGIB-AD benefits after being separated from active duty. Note that discharges "under honorable conditions" and "general" discharges do not make you eligible.
• Service members and veterans must have a High School Diploma, GED, or in some cases 12 hours of college credit to be considered eligible under for MGIB-AD benefits.