USC Subchapter I

38 U.S.C. § 3001 Purposes

The purposes of this chapter are— (1) to provide a new educational assistance program to assist in the readjustment of members of the Armed Forces to civilian life after their separation from military service; (2) to extend the benefits of a higher education to qualifying men and women who might not otherwise be able to afford such an education; (3) to provide for vocational readjustment and to restore lost educational opportunities to those service men and women who served on active duty after June 30, 1985; (4) to promote and assist the All-Volunteer Force program and the Total Force Concept of the Armed Forces by establishing a new program of educational assistance based upon service on active duty or a combination of service on active duty and in the Selected Reserve (including the National Guard) to aid in the recruitment and retention of highly qualified personnel for both the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces; (5) to give special emphasis to providing educational assistance benefits to aid in the retention of personnel in the Armed Forces; and (6) to enhance our Nation’s competitiveness through the development of a more highly educated and productive work force.

38 U.S.C. § 3002 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter— (1) The term “basic educational assistance” means educational assistance provided under subchapter II of this chapter. (2) The term “supplemental educational assistance” means educational assistance provided under subchapter III of this chapter. (3) The term “program of education”—(A) has the meaning given such term in section 3452(b) of this title; (B) includes—(i) a preparatory course for a test that is required or used for admission to an institution of higher education; and (ii) a preparatory course for a test that is required or used for admission to a graduate school; and (C) in the case of an individual who is not serving on active duty, includes (i) a full-time program of apprenticeship or of other on-job training approved as provided in clause (1) or (2), as appropriate, of section 3687(a) of this title, and (ii) a cooperative program (as defined in section 3482(a)(2) of this title). (4) The term “Selected Reserve” means the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of any of the reserve components (including the Army National Guard of the United States and the Air National Guard of the United States) of the Armed Forces, as required to be maintained under section 10143(a) of title 10. (5) The term “Secretary of Defense” means the Secretary of Defense, except that it means the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy. (6) The term “active duty” does not include any period during which an individual (A) was assigned full time by the Armed Forces to a civilian institution for a course of education which was substantially the same as established courses offered to civilians, (B) served as a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies, or (C) served under the provisions of section 12103(d) of title 10 pursuant to an enlistment in the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, or as a Reserve for service in the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve. (7) The term “active duty” includes full-time National Guard duty first performed after June 30, 1985, by a member of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States in the member’s status as a member of the National Guard of a State for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the National Guard. (8) The term “educational institution” has the meaning given such term in section 3452(c) of this title. (9) The term “emergency situation” has the meaning given such term in section 3601 of this title.