Maj Gen Robert Worley, Director of Education Services at the VA, here for a live Q&A March 13th at 3pm ET. What questions do you have?

2018-03-08T13:19:39-05:00

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Maj Gen Robert Worley is here to discuss the changes to education benefits in the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Act/Forever GI Bill.

Robert M. Worley II was appointed Director of Education Service on March 29, 2012. In this capacity, Mr. Worley provides executive level oversight in the department for policy, planning, integration, and delivery of education program benefits administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration.

Prior to this current assignment, he served as the Director of Programs, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C. In this capacity, Mr. Worley was responsible for developing, integrating, and analyzing the Air Force future budget program of $600B across the Future Years Defense Program.

Mr. Worley has held numerous leadership positions leading military space operations to include intercontinental ballistic missile, satellite command/control, space surveillance, missile warning, and satellite launch operations. He retired from the United States Air Force in the grade of Major General in 2011. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters. His civilian awards include the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award for 2017.

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Response by CPT David Gowel made Mar 8 at 2018 4:09 PM

2018-03-08T16:09:41-05:00

Maj Gen Robert M. Worley II, USAF Retired, thank you for joining us on RallyPoint. For all service members who are considering a transition to civilian life or those who are already in the process of planning for it, what are the most valuable but underutilized education benefits you see that we should all be using more of as a Veteran community?

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Mar 8 at 2018 4:18 PM

2018-03-08T16:18:36-05:00

Thank you for coming to RP Sir. My questions to you are in the IT certifications field. Why can't the veteran be paired with an IT mentor along with his Voc Rehab counselor?. It would make explaining the situation easier to stomach from the counselors perspective why a certain cert is required in the field vs being bean counters pushing college degrees. The old IAT/IAM model helped before, but even that was hard to explain to my counselor after awhile. She was HR not IT. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) to me is one of the hardest classes to take and at the end, has a mental grinder of a test (six hours long) that most do not pass even on their second and third tries. The instructors even mention that fact in class. If there was an IT mentor the IAT/IAM model would've been a non-issue, and after collaborating on what to take based on the job wanted, he/she again would tell the counselor this is how it is and works. You could end up in that (or another class for the fifth time, but it is counting against your GI Bill. That should also be explained). My second on the certs is, different states allow different certs to be taken and approved by Voc Rehab. This could've changed since my example got his. My next example would be Certified Ethical Hacker or CEH. At the time, CEH was not on the approved list of certs to have, but was in high demand. The school knew this, and rather than pass on the chance to get another certification to the troop, the troop signed up for another certification yet sat in on CEH, passed it, and is now working in the Pentagon. This goes back to having mentors from major industries to interpret and guide troops through based on the type of job they are looking to do rather than having a counselor who is overburdened and might not even have a clue as to what is really needed in a particular field try to use VA regs to tell someone yes or no on a cert.

While I mention IT in this, it's not just an IT thing. It can apply to fields like mechanic to HR. Degree's are important, but when looking at jobs, you don't always see what type of degree is required (it'll usually say degree wanted or so many years experience), but you WILL see what kind of certs are required. Need to change the mindset to support what's needed vs perceived across the spectrum. Thank you again Sir for coming to RP.

Response by PFC Sandra Wade made Mar 9 at 2018 12:13 PM

2018-03-09T12:13:59-05:00

Maj Gen Worley. On a 100% Disability rating, its my understanding educational Benefits are available to that Veteran. Do they need to carry a certain amount of credits (full time) or can they do a class here and there. Like an art class? Can they start stop and resume or does it need to be in a continued basis. One fell swoop? Thank you and have an amazing day!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Mar 10 at 2018 6:50 AM

2018-03-10T06:50:18-05:00

No questions General, just a big thank you for your helping veterans and service members with on going education.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Mar 12 at 2018 11:44 AM

2018-03-12T11:44:28-04:00

Maj Gen Robert M. Worley II, USAF Retired If you have used all of your GI Bill Benefits, to include the Post 911 GI Bill Benefits that I transferred to my daughters, are there any benefits in the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Act/Forever GI Bill that I can use into (or) I'm not eligible?

