GI Bill SCUBA

[Thalassamania]

I believe that you can get instructor training at the Florida Keys Community College, that's college credits like any other, the VA should pay ... and you can get an AA to boot.

 

[NickPhillips]

Any other news on this? I am already advanced open water and nitrox certified. I am hoping that the GI Bill will be able to be used to get the rest of my specialties, rescue, divemaster and instructor certificates. I live in dallas texas so hopefully there is a way of doing this. Any more info would be great!!

 

[The_Dude]

Check out "the dive station" . Then call Kieth Mattson. He's located in Orlando and I believe some of his courses are eligible for veterans benefits! He's also quite the character to talk to !!

Thanks for listing Keith on this forum. I ended up getting in contact with him and will be using my G.I. Bill to get my instructor cert there. Jan 7 can't get here quick enough in my opinion.

---------- Post added January 3rd, 2013 at 02:15 AM ----------

Hello Everyone,
I am writing this to share my experience with the G.I. Billand dive training. I wish I would have looked into this sooner. Yes, the G.I.Bill will pay for Scuba training if the facility is a VA approved school.
The program is geared for those who want to become a CertifiedDive Instructor.
I chose to do my instructor training in Florida with theplace called The Dive Station. I was also looking at another place in Hawaiicalled Aaron’s Dive shop. I have dove with Aaron’s Dive shop and I love theirstaff. I chose The Dive station one to make my wife happy and it is a 3 monthprogram instead of 6 months. This 3month vs. 6 month actual concern me a bit so I did some research. After doing the research I felt a more comfortablechoosing The Dive shop in Florida. It also helped that Keith allows VAparticipants to stay in a 3 bedroom house if needed while they go through theprogram. (2 per room)
I will know more about this program when I get started on iton Jan 7 2013.
If someone from Aaron’s dive shop reads this I loved yourtraining Staff, Chris, Mel, and Mel’s husband (Sorry I forgot your name) are awesome.Mel’s husband and Chris both really shared a lot of knowledge with me and havemotivated me to do more with scuba than just basic open water. I am also lookingat the Tech diving a bit more.
The only thing I feel a bit bummed out is that I found outthat in Florida I may spend a lot of time diving in a lake. Compared to divingin the waters of Hawaii a lake is a bit of downer, but I will deal with it.
And before I forget:
This has to be in person training.
I do get the monthly stipend (living allowance that is paidto me. Roughly 1350 a month plus I get an extra 256 a month because of thekicker (pre-911 G.I. Bill option).
I have even discovered Active duty military can also usetheir education benefits to get this training without the monthly stipend. (Iwish I knew this when I was in.) (A person station in Hawaii should takeadvantage of this.)

 

[knotical]

Dive shops in general can go through the wickets to get their professional programs (beyond Open Water) approved for VA benefits. See for example:
Home - Scuba Diving in Colorado Springs - Underwater Connection - Colorado Springs #1 Scuba Diving Shop
I’m sure there are others.


<disclosure &#8211; I was associated with that shop before I moved.>

 

[Sludge]

One of the shops I work in is Chattahoochee Scuba in Columbus, Georgia. Fort Benning is only a few miles away. Several months ago we were approved for the GI Bill on what I believe is "any scuba courses that will lead to the individual being employed as a scuba professional."

I'm just a reg technician there so I don't know all the particulars, but I have seen more soldiers wandering around the shop lately. Call 706/507-2573 and ask for Josh, or go to the website at www.chattahoocheescuba.com.



Edit: here is a direct link to the program: Chattachoochee Scuba-G.I. Bill Program

 

[IslandDiversHI]

Aloha Scubaboard,

Island Divers Hawaii's associated professional dive training program is called Hawaii Scuba University. The Divemaster, Instructor, MSDT and IDC Staff programs are all VA approved programs. You can find our school one the WEAMS institutions search under Non College Degree programs for the state of Hawaii.
For vets that are interested you can goto
WEAMS Public
School Name: Hawaii Scuba University
Program Type: Non College Degree
click on the picture of the state of Hawaii
You can find Hawaii Scuba University there.

The website is in the process of relaunch, but the 2014 start dates are accurate. A new program starts every 10 weeks and goes up to MSDT (you'll need 25 certs to move onto IDC Staff). You can jump in at your current level of training with prior credit issued. Chp 30 and 33 benefits cover all tuition and fees, you are only out of pocket for PADI fees and books. As noted in this thread, IE exam fees can be reimbursed by VA. BAH is currently approx $2200 a month in Hawaii, enough to cover living expenses on the island. We are not particularly active on Scubaboard, but there are links on the website to contact the registrar, a vet, who you can provide you more information. For 2014 we have 2 course directors on staff for the program, as well as 4 dive boats, a 100m pool (yes really, it's 100m and 15ft in the diving well), and an active local diver & tourism market. The University has mostly been advertised by word of mouth, but that is likely going to change this year as we start to reach out to the national market.

As it turns out, Hawaii is kinda a fun place to scuba dive as well.

 

[Father]

Aloha Scubaboard,
Island Divers Hawaii's associated professional dive training program is called Hawaii Scuba University. The Divemaster, Instructor, MSDT and IDC Staff programs are all VA approved programs.
As it turns out, Hawaii is kinda a fun place to scuba dive as well.

So can you only use the Post-9/11 GI Bill for professional certifications? Or could I use it just to get certified for Deep Diver and the Tech-series certifications?

 

[knotical]

My understanding is that:
- the GI Bill is geared toward career assistance.
- programs that lead toward professional credentials such as DM and above, tech instructor, public safety diver, etc. have been approved. But tech diver alone is not the intent.
- these programs can start as early as AOW.

The trick seems to be finding a school/LDS in your area who has gone through the bureaucratic process of approval for the program you want.

 

[Father]

My understanding is that:
- the GI Bill is geared toward career assistance.
- programs that lead toward professional credentials such as DM and above, tech instructor, public safety diver, etc. have been approved. But tech diver alone is not the intent.
- these programs can start as early as AOW.

The trick seems to be finding a school/LDS in your area who has gone through the bureaucratic process of approval for the program you want.

That looks to be about what I'm finding. Rescue Diver and DM would then fall into this. I'm guessing, if that's right, that the only way to get the PADI tech/rec courses would be if I was an instructor and wanted to be able to teach the tec/rec.

I'm not sure what the process is for approval of a shop or how long it takes. I'm going to look into that. I'm sure the dive shop he would LOVE to try for that since we're on a military installation. That might also work to their advantage.

 

[RDRINK25]

At Chattahoochee Scuba in GA you can use the GI for any course.


Chattachoochee Scuba-G.I. Bill Program