PREC 14-99    Vesting of Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefits    Citation: Vet. Aff. Op. Gen. Couns. Prec. 14-99,  VAOPGCPREC 14-99, 1999

ISSUE: Is an individual who successfully completes all requirements for eligibility for educational assistance benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) barred, under 38 U.S.C. § 3011(c)(2), from receiving those benefits if he or she graduates from one of the U. S. military academies and receives a commission in the Armed Forces?

CONCLUSION:

As provided by 38 C.F.R. § 21.7042(f)(3), an individual who has met all the military service requirements to become entitled to MGIB benefits, as set forth in 38 U.S.C. §3011(a)(1)(A) or §3012(a)(1)(A), and who subsequently graduates from a military academy and is commissioned an officer in the Armed Forces is not barred by 38 U.S.C. § 3011(c)(2) or § 3012(d)(2) from receiving the vested MGIB benefits. However, if an individual is commissioned upon graduating from a military academy after December 31, 1976, and before completing the military service needed to establish MGIB entitlement, that individual is disqualified by section 3011(c)(2) and section 3012(d)(2) from MGIB eligibility.