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Mar 12 at 2018 11:49 AM

2018-03-12T11:49:30-04:00

No Questions although as a Viet Nam Veteran I did take advantage of the VA educational assistance and get My BS degree. That did cover My tuition and books but i still had to work part time to pay for the Dormitory room and board. Without the VA it would have been a lot harder and maybe even impossible. It sure helped Me a lot. I'm sure glad that was available to Me from the Veteran's Administration and it not only helped with finding a job but also a 20% increase in my weekly pay.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Mar 12 at 2018 11:50 AM

2018-03-12T11:50:45-04:00

Maj Gen Robert M. Worley II, USAF Retired: I have questions Major General....But, first of all I WOULD LIKE TO GREATLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR HIGHLY HONORABLE PRESENCE WITH US HERE ON RALLY POINT!
Sir, could I take courses from the VA: both- online and at home? Also, Major General Worley: I would like to take VA courses part-time.
Would these be possibilities for me at all, Sir?
THANK YOU BEYOND KINDLY, MAJOR GENERAL WORLEY, FOR YOUR TIME, PATIENCE AND, FOR LISTENING TO ME.
THANK YOU AGAIN, MAJOR GENERAL, FOR HONORING US WITH YOUR HONORABLE PRESENCE; RIGHT HERE ON RALLY POINT!
I would like to most sincerely thank you for your attention to my questions, Sir.
-Margaret C. Higgins U.S. Army Retired: Coach (of Facebook groups)/Photographer

Response by Cpl Joe Loera made Mar 12 at 2018 5:26 PM

2018-03-12T17:26:39-04:00

I’ve been out for 21 years. Is it possible to start my G.I. Bill back up?

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Mar 12 at 2018 5:26 PM

2018-03-12T17:26:48-04:00

Maj Gen Robert M. Worley II, USAF Retired -- what is the most common area of education benefits that confuses SMs or Veterans, perhaps leading them to either not use the benefits at all, or use them in a non-optimal manner? Thanks as well for coming to talk with us on RP.

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made Mar 13 at 2018 12:22 AM

2018-03-13T00:22:04-04:00

Thanks for joining us, Maj Gen Robert M. Worley II, USAF Retired. It’s great to see a fellow AFSPC warrior on RallyPoint.
My question: What important changes or added value to our education benifits are on the horizon?

Response by SSgt Anne Moor-Lane made Mar 13 at 2018 7:59 AM

2018-03-13T07:59:43-04:00

Q.: What is most expedient way to obtain the education VA certificate of eligibility? My masters degree is on hold since January bc no one I speak to in our Columbus, OH VA centers or VA’s 1-800-number knows how to help me. When you call the 1-800-number, you’re guaranteed to wait 1 hour/45 minutes. Who seriously has that kind of time? Advanced thanks.

Response by SGT Kristin Wiley made Mar 13 at 2018 10:24 AM

2018-03-13T10:24:50-04:00

My question is how the BAH changes are going to be implemented. As a medical student, we are sent on clinical rotations away from the campus we attend, will we receive BAH based on where we rotate or where the school is located?

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2018 10:45 AM

2018-03-13T10:45:50-04:00

Good day sir, My question today is twofold based on my personal experience with the Post 9/11 GI Bill. First I have been in the military continuously since 1982. I joined as an enlisted soldier and fully participated in the VEAP matching program and ended up coming off two years of active duty with 15,200. for collage. I used a portion for a semester of pre engineering and then a year of technical school and had some money left when I was finished. Many years later I was mobilized several times and became eligible for the full Post 9/11 education funding. My family made the decision to use this for my daughter towards her four year degree and started all the paperwork with her school to get it set up. What happened during the course of getting my benefits transferred to her was a representative from the VA reached out to me to share that the money I used during my VEAP days would be taken away month for month from my Post 9/11 program as I was only entitled to use the program to equivalent of 4 full years of education. That left my daughter with her spring semester of her senior year to be funded by her or loans. The good news is her school is a yellow ribbon participant so she should be okay to finish without any out of pocket expenses.

First question is why was this information not made clearer and more easier to understand for me beforehand? I think all the particulars of the several different educational programs should be made available to military members and veterans in an easy to you guide or reference chart. It could make a huge difference in determining where to attend school.

Second question is as a warrant officer I am suppose to be a subject matter expert in my particular field and be the go to person for help in finding out answers to me soldiers and leaders questions, was there some portal or document that I somehow missed when exploring the Post 9/11 that you could share to lesson the burden on future participants in the post 9/11 program?

Response by Capt Sabrena Goldman made Mar 13 at 2018 12:05 PM

2018-03-13T12:05:30-04:00

If you were approved for an extension of a delineation period for your Montgomery GI BIll how can you speak to someone on the phone if you have a question about your extension? Also if you were approved for a Masters program that is full time but you are doing the classes 6 weeks at a time how can the school and VA communicate better about part time and full time status regarding a Montgomery GI Bill?

Response by Maj Gen Robert M. Worley II, USAF Retired made Mar 13 at 2018 3:03 PM

2018-03-13T15:03:05-04:00

Hello everyone...I'm really happy to have this chance to answer questions on the Forever GI Bill.