ARLINGTON, Va. - Beginning Aug. 1, every Soldier who elects to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a family member or dependent will incur an additional four year service obligation, without regard to their time in service.
That news comes in a message to military personnel dated April 15.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is available to service members who serve on active duty for 90 days or more.
"The post-9/11 GI Bill offers a great benefit to our service members who are looking to expand their education," said Army Capt. Kurt Rauschenberg, education services officer for the Army National Guard. "Our service members have served to gain this benefit. That's something they earned."
However, the ability to transfer that benefit to dependents is a recruiting and retention tool.
"The purpose of the transferability is for recruiting and retention," said Rauschenberg. "These are service members we want to be able to retain for future service in the Army National Guard."
And because of the change coming up in August, that may impact Soldiers and their families.
"We want Soldiers to be informed of the impact of this change in policy," said Army Lt. Col. Mark Viney, chief of the Enlisted Professional Development Branch, Army G-1. "This is going to impact their decisions and their families, and whether or not they are going to have this money available to fund their dependent's education."
Veterans Affairs, or VA, also has eligibility requirements for transferability. A Soldier must have six years of active duty in order to transfer his GI Bill benefits.
In some cases, if a Soldier has incurred additional time in service in order to transfer GI Bill benefits to a family member, and is afterward unable to serve that additional time in service, he or she may be required to pay back those benefits.
Viney said that as the Army draws down, some Soldiers will be involuntarily separated under force-shaping initiatives. Soldiers who are separated early under such circumstances and who had previously transferred their Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to their dependents may retain the transferred benefits, without needing to repay them to the VA.
For more information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill and any changes, as well as other education benefits, check with your local education office.