With the passage of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, a growing number of veterans are trading their military gear for ASU T-shirts and books.
Since the bill went into effect on Aug. 1, there has been a 40 to 50 percent increase in the number of veterans taking advantage of the veteran benefits offered at ASU Veteran Services, said Charlene Kamani, university registrar and office supervisor for ASU Veteran Services.
“It definitely allows more veterans to go to school, whether it’s ASU or any other institution,” Kamani said about the Post-9/11 GI Bill. “It gives veterans an opportunity that they didn’t have before.”
The bill benefits all individuals who served at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001 or those who were discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill pays for tuition and fees at a public institution plus an additional $1,000 dollars for books and supplies and a monthly housing allowance, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Before the Post-9/11 GI Bill was instituted, the Montgomery Bill paid only partial tuition and didn’t pay for books or housing, leaving veterans to pay the difference out of their pockets.
Though there have been delays with veterans receiving benefits from the bill, Kamani said ASU’s deferment plan pays for veterans’ tuition, fees, books and supplies while they wait for the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to come in.
Business sophomore Ryan Johnson, 23, is one of 1,250 veterans at ASU taking advantage of the new veteran benefits.
Without the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Johnson said attending ASU would have been difficult.
“I would have considered going to ASU [without the aid], but I don’t know if it would’ve been a feasible plan,” he said. “I probably would’ve attended a community college instead.”
Like Johnson, Raul Quintanilla, a 22-year-old serving his third year in the Marines, plans to take advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill when he comes to ASU in the fall to study nursing.
The bill has made it easy for many veterans to continue going to school and find better jobs after coming back, Quintanilla said.
“With some of the jobs in the military, when you go into the regular world, there are no jobs for what you have been trained to do in the military,” he said. “People who work with weapons don’t have actual jobs they can come work in after they leave the military, so with the [Post-9/11] GI Bill, the government is trying to help them go to college and get a better job.”
After serving four years in the Air Force and doing three tours in Iraq, Johnson said the transition from being in the military to attending ASU has been difficult.
“There are a lot of younger students here, and I can feel the difference because I’ve been in a different environment working with people who are pretty highly trained,” he said. “Now, I feel like I’m working with people who don’t know what they are doing sometimes.”
The veteran title hasn’t yet sunk in for Johnson, but he said he likes talking about his military experience with other students.
“I enjoy talking about it and being recognized for it, but I can understand why some people wouldn’t,” he said about his service in Iraq. “I didn’t have the same experience as others — I had a much milder experience than other people did in Iraq.”
Johnson’s service in the Air Force has helped him go from being a “D” and “F” student to a student who pays more attention in class and does well, he said.
“In basic training you learn to finish what you’re supposed to and to have high integrity and work ethic,” he said. “You learn that it’s your job literally to make sure you get ‘A’s’ and ‘B’s’ because if you don’t, you’ll fail out and you’ll end up doing something you don’t want to do.”
Coming from a family with a long history of military service, Johnson said he was happy with his decision to enlist in the military and advises others to do the same.
“It’s something that is for your country,” he said. “It gives you a perspective on what other people have gone through to make the country what it is.”
