If you are currently in service, you may be eligible after two years of active duty. Please consult with the Education Services Officer at your installation, or call 1-888-GIBILL-1, for information about your eligibility.

If you are separated from service, you may be an eligible veteran if you: entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985;

• received a high school diploma or equivalent (or, in some cases, 12 hours of college credit) before the end of your first obligated period of service;
• received an honorable discharge;
• continuously served for 3 years, OR 2 years if that is what you first enlisted for, OR 2 years if you have an obligation to serve four years in the Selected Reserve AND entered Selected Reserve within a year of leaving active duty.

You may be considered an eligible reservist or National Guard member if:

• after June 30, 1985, you signed a six-year obligation to serve in the Selected Reserve, AND you completed your Initial Active Duty for Training (IADT), AND
• you got your High School Diploma or GED before you completed your IADT, AND
• you are in good standing in a drilling Selected Reserve unit

Eligibility will be determined by the Department of Defense (DoD) or Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as appropriate. Generally, a member of a Reserve component who serves on active duty on or after September 11, 2001 under title 10, U.S. Code, for at least 90 consecutive days under a contingency operation, is eligible for REAP. There is no specific time frame to use REAP; however, your eligibility generally ends when you leave the Selected Reserves.

National Guard members are eligible if their active service extends for 90 consecutive days or more and their service is:

• authorized under section 502(f), title 32, U.S. Code,
• authorized by the President or Secretary of Defense for a national emergency, and
• supported by federal funds.

To be an eligible for Survivors’ & Dependents’ Education Assistance you must be the son, daughter, or spouse of:

• a veteran who died, or is permanently and totally disabled, as the result of a service-connected disability. The disability must arise out of active service in the Armed Forces.
• a veteran who died from any cause while such service-connected disability was in existence.
• a service member missing in action or captured in the line of duty by a hostile force.
• a service member forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power.
• a service member hospitalized or receiving outpatient care for a VA determined service-connected permanent and total disability may be eligible for DEA benefits. (Effective December 23, 2006)