Questions about AZ Natl. Guard & education benefits

[pilot@32]

I've been taking a look at the AZ National Guard recently. I was wondering if anyone has any idea of the educational benefits offered. I know ATP & the like cannot accept GI bill & similar programs. However, a friend of mine advised that they may be able to help out with loan repayment. (aka help with paying off existing loans when you join.)

I'm realistic and know that I can't fly in the ANG. (I'm 32 & the USAF states I had to be 30 with special permission to complete flight training.) However, I have other skills to offer & ~ $300/month will help with loan repayment. You also need military experience to qualify as pilot for the US Border Patrol. This is one of the cooler flying jobs around. You're close to home and fly 3 different types of aircraft on a regular basis.

Any info is highly appreciated. My local recruiters are both out of the office. In case you're wondering, my local is the 161st refueling wing.

Cheers,

Paul

[Maurus]

You could try and call up the individual units. Get their phone numbers from here.

[Kristie]

really belongs in the military forum. moved it for you.

[Airborne840]

For what it's worth I can tell you my experience here in Utah and how I used my benefits. First off, the student loan repayment is a bit tricky. The debt has to already be owed before you enroll for this. Example. If you joined today with zero student loans and tomorrow applied, received and now have a 20,000 student loan, the Guard would pay ZERO. If you had 20K in loans today and signed up tomorrow, the Guard would pay all of it. They only make 15% per year for every year you enlist. So you would have to be in for 6 years and receive approx 3,000 per year on the anniversery of your enlistment date. I know - ( 15% per year for 6 years does not add up to 20K, but thats how they did mine.)

Second, they will not just pay off any loan out there. This one got me too. I have loans through the credit card company, a few from my credit union, a few from my college, and a few from my flight school. THe only loans that they will pay off are the loans that are 'approved' loans from your college. I am talking about Stafford, sub, unsub loans that require you to fill out a FAFSA application through the government. All in all, its a good program but the kicker is that you have to already have the debt to actually quailfy. You can also join now, build the debt from taking out loans, and then re enlist down the road and apply for this on your re enlistment but that will probably vary state to state so be careful. Make you get everything in writing from the recruiter too.

Second, The Gi Bill. Its a good program and mine was recently increased because my national guard unit was deployed to Afghanistan for a year. When I got home, I applied for the Chapter 1607 (activated guard)
This gave me a 60% increase to my benefit and also added on an additional 12 months of benefits. I Had used half of my 36 months, deployed, returned home and was back to 36 months again. So actually I had been awarded 48 months all together. Not too bad when each month is 800 dollars. DO the math.

Third, If you are planning on using the GI bill to pay for your flight training, good luck! It was a pain in the A**!

THey only pay after your private, and only pay for certain VA approved flight schools, I think Riddle is one of them. They pay for 60 % of what the rate is and they only pay the minimum to get your rating. IE: 190 hrs for your commercial. If you require additional flight training like most do and fly 230, they only pay until 190 for the commercial, ect for the CFI and everything else.


4th, My state has the Federal Tuition Waiver. This is essentially only to pay for accredited College tution. THe way it works is you enroll in your college, go online to a website NationalGuardBenefits.com and imput your semester totals. They will pay a max of 4500 per year/250 dollar per credit hour toward you college. Books included. This program is a first come first served basis and has limited funding for each state. I have never had a problem with this and always loved this program. THe cool thing about this is I used 4500 per year to pay my tuition and also received my Gi bill monthly in addition! IT allowed me to pay for my expensive flight training on the side. Hope this all helps. Let me know should you have more questions feel free to ask.

Good luck