What's needed to be eligible for 100% GI Bill as disabled Reservist? Please help...

FF77

FF77

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
AWWW, my long letter just erased! Ok, for the short version... What percentage of disability rating from the VA do I need to qualify for the full GI Bill? Some say it's possible at 30%, but I can't find it. OH and I'm a partially disabled Reservist w/little AD time (became disabled early on).

But every online resource I've read doesn't say the disability rating is even a factor in eligibility and the VA Reps. have been very vague in terms of getting any answers there.

So my other question is, what discharge code is needed that shows one has a "service-connected disability" that would qualify someone like me for the full GI Bill? I.e., which codes does the VA automatically approve for full GI Bill benefits?

Any help on this is appreciated as many months have already passed by w/out being able to get a clear answer. Meanwhile, I'm under pressure to make some big decisions, so please help asap if you know the answers.. Thank you!
 
The Post 9/11 GI Bill is dependent upon how much active duty time you have after 9/11 and it is prorated depending on the time factor. For instance, 24 months or more =100%. Less than that is prorated. Vocational Rehab rating is 10%. You may qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill or REAP (reserve educational assistance program).
 
margaret1 said:
The Post 9/11 GI Bill is dependent upon how much active duty time you have after 9/11 and it is prorated depending on the time factor. For instance, 24 months or more =100%. Less than that is prorated. Vocational Rehab rating is 10%. You may qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill or REAP (reserve educational assistance program).
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Hi, margaret1, thanks for posting!

And thanks on Voc. Rehab. But what about GI Bill? Is there a minimum rating for that for it to be 100% covered w/out the AD time; or for those like me w/out much AD time, I would have to have a particular discharge code to qualify for that?
 
Soldiers released from active duty due to a service-connected disability after 30 days or more of continuous service are also eligible for benefits for 15 years.

Source: http://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/H..._Benefits_Page/Post_911_GI_Bill.html?serv=151

[5] All Post 9/11 GI Bill benefit payments are based on the amount of creditable active-duty service each veteran has since Sept. 10, 2001. If you are an active-duty, National Guard, Selected Reserve member, or veterans who has served on active-duty for 90 or more days since Sept. 10, 2001 the following percentage of benefits apply based on your Post-9/11 Active-duty service:

  • 100% - Requires at least 36 cumulative months (Includes Entry Level or Skills Training time)
  • 100% - Requires at least 30 continuous days on active duty and discharged due to service-connected disability (Includes Entry Level or Skills Training time)
  • 90% Requires at least 30 cumulative months (Includes Entry Level or Skills Training time)
  • 80% - Requires at least 24 cumulative months (Cannot include Entry Level or Skills Training time)
  • 70% - Requires at least 18 cumulative months (Cannot include Entry Level or Skills Training time)
  • 60% - Requires at least 12 cumulative months or )
  • 50% - Requires at least 6 cumulative months (Cannot include Entry Level or Skills Training time)
  • 40% - Requires 90 aggregate days (Cannot include Entry Level or Skills Training time)
 
gsfowler, thanks so much for your time!

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but can Reservists also be discharged due to a service-connected disability? And would the VA honor that and grant the maximum GI Bill benefit?
 
As long as you have performed at least 30 days of consecutive active duty since Sept 11, 2001 and medically discharged (at any percentage) you are eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill at 100% rate.
 
To clarify, does it matter if the discharge is from active duty or reserve status? Just permanently medically retired from reserve status 70 dod 80 va. Just waiting on orders. Received 60 % Post 9/11 and approved for voc rehab. Where can I find the 100% rate if discharged at any percentage?
 
margaret1 said:
To clarify, does it matter if the discharge is from active duty or reserve status? Just permanently medically retired from reserve status 70 dod 80 va. Just waiting on orders. Received 60 % Post 9/11 and approved for voc rehab. Where can I find the 100% rate if discharged at any percentage?
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It does not matter whether you are active duty or reserve. All that is required that you serve more than 30 continuous days on active duty after 9-11-2011 and are medically discharged at with a service connected disability from 0 to 100%.
 
Thank you, gsfowler. Good afternoon, to everyone.

This brings me to some new questions that I've been trying to form that I wonder if any of you can shed some light on. Again, I'm an Army Reservist and have lasted awhile since I fought to stay in, hoping for healing. But my condition has worsened and I'm at the point of wondering if it's time to just pull back now and heal. In fact, I have no idea how I'm going to get to and through my upcoming drills, which are pretty intense. This leads me to try to see that maybe it's time to let go of the Army dream - at least for now, somehow, until I am better, though it is unknown, really if and when "better" will come.

So I am wondering, would moving into the IRR be an option in the middle of my contract right now, due to medical? If my command is ok w/it (they are usually pretty supportive of my goals), do they have the authority to make that decision? And is it a simple process or something long and drawn out? (You can imagine the bureaucracy I've had to deal with over the years, and is why I ask, just so I can know what I'm in for).

And then of course, there's the option to allow medical discharge. This one's hard for me since once I'm out, I don't have the hope of coming back if I get better since I'm now over the age limit, so had been holding off on this. I'm trying to ease the sting of losing my Army dreams with the hope that maybe I can get the full GI Bill and cultivate some new goals and dreams. One concern I have is that one person (not anyone in authority, just another Soldier) thought that I would not be afforded a medical discharge code simply because I did not get to finish Advanced Individual Training (the 2nd part of our Initial Entry Training and where we get MOS-qualified, for those reading that are non-Army), and that I could only be given a "general discharge". I hope he's wrong, since I have certainly served over 30 continuous AD days and have a service-connected disability, per the VA. Please verify that I don't need to be concerned about getting screwed over in a discharge?

