Are there any other RP Members who were denied the GI BILL due to VEAP?

Sgt Kelli Mays I served from 1981 -1985 and fall into the same bucket as you as far as GI Bill benefits go. They were essentially non existent. I knew that going in and you should have too. There were forms we all filled out regarding the GI Bill then. If you did not know about the GI Bill and what you had access too you simply were not paying attention. You had to contribute each month to have eligibility and there was a match from the government. I seem to recall about the max you could get was $8,000 (I could be wrong on the number, it has been 35 years). That is called life. You were provided what you signed up for.

What can be done, nothing. You were given what you contracted to get, you were not "jilted". Time to suck it up and move on. On the upside, my son enlisted in the Marine Corps about 5 years ago and has access to the current GI Bill and is saving me a bundle on college tuition.

I did no elect to contribute to VEAP because I saw it as the bad deal it was. Fast forward to post 9/11 and lo and behold I was eligible for the latest iteration of the GI Bill. Was it unfair that Congress drafted legislation like this? Yep. Unlike the hordes who live off public assistance to mostly waste it at local community colleges, veterans earn it. Write to or visit your local congress critter, but i think the well may be dry at this point.

Sounds like you got caught between the transition from VEAP to the MGIB (Montgomery GI Bill). As I understand the intricacies of VEAP, it mandated the 1.) the service member contributed, and 2.) it was a "use it or lose it" proposition --where funds could ONLY be dispersed for education. My wife enlisted in '84 & was, subsequently, solely eligible for VEAP. Upon acceptance of an NROTC scholarship, her VEAP money was locked. She had 8-semesters of tuition covered. However, she took 8 1/2 semesters to graduate. Oddly, her VEAP money could not be applied against school loans. But, it could be recovered as a dispersal so as long as she was a full-time student. So, she took her VEAP money to buy groceries --and paid off the student loans independently.

Those who accepted VEAP benefits are not eligible for the MGIB. Unfortunately, you will not have much luck changing a 30-yr old, expired policy. It was the best thing going... at the time.

In 2008, the GI Bill was updated once again. The new law gives Veterans with active duty service on, or after, Sept. 11 2001, enhanced educational benefits that cover more educational expenses, provide a living allowance, money for books and the ability to transfer unused educational benefits to spouses or children.

I came in 03/06/80 and you're right, it isn't fare. Those who had VEAP should have been allowed to convert to the new GI Bill.

Under the VEAP, you could contribute up to $2700 total and the gubment would return a total of $7100 to you with that max contribution, as you said giving you a 3 to one return on investment. I never signed up for that because I was young and stupid, spending most of my free time while on active duty serving as a reserve deputy sheriff at Little Rock and Keesler AFBs (working for free), never thinking about the future and how a degree would help me. I just thought about my future in law enforcement which is where I am now for the past 32 years, some of which was while I was on active duty. Plus I thought that VEAP was a crappy benefit considering the old GI bill and then even the newer versions of the GI bill for those who came in a few years after me. I enlisted July 1980 and took a few classes in the evening and ended up getting 2 associates degrees and have right at 140 semester hours of college credit from the college classes, CLEP tests, and my technical training in the AFSCs I was trained in. Then I messed up and became a recruiter and that was my career ender! Someone has to do it but I don't recommend recruiting service for anyone at all. Anyway, I never did earn a bachelor's degree because I didn't have enough hours in a particular focus subject but I sure wish I had applied myself better and done that. All I can say is that for those now in the service, take full advantage of the current educational benefits program, whatever that is, because if you don't you will regret it later in life. And speaking of CLEP tests, if they are still offered as a way to get college credit, by all means take advantage of that. For those of us in the Air Force at that time(not sure about any other branches), they were free to take as well as the DANTES testing to get semester hours of credit. The AF base libraries usually had paper study guides and even video study guides to prepare for the CLEP tests. I used those and maxed out and got 36 hours of credit in English Composition, Natural Science, Social Science which I believe was basically history, Humanities, Math, Management, and Public Speaking. And being horrible in school in math and science, if I could max out and 6 hours each in those subjects, anyone should be able to! And trust me, I am not a good student and had poor study habits but I did it and so can you. And if it is still free, it is well worth the time and effort if you ultimately want to get a bachelor's degree or graduate degree with the educational benefits available. Again, don't be young and dumb like I was, motivate yourself and it will pay off later.

As for your question, as far as I know, there is nothing we can do about getting any benefits. If we were eligible for VEAP, we were never eligible for anything else to my knowledge. When the GI bill came back into play in the 80's, we were told that we were not eligible and that VEAP was all we had. That sucked for sure!

To all my veteran brothers and sisters, thank you for your service. To those who are active now, thank you and remember the oath you swore, that is going to be tested in the future I believe. God bless all.

I served from 1978-2005. I had the option to contribute to VEAP but as a E4 with 2 kids and a stay home wife...I left the USAF after 27 years as an E8 with no educational benefits, A friend told me about the post 9/11 educational benefits last year. Unfortunately even though the act was signed in 2008 the 15 year window to use it starts from when you leave service, they expire for me in 2020 and I am starting classes in Spring semester...My problem??? What to study.

We fell into a period where the educational benefits were not as great as others before us. VEAP was a 2-for-1 program -- you contributed and the Navy matched you with $2 for the $1 you put in. The total was $8,100 that could be spread across 3 years while you were in school. I did the same thing -- maxed out the VEAP program -- and used the $225/month to offset expenses towards my BSEE. So, you put in $2700 and you got back $8100. Not as great as the full GI bill, but as you probably remember, every little bit helped. There is nothing that can be done, since nothing was "wrong" -- this was the offered program at that time.

I to was denied education benefits due to VEAP. I enrolled into night nursing School at a local community college because I worked full-time during the day. Because I was not a full-time student, I could not us my VEAP matching benefits. The expiration date for using the VEAP or loose it was fast approaching, so I was forced to cash in the amount that I contributed and can never get any G I Bill benefits. I still need more schooling but the VA can't help cecause of a time period. Talk about leaving troops behind !

I hate to say it but Uncle Sam only owes you what you contracted for and sometimes he won't even do that. I enlisted in 1982 and fell under the VEAP program, which to be honest was horrible, considering what it replaced. If I recall they also allowed folks who were still on active duty to convert over to the Montgomery GI Bill when it came out. The MGIB was only marginally better than VEAP, so I didn't pay into it. I did use all the Tuition Assistance I could get while on active duty and completed two AA's and a BS. Fortunately, they came out with the Post 911 GI Bill which was an "awesome" improvement. After retiring I used it and my civilian employers educational assistant money to pay for Masters Degree.