Also posted on AO. It will be very frustrating if it turns out I'm not MGIB eligible since I have been told all along by several different agencies that I am.


When I joined the AF, they took $100 out of my paycheck every month for a year to pay for my Montgomery GI Bill benefits.

I applied for Montgomery GI Bill benefits and received a denial letter yesterday saying that I am not eligible.

The thing is, when I joined the military, participating in Montgomery GI Bill was the default. Meaning that to not have that money taken out of your check you had to sign something specifically opting out of the program. It wasn't something you had to sign up for, it just happened automatically if you were eligible for the program. Apparently if you were ineligible they took your money anyway.

I'm trying to find someone from a Veterans Service Organization to help me file an appeal to get my benefits. There is different language in different places on the internet about eligibility for MGIB. The language they used in the letter giving me the reason for the denial is absolutely false, so maybe it will turn out that I can get the benefits. The letter says "You received an ROTC Scholarship of $3400 or more during each academic year you were in school." This is definitely incorrect because the scholarship only covered four semesters. There's other stuff out there that says that you're ineligible if you received at least $3400 during each year of your scholarship program.

I'm guessing that this isn't going to go my way; that I'm ineligible for MGIB and the Air Force just took the money out of my check by mistake. I'm also guessing that recouping the money that they owe me is going to be a giant pain in the ass. Also a safe bet that if I do get the money back it will just be the straight $1200 with no accommodation for the fact that it was ten years ago.

actually, depending on when you enlisted, you had to opt IN, not out. You need to try to come up with your first 14 or so LES's to prove the money was taken out. Then you will have a leg to stand on. Good luck.

When I commissioned it was definitely opt-out.

Also, when the Post-9/11 GI Bill came through I was told a couple different times by the education office that I was on MGIB and if I wanted to get Post-9/11 GI Bill I needed to fill out some paperwork to switch over my eligibility. I never did that paperwork because I didn't want to switch.

So if I was never eligible it seems odd that 1) they would've taken the money from me in the first place and 2) that the education office would try to get me to cancel my eligibility for a program I wasn't eligible for.

Contact your Congressman's office. There will be a case worker who can/should help you.

Just posted this on the AO thread as well:


I see a lot of posters saying something to the extent of "switching over" your GI Bill. You don't need to switch anything over. I work in the VA office at South Alabama and handle these types of situations all the time. When a veteran applies to use his or her GI Bill, they fill out a form 1990. A simple check in the Chapter 33 box (Post 9/11) will get them their benefits. No "switching over" has to be done while on active duty. If the veteran paid into chapter 30 (MGIB), they can recoup their $1200 after Chapter 33 benefits have been exhausted.

I have a copy of my two year scholarship by each semester. Can you prove you did not receive that allocation mentioned by the letter? I'd write my congressman if so.

That said, for 9-11 does it even matter anymore?

Update?

PM Sent.