Our current recession has made every single sector of the economy tight with cash, including Veterans Affairs. The recently passed historic post-9/11 GI Bill is slow to provide benefits for soldiers that are done with service and now looking for higher education. Although benefits have been slow to arrive to half of the soldiers that were in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military and colleges are both working hard to provide the fastest funding possible for these men and women seeking higher education.

The director of the VA Education Service office, Keith Wilson, has stated that about 25,000 veterans have been given benefits for tuition and expenses as quoted under the new version of the GI Bill, but 25,000 still are waiting for their payment to come in. This can prove somewhat difficult for a student trying to have a comfortable transition into college life. Wilson says, “We realize we’re not meeting everybody’s expectations” and is doing as much as he can to expedite the process.

The delay is a combination of a slow economy and a staffing issue that is making processing take longer than expected. However, there have been significant steps taken to add more staff, offer overtime hours and bring back retired claims processors. Whatever the military can do to give these brave men and women their benefits quickly is being done. As the press secretary for the VA states, “any delays are unacceptable.”

The slow to come benefits have no stopped anyone from going to college however. Universities have been working in conjunction with the VA to make sure that emergency funding is offered and flexibility is available in order to come to as smooth a transition as possible. As this new GI Bill matures, the teething phase will also come and go. However, what has been a positive is the work done to hold the commitments steady and keep progress moving forward. It comes with some adversity which will be overcome with patience and hard work.
According to Wilson, the average delay is 35 days. However this may be cut down with the new staff and extended hours being activated. These soldiers have paid their debt to their country, and their country is working as hard as it can to make sure they are compensated with benefits that will provide them with the best education possible. They’ve earned it.