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Your brochure, "Do You Know Enough to Enlist?," has raised hackles among military recruiters. The most civil of the recruiters told me that a GI automatically becomes eligible to get money for college or a trade school after 3 years active duty service. The recruiter said that if he got a bad discharge after 3 years of service he would still be eligible for GI Bill benefits. What gives?

The recruiter is wrong.

The current Pentagon education plan for recruits – known as "The New GI Bill" or "The Montgomery GI Bill" – is one of the most widely misunderstood government benefits, apparently even by recruiters.

There are many ifs, ands, and buts in the current federal law pertaining to the use of this benefit. A veteran must meet several eligibility requirements. Two of the most important ones have to do with how long a person has been on active duty and how he/she left the services. In most cases, a veteran must have served on active duty at least three years. In all cases, he or she must leave the serves with a fully Honorable discharge.

Under earlier GI education plans, one could get this benefit with a General or an Other Than Honorable, as well as an Honorable. Now one must have a fully Honorable discharge. Don't take our word for this. See what the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has to say or read its popular handbook, Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents (VA Pamphlet 80-99-1).

This situation has created a big problem for many young veterans. It is only when a GI has left the service and applied to the Veterans Administration to receive funding for school that he/she finds out that he/she may not be eligible to get it.

The story gets worse. Not only can a GI lose government money, he/she stands to lose the $1,200 he/she contributed to the plan.

The basic unfairness of this situation has been the subject of much criticism. The Army Lawyer, a publication of the U.S. Army's legal unit, once referred to the New GI Bill as the "Trojan Horse of the 1980s" (October 1989). Well, it's the year 2000 and situation has not improved.

Any recruit, GI or veteran who believes much of what a military recruiter says is in for a rough ride. Most GIs come to learn this as they spend time in the military.

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Do you know enough to enlist?