Did You Know?
VA says that if you were discharged on or after January 1, 2013, the 12-year basic period of eligibility for VR&E doesn't apply to you — there's no time limit on your eligibility.
Most veterans know about the GI Bill. Far fewer know about the benefit sitting next to it, which can pay for training toward a new career specifically because a service-connected disability is getting in the way of the old one.
It's called Veteran Readiness and Employment — VR&E, or Chapter 31. And the two assumptions that keep veterans away from it are both wrong.
Assumption 1: "My Rating Isn't High Enough"
VA lists two basic requirements for veterans. You must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and you must have a service-connected disability rating of at least 10% from VA.
Ten percent. That's the same rating a single service-connected condition often carries. If you've been assuming this program is reserved for severely disabled veterans, that assumption has been costing you.
Assumption 2: "I'm Too Late"
This is where the date matters, and it splits veterans into two groups.
Discharged on or after January 1, 2013
VA is direct about it: the 12-year basic period of eligibility doesn't apply to you, and there's no time limit on your eligibility. If you separated in 2013 or later, the clock you were worried about does not exist.
Discharged before January 1, 2013
A 12-year basic period of eligibility applies. VA measures it from whichever of these came later: the date you received notice of your date of separation from active duty, or the date you received your first VA service-connected disability rating.
Read that measuring point carefully
The window can run from your first service-connected rating, not only from your separation date. A veteran who separated long ago but was first rated recently may be further inside the window than they assume. VA also notes this period can be extended for a veteran with a serious employment handicap.
It's Not One Program — It's Five Tracks
VR&E isn't only school tuition. VA organizes it into five support-and-services tracks, and a counselor helps determine which one fits your situation:
- Reemployment — returning to a job you already held
- Rapid Access to Employment — moving into work you're largely ready for now
- Self-Employment — building toward running your own business
- Long-Term Services — training or education toward a new career field
- Independent Living — for veterans whose disabilities make employment not currently practical, focused on living independently
That Independent Living track matters. Veterans sometimes rule themselves out because they can't picture working right now. That circumstance is precisely what one of these tracks is built around.
Money While You Train
VR&E has a subsistence allowance — a payment to help you cover living costs while you're participating. Rates depend on your circumstances, and VA publishes current subsistence allowance rates on its VR&E pages. Confirm your own figure with a counselor rather than budgeting from a number you saw on a forum.
How to Start
- Confirm you have at least a 10% service-connected rating and a discharge that isn't dishonorable.
- Check which side of the January 1, 2013 line your discharge falls on.
- Apply through VA and ask to be scheduled with a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
- Come to that meeting ready to describe how your condition interferes with the work you're trained to do — that link is the heart of the program.
You may qualify even if a previous attempt at school didn't go well, and using VR&E is a separate question from your GI Bill entitlement. A counselor can walk through how the two interact for your situation.