Financial relief for veterans

Without the help from the new GI Bill, John Hadfield couldn't afford to work and go to school, and even with the financial support it offers, the Iraq war veteran has a hard time providing for his family.

"In my case, I work full time and still can't meet my financial obligations," he said. "I have three kids and a house payment to take care of."

The 37-year-old graduate student, who is working on a Master's of Public Administration degree at the University of Utah, is one of many military veterans who have come to rely on the monthly payment that the new Post-9/11 GI Bill provides. However, with the increasing number of veterans, due to ongoing situations across the globe, paperwork is piling up at government sites and veterans aren't getting their money on time.

Many veterans, already well into the school year, are still waiting for the federal government to process payment for their educational benefits, but to alleviate financial issues, regional offices have received a go-ahead to issue emergency benefit checks. As of Friday, the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional office in Salt Lake City has issued 193 checks for up to $3,000 to students who have applied for Post-9/11 educational benefits and who have not yet received their government payment.

"Some people haven't seen money in their accounts for two to three months," Hadfield said. He was glad to finally get a cut of his money so he could pay his bills. "Without it, honestly, we don't get by."

Hadfield is hoping a master's degree will help him get a better job and make life easier for his family in the future. He said that for his 15 months of life-risking service in the Army, the money is definitely a blessing.

The combination of increasing numbers of veterans, due to recent and ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current economy has put a record number of applications for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits on the desks of federal workers, "and it's just taking them some time to get them all entered into the system," said Darin Farr, a public affairs officer with the Utah Department of Veteran Affairs.

"In the past, a lot of people who were in the (National) Guard and the Reserves never even qualified for the traditional veterans funding for school because all of their time had been served as Guard or Reserves. Well that's all changed in the last seven years," he said. "What's happened now is a lot of these kids are now traditional veterans because they've been called up and activated for Iraq or Afghanistan."