Also, can my First Sergeant have the authority to write up my discharge or who does that? Does everyone discharging have to go through a MEB or PEB?

Thank you so much for reading this. Again, any thoughts are appreciated.
 
Also, it sounds like I would NOT get the full GI Bill until after I medically discharge, correct? In other words, if I can move into the IRR to continue healing, because I didn't medically discharge, I could not use the full GI Bill since I don't have enough AD time and a disability rating is not enough in my case w/out a discharge, right?
 
First things first, is your disability service connected?

Do you have a line of duty?

What type of pressure is being put on you?

Have you completed a periodic health assessment (PHA) lately?

The IRR is not a place for unfit soldiers to convalesce, it is a reserve force for active duty to call upon. If you are not fit for duty medically, then you should undergo a MEB and possibly a PEB.
 
Thanks, gsfowler, my answers are below in blue italics...

gsfowler said:
First things first, is your disability service connected? Yes.

Do you have a line of duty? Yes.

What type of pressure is being put on you? My injury has taken so long to heal that I feel the pressure to need to make a decision for (1) my company feels they can't keep me in limbo and has to make a decision themselves about me and (2) I feel the pressure myself because I want to be a good Soldier but am struggling so much physically that drilling w/my unit is becoming overwhelming.

Have you completed a periodic health assessment (PHA) lately? I'm not sure. What is that exactly? I did recently see an Army doc that did an extensive evaluation on my LOD. He felt it to not only be an "injury" but a "disease/illness" as well since there is nerve damage going on and put me on a no-running permanent profile. He felt I could try to choose a new MOS w/less of a demand for running and still go to AIT w/the permanent profile, but everyone else says that's not possible since MEPS makes that determination and is expected to say "no". We were at least going to give it a try, but seeing this last month that I'm not doing well has me questioning how to pull back somehow.

The IRR is not a place for unfit soldiers to convalesce, it is a reserve force for active duty to call upon. I see... If you are not fit for duty medically, then you should undergo a MEB and possibly a PEB.
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Would I have to go to a MEB/PEB in any case? If my company leaders and I decide on medical discharge, do I still need a MEB?
 
Company leaders do not have the authority to discharge you medically. The MEB/PEB determines your fitness.

Your unit can initiate a discharge for conditions not a disability and or conditions that existed prior to service.

What is the medical condition that is causing you difficulty to attend drill? When are you scheduled to go to AIT?
 
Oh, whoops, that didn't work out as I saw it in drafting... To finish answering the PHA question... I did recently see an Army Doctor that did an extensive evaluation of my LOD injury and he found it not only to be "injured" but also "disease/illness" since there is nerve damage and atrophy. He put me on a permanent no-running profile and encouraged me to find an MOS where there is less of a demand for running, insisting he has sent Soldiers to AIT on permanent profiles before. But no one in my battalion has heard of that happening and says the MEPS docs have the final say and are expected to say "no".
 
P2 or P3 on the profile? When did you graduate basic? What is your LOD injury? Have you initiated a C&P claim with the VA?
 
gsfowler said:
Company leaders do not have the authority to discharge you medically. The MEB/PEB determines your fitness.

Your unit can initiate a discharge for conditions not a disability and or conditions that existed prior to service.

What is the medical condition that is causing you difficulty to attend drill? When are you scheduled to go to AIT?
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Ah, I see... darn.. Is a MEB/PEB a good thing? Forgive me for having to ask, but I've already been through so much bull and bureaucracy that I'm not sure how much more I can take. Who conducts a MEB for a Reservist?

My LOD originated as torn ligaments and a fracture in my ankle. I had hoped to heal normally, but my AD company kept me on the injury before I could get to the doc and then for almost 4 months afterwards, continued to go against doctor's orders. It never healed right and I'm still having pain and complications. Surgery's not completely ruled out, but we're waiiting on getting an MRI. One diagnosis has been chronic Peroneal Tendinosis. And then the Army doc's findings of nerve weakness was another diagnosis. There's more I'm privately dealing with in terms of my health since I've enlisted, but the above-mentioned is the only LOD that the Army and VA are acknowledging.

As of now, I am not scheduled to go to AIT. Last my leaders discussed was getting the paperwork in order to send me back through MEPS and ask to go to a new AIT on a permanent no-running profile. Unless I ask otherwise, we may continue work on it next week. If yes, then I'd be scheduled (though I hear that'd be miraculous for a "yes"). If no, then it'd be time for discharge and I have no idea how that goes, but you just may be the first to give me an idea...
 
gsfowler said:
P2 or P3 on the profile? When did you graduate basic? What is your LOD injury? Have you initiated a C&P claim with the VA?
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Hmm... ya know, I'm not sure if it's P2 or P3... I'm looking at it right now... How do you tell? The PULHES is 212111 under Permanent, if that matters?

I'm not sure what a "C&P" claim is in particular, but I do have a claim in with the VA for the LOD. They recently determined me to be 10% disabled w/what little info. they had, but I have so many more records to get to them that it could change.
 
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