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22 G.I. JOBS | OCTOBER 2017 | GIJOBS.COM 6 ways the Forever GI Bill improves your military education benefits. BETTER FOREVER BY DAN FAZIO GRAB A CARTON OF MILK at the store and you'll probably check the "Best If Used By" date before throwing it into the cart. Buying expired milk stinks. Thanks to the new Forever GI Bill, you won't have to worry about your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits expiring. Ever. Congress this summer passed the new law that removes the expiration date, allowing service members who sepa- rated from the military after Jan. 1, 2013, to use it at any time during their lifetime – hence the name. It's officially called the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 to honor the national commander of the American Legion who wrote the first draft of the original GI Bill in 1944. The original GI Bill is considered one of the most transformative laws ever enacted by our nation, allowing millions of World War II veterans to go to college or buy homes. When the Post-9/11 GI Bill was passed in 2008, it included a 15-year "use it or lose it" expiration date. "What's special about making the GI Bill a 'forever' benefit is that service mem- bers will have the flexibility Will Hubbard Student Veterans of America Aleks Morosky Military Order of the Purple Heart Lauren Augustine Got Your 6 Kris Goldsmith Vietnam Veterans of America they need to pursue their ed- ucational aspirations," said Paul Dillard, chairman of The American Legion's National Veterans Employment and Education Commission. "These improvements may seem small, but the impact cannot be overstated." The Legion was part of a coalition of Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and military associations that lobbied to remove the time limit and expand the Post- 9/11 GI Bill. The coalition included Veterans of Foreign