Army National Guard Kicker Incentive Program

The Kicker Incentive is an additional monthly payment used to encourage qualified Soldiers to enter specific units that sustain Army National Guard readiness requirements.  A Soldier may only contract for a Kicker once in his/her career. There are Enlisted and Officer Candidate Kicker Incentives available. Each has their specific eligibility criteria.

HOW DO I QUALIFY?

Applicants must:

• enlist/reenlist/extend to have a six year service obligation.
• have a high school diploma or equivalent
• complete MOS or Area of Concentration (AOC) branch qualification

WHAT DO I GET?

• A maximum of 36 months of benefits under the Kicker program based on the contracted kicker rate.  
• Applicant must contract for the Kicker if they are eligible or are establishing eligibility for the MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR.
• The Kicker may be paid in conjunction with MGIB-AD, MGIB-SR or PGIB.

Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (MGIB-AD), CH 30

This program is available to members who began active-duty or AGR service for the first time after June 30, 1985, contributed $1,200 and received an Honorable Discharge.

HOW DO I QUALIFY? 

Service Members are eligible if the following criteria are met:

• Served on Title 10 Active Duty or Title 10 or Title 32 AGR after 30JUNE1985.
• Complete a DD Form 2366
• Contribute $1,200
• Receive an Honorable Discharge

WHAT DO I GET?

Effective Oct 1, 2025, a monthly payment directly to you based on amount of active-duty served.   If you served at least 3 continuous years on active duty/AGR, the following rates apply:

Training Time	Monthly Rate
Full-time	$2,518
3/4 time	$1,888.50
1/2 time	$1,259
Less than 1/2 time more than 1/4 time	**$1,259
1/4 time or less	**$629.50
Apprenticeship and On-the-Job Training
1st six months	$1,888.50
2nd six months	$1,384.90
Remaining trade	$881.30
Cooperative Training
Monthly Rates	$2,518
**Tuition and fees only.

Payments are limited by years of active-duty service, full-time or half-time enrollment, use of Federal Tuition Assistance and Active Duty/Drilling Status.

Post 9/11 GI Bill, Chapter 33

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is an education program that helps you pay for school or cover expenses for job training.  If you have served a minimum of 90 cumulative days on active duty after September 10, 2001 and received an honorable discharge, you may qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  

HOW DO I QUALIFY?

At least one of these must be true:

• You served at least 90 days on active duty (either all at once or with breaks in service) on or after September 11, 2001, or
• You received a Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged after any amount of service, or
• You served for at least 30 continuous days (all at once, without a break in service) on or after September 11, 2001 and were honorably discharged with a service-connect disability, or
• You're a dependent child using benefits transferred by a qualifying Veteran or Service Member
• AGR under Title 10 or Title 32
• Service under Title 10 USC Sections 688, 12301(a), 12301(d), 12302(g), 12301(h), 12302, 12304, 12304a or 12304b.
• Title 32 USC Section 502(f) under a Declaration of National Emergency as follows:
  • between Sept 11, 2001-May 31, 2002 under Operation Noble Eagle
  • between Feb 15, 2019- Jan 20, 2021 in support of Southwest Border Mission under Operation Guardian Shield
  • effective Mar 22, 2020-July 1,2022 in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • between Jan 14, 2021-May 23, 2021 in support of the Capitol Police/59th Inauguration
• Basic Training and AIT can be added to qualifying time if the Soldiers
  • Attended all or a a portion of IADT on or after Sept 11, 2001; and
  • Completed 24 months of other qualifying service 

DO THESE BENEFITS EXPIRE?

• For Soldiers whose last day of qualifying active-duty was prior to January 1, 2013, eligibility to use CH 33 benefits expires 15 years from the date of the last Honorable Discharge or release from Active Duty of at least 90 consecutive days.
• For Soldiers whose last day of qualifying active-duty was on or after January 1, 2013, eligibility never expires. 
• Soldiers who are subject to the 15 year limit can eliminate the limit by completing a new period of qualifying duty of at least 90 continuous days on or after January 1, 2013. 

WHAT DO I GET?

• Post 9/11 payment tiers are calculated based on cumulative qualifying time a Soldier accrues. There are three benefit payments:  Tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance and a book/supplies stipend. All three are pro-rated by the Service Members' payment tier.  The monthly housing allowance and the book and supplies stipend are further pro-rated by the Service Member's credit hours pursued. 

Qualifying Service	Payment Tier
36 months or more or Purple Heart recipients	100%
At least 30 continuous days on active duty and discharged due to service- connected disability	100%
30-36 months*	90%
24-30 months	80%
18-24 months	70%
6-18 months	60%
90 days-6 months	50%

* Includes Basic Training and AIT

Tuition and Fees

• Up to 100% of in-state tuition if you are attending a public school
• a maximum of $29,920.95 per year at a private or foreign school (effective August 1, 2025)

Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) 

• Must be attending more than half-time to receive
• Equivalent to BAH of E-5 with dependents
• Based on zip code where attending classes
• If attending only online classes: $1,169 per month (effective August 1, 2025)
• Subject to term start and end dates
• Soldiers serving on qualifying active duty for 30 consecutive days or more are NOT eligible for the MHA

Book and Supply Stipend

• $41.67/credit hour
• Up to $1,000 per academic year

Can also be used for National Exams, Licensing and Certification Tests and Prep Courses and Tutorial Assistance

 

Yellow Ribbon Program

The Yellow Ribbon Program allows institutions of higher learning to enter voluntarily into an agreement with the Department of Veteran Affairs to fund tuition expenses that exceed the annual Post 9/11 tuition cap.  Payment is made directly to the school on behalf of the students. 

