06/12/2025
To all of my veterans or active-duty friends who have ever thought about learning to SCUBA dive, now is the perfect time!
Through the VA’s certification and licensing reimbursement benefits, eligible U.S. Veterans can now receive reimbursement for the cost of SSI training and certification programs—including those leading to professional-level credentials.
Here's how it works:
1. Verify your current G.I. bill status at https://www.va.mgov/education/eligibility/ to ensure sufficient allotment remains.
2. Visit www.divessi.com to register and affiliate with an SSI training center near you. If you're near the Columbus/Ft. Benning area, affiliate with Planet Ocean Scuba Center or come see me.
3. Complete the training/certification process and obtain a copy of the completed certification and paid invoice for submission to the VA for tuition reimbursement.
4. Complete form VBA-22-0803 with information from the invoice and certification. Mail to the corresponding VA facility mentioned at the bottom of the form for the Veteran's /service member's area.
If you already have your Open Water certification, even if it’s with a different agency, you can use these benefits to cover specialty courses such as Night and Wreck Diving, Nitrox, Stress and Rescue, and more, oh, and you can backdate any training that’s been started since 1 Jan 2025.
Form VBA-22-0803 can be found here:
https://files.constantcontact.com/e605ea38001/a22068bc-04d1-4201-adec-5423046029ae.pdf
