The latest GI Bill signed into law by President Bush on June 30 considerably improves the educational opportunities for today’s service members, a senior Defense Department official says.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 mirrors the tenets of the original GI Bill, which gave returning World War II veterans the opportunity to go to any school they wanted while receiving a living stipend, according to Bob Clark, the Pentagon’s assistant director of accessions policy.

“The original GI Bill was said to be one of the most significant social impacts of the 20th century,” Clark said. “We believe the new bill is going to have a similar impact.”

The new GI Bill applies to individuals who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and offers education benefits worth an average of $80,000, double what was offered in the previous program. It covers the full costs of tuition and books, which are paid directly to the school, and provides a variable stipend for living expenses. It is also transferable to family members of career service members.

Its only restriction is that payment amounts are limited to the most expensive in-state cost to attend a college or university, Clark stated.

The variable stipend is based on the Defense Department’s basic allowance for housing for an E-5, which averages about $1,200 a month, and $1,000 a year will be paid directly to the service member for books and supplies, he added.

Enrollment in the Post-9/11 GI Bill is free. By contrast, eligibility for the previous and still functional Montgomery GI Bill is based on service commitment and requires active-duty service members to pay a $1,200 fee over the initial year of their enlistment.

The new bill requires that an individual serve at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, and, if discharged, be separated on honorable terms. Service members discharged due to a service-connected disability are eligible if they served 30 continuous days on active duty. Service members must serve 36 aggregated months to qualify for the full amount of benefits.

Service members are entitled to the new bill’s benefits for up to 36 months and have up to 15 years from their last 30 days of continuous service to use their entitlements.

As successful as Defense Department officials anticipate the new bill will be, Clark suggested, however, that new recruits may still want to enroll in the previous Montgomery GI Bill.

The Montgomery GI Bill gives benefits for higher education as well as vocational training, apprenticeship programs and on-the-job training, he said. The Post-9/11 GI Bill focuses solely on higher education and can only be used at institutions that offer at least an associate’s degree, he said.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill also brings good news for officers and for service members who enlisted under the loan repayment program. Since eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is based on time already served, more service members will be able to take advantage of its benefits, Clark added. Officers commissioned through one of the service academies or through ROTC and enlisted service members participating in the loan repayment program do not qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.

Those service members will be able to qualify if they finish their initial obligatory service. Commissioned officers must complete their initial five-year commitment if they attended a service academy or their four-year agreement if they were commissioned through college ROTC. Service members whose college loans were paid off by the Defense Department as a reenlistment incentive must finish their initial commitment, whether it is three, four or five years, before they can apply, Clark stated.

“Any amount of time an individual served after their obligated service counts for qualifying service under the new GI Bill,” he said.

Another facet unique to the Post-9/11 GI Bill is that it is transferable to family members. The feature gives the defense and service secretaries the authority to offer career service members the opportunity to transfer unused benefits to family members. Although Defense Department officials still are working with the services to hash out eligibility requirements, there are four prerequisites that are subject to adjustment or change, Clark said.

Currently, transferability requirements include: qualifying service to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill; active duty service in the armed forces on or after Aug. 1, 2009, when the new bill takes effect; at least six years of service in the armed forces; and, agreement to serve four more years in the armed forces.

Individuals who may not qualify to transfer unused benefits because they leave the service before the new bill’s effective date will probably still qualify for the bill. As long as the separated service members meet the minimum qualifying time served, they can contact their local Veterans Affairs office and apply for the program. While payments are not retroactive, eligibility is, Clark said.

“This new bill will allow our veterans to chase their dreams,” Clark said. “It will allow them to go back and experience college like they deserve, much like their grandfathers did in World War II.”

More information about the Post-9/11 GI Bill is available at the Providence regional VA office, 380 Westminster Mall in downtown Providence, (800) 827- 1000. You can sign up online at www.gibill.va.gov.

Aviation Hall of Fame invites ’08 nominees

The USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, sponsor of the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame, knows how rich and varied our state’s aviation history is and just how many wonderfully skilled and talented contributors to the aviation age were born in Rhode Island, were educated here, lived here for a portion of their lives or performed some great aviation-related act or service here.

Over the past five years, 31 individuals have been inducted into the hall of fame, according to Frank Lennon, the hall’s founder. If you have a family member or friend who may have played a role in the state’s aviation history, Lennon wants to hear from you.

Four public nominations have already been submitted since the 2007 inductions, and others are expected before the deadline. To nominate someone for recognition, call Lennon at (401) 831-8696, or send an e-mail to savesara@aol.com by the Sept. 15 deadline. The annual dinner and induction ceremony will take place the weekend of Nov. 21 at the Varnum Armory, in East Greenwich.

‘Trench rats’ on the job at VA Medical Center

A small but effective group of self-described “trench rats” can be spotted at the VA Medical Center on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence every Wednesday morning, and they perform a valuable volunteer service. They call themselves trench rats after the famous coffee servers who plied the trenches during World War I providing sustenance and hot beverages to the fighting troops.

The present-day VA trench rats serve coffee, muffins, bagels and doughnuts on Wednesday mornings, from 5:30 to 10. Doughnuts are donated by the Dunkin’ Donuts at 1755 Smith St. in North Providence. The coffee and accompanying tasty breakfast treats are dispensed free of charge, but donations are accepted.

Any proceeds go to the Medical Center patients in the form of gifts given out at Easter and Christmas. Donations are made also to the group that provides transportation for medical appointments and to other worthwhile VA projects.

The Providence VA’s group of trench rats include dedicated veteran volunteers Jerry Girard, Emelio DiTomasso, Thomas Bianco and Joe Jerozal, who say they gain great satisfaction in serving coffee and doughnuts to their fellow veterans. Any veteran coming to the VA Medical Center on Wednesday morning is welcome to have “coffee an’” with the trench rats, and you won’t even have to crawl into a trench to get it.

•Gulf War commission

The Persian Gulf War Information and Relief Commission will meet tomorrow at 1 p.m., in the south building conference room of the Rhode Island Veterans Home, 480 Metacom Ave., Bristol. For more information call BG Richard Valente at (401) 245-2533.

•Veterans of Foreign Wars

Bingos will be held at 6 p.m. at the VA Medical Center in Providence tomorrow by Euart Auxiliary unit 602 and on Wednesday by Gatchell Auxiliary unit 306. Gatchell Post 306 will host an Italian dinner fundraiser on Thursday at the post home, 171 Fountain St., Pawtucket, from 4 to 7 p.m., with $7 tickets sold at the door.

•American Legion

Balfour-Cole Post 64, at 170 Pleasant View Ave. in Smithfield, will meet Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

•Italian-American Veterans

The department’s monthly meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in conference room 1 of the VA Medical Center, 830 Chalkstone Ave., Providence.

George W. Reilly can be reached at VeteransColumn@verizon.net or by writing to The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.