HOW DO I QUALIFY?

• Only individuals eligible for Post 9/11 GI Bill at the 100% benefit level, dependents using transferred GI Bill or Fry Scholarship recipients are eligible for Yellow Ribbon funding.
• Beginning August 1, 2022, Active-Duty Personnel, AGRs and their spouses using transferred GI Bill will be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon program. 

WHAT DO I GET?

• Additional funding to students for out-of-state tuition or tuition at a private school.
• If a school participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, Dept of Veterans Affairs will match each dollar the school contributes up to 50% of the difference between the Post 9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee payment and the amount charged to the student.  The combined school and Dept of Veterans Affairs contribution cannot exceed the tuition and fee charged the student. 

Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB)

The Department of War allows service members to transfer their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to their spouse or dependent children.  While the Post 9/11 CH 33 GI Bill is an entitlement for the Service Member, the TEB is not an entitlement.  It serves as an incentive for further service and is intended to promote retention in the Army National Guard.  Not every Soldier will qualify for the Transfer of Education Benefits.  Soldiers unable to commit to the required service obligation will not be eligible for TEB. 

HOW DO I QUALIFY?

• Be actively serving in the Army National Guard;
• Be entitled to the Post 9/11 CH 33 GI Bill;
• Have completed six or more years of qualifying service in the Armed Forces (Active-Duty or Selected Reserve) at the time of the Transfer of Benefit request;
• Commit to serve at least four additional, continuous years in the Armed Forces. (Must have an ETS or MRD equal to or greater than four years from the TEB request date)
• Have no adverse action flags, including failure to maintain fitness or height/weight standards. 

WHAT DO MY DEPENDENTS GET?

• Dependent(s) receive the same tier payment as the Soldier;
• Spouse is subject to the same rules as the transferring Soldier:
  • Spouses of Soldiers serving on qualifying active duty are not eligible for the Monthly Housing allowance.
  • For Soldiers whose last day of active duty was before Jan 1, 2013, the spouse's eligibility ends 15 years from the Soldier's last day of qualifying time.
  • For Soldiers whose last day of active duty was on or after Jan 1, 2013, the spouse's eligibility never expires.
• Children:
  • Can use the benefit after the transferring Soldier has completed ten years in the Armed Forces.
  • Always paid as if the Service Member was in a non-Active Duty status.
  • Can begin using the benefit on their 18th birthday or completion of requirements for high school diploma or GED.
  • A child's eligibility ends on their 26th birthday unless you specify an earlier end date.
• You can transfer to a spouse at any time while you are actively serving.  You must transfer to a child before their 21st birthday (23rd birthday if they are a full-time student).
• You can modify and/or revoke months between any dependent you originally transferred months to -even after you separate from service.
• You cannot add dependents after you separate from service.  Soldiers should consider transferring months to each dependent.
• Important:  All ARNG Soldiers should consider initiating the Transfer of Benefits process as soon as they meet the TEB eligibility requirements. 

Notes

 Soldiers should be aware of the following:

• Receiving a Dedicated Guard ROTC Scholarship will terminate a Soldier's MGIB-SR (CH 1606) and Kicker. 

• Cadets who have not completed AIT and been awarded an enlisted MOS are not eligible for the OCS, ROTC or WOC Kickers. 

• Chapter 1606 may be suspended while on AGR status.

• Chapter 33 housing allowance is not payable to AGR Soldiers.

• Top-Up benefits are available under Chapter 30, covering tuition costs not met by Federal Tuition Assistance.

Example: If tuition is $3,000 and TA covers $2,000, Top-Up can pay the remaining $1,000.

• Post 9/11 GI Bill, CH 33 may also be used for Flight programs, Apprenticeships, On-the-Job Training, Independent Study programs and National Test reimbursements. 
• Any period of service that counts toward one of the following Department of War (formerly Department of Defense) programs to be non-qualifying: 
  • Loan Repayment Program (LRP)
  • Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship
  • Service Academy Graduation

APPLICATION PROCESS

Go to www.va.gov . 

• Click on "Education and training."
• Click on "How to Apply"
• Click on "Find your education benefits Form" and answer the questions.  
• Click "Apply Now."

Step 1:  Apply for your Certificate of Eligibility (CoE)

Step 2:  Register for Classes

Step 3: Verify your Attendance

Step 4: Next Semester/Term

NOTES: 

• Soldiers applying for MGIB-SR benefits, a copy of your Notice of Basic Eligibility (NOBE) is found in your iPERMS record.