After being recently medically separated from the
military, Mark Dressler, a 19-year Air Force veteran, planned to use his Post
9/11 GI Bill benefits to continue his education. After participating in the
Department of Veteran Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program,
he was accepted at Diesel Driving Academy in Shreveport, La. for a commercial
driver’s licensing, or CDL, program.
Working toward the goal of being an over-the-road
truck driver, Mark was a month into his training when the school’s financial aid
department delivered a devastating message. “I was informed by the school
financial department … the GI Bill would not cover my tuition and I had to take
out loans for over $8,000 and pay $1,500 [in housing costs] out-of-pocket or
leave the school,” said Mark.
Out of options and having no other way to finish
school, Mark was forced to pay his first month’s housing bill using a credit
card and take out thousands of dollars in student loans. Refusing to put
another month’s rent on a credit card, he contacted the VFW’s 1 Student Veteran
program for help after seeing an ad for the VFW’s program on Facebook.
In less than 24 hours, George Burke, Special Assistant
for Veterans Benefit Policy, responded to Mark’s email. Using his VA expertise
and resources, George discovered Mark’s paperwork request to transfer from the Vocational
Rehabilitation program and enroll using his Post 9/11 GI Bill education
benefits had never been processed. In less than two weeks, George was able to cut
through the red tape and work with a VA regional processing office representative to correct the paperwork issue and
process Mark’s enrollment for his CDL class. Not only did this eliminate the
need for over $8,000 in student loans, but it also processed Mark’s housing and
book allowances and allowed his school to refund his out-of-pocket costs.
“I would like
to highly express my gratitude for Mr. Burke and this program,” said Mark. “He
worked on my case and was able to do what no one else could.”
The 1 Student Veteran program leverages the VFW’s
decades of expertise in navigating the VA benefits system, offering direct
assistance to student veterans like Mark who are experiencing problems
accessing their VA education benefits or who have questions about other
veterans’ programs. Veterans who send a message to 1 Student Veteran will
receive a reply from a VFW staff member who specializes in student veteran
issues within one business day. For more information, visit www.vfw.org/1StudentVeteran or email
1StudentVeteran@vfw.org.