Every day, National Guard members wear their uniforms, ready to serve their country with the same dedication and professionalism as their active duty counterparts. Yet despite their shared training and overseas deployments, serving side by side, they are not considered equals when it comes to earning federal veterans benefits.

THE Post-9/11 GI Bill is the cornerstone of veterans benefits, providing financial support for education to those who have served on active duty for 90 days or more since September 11, 2001. Full eligibility requires 36 months of active duty. Enacted by President George W. Bush in 2008, this benefit provides a lifeline for countless veterans leaving the military, providing them with the opportunity to continue their education and successfully transition to civilian life.

However, the current administrative structure within the Department of Defense often unfairly excludes National Guard members from this benefit. This disparity undermines the very unity of all military personnel and betrays the idea that all services are equal.

This question is not just bureaucratic. As the founder of the Special Operations Association of America and a proud Green Beret, this is deeply personal because I lived it.

After years of dedicated service in the National Guard, including multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan, I planned to use the GI Bill for my higher education. I paid my way through college, working and taking one class at a time. I managed to balance team training, deployments, and years away from family.

Shortly after graduating, I began the graduate school selection process, knowing that I had completed the required 36 months of active military service as a member of the National Guard. I even received a certification letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs stating that I was eligible to use 100% of the benefit.

I was thrilled when I was accepted to graduate school, knowing that my 100% eligibility would cover the majority of tuition costs. I signed up for classes, moved my family from our home to Washington, DC, and prepared to start school. However, my excitement turned to horror when I received notice that my eligibility had been incorrectly calculated and that I was no longer eligible for full benefits.

The reason? My time spent earning the Green Beret in the same class alongside active duty soldiers did not count toward GI Bill eligibility due to a technicality. We were equal in every way that mattered, except for our benefits.

Apparently the two years I spent earning my Green Beret were not considered eligible time because my orders were coded as National Guard on active duty and not active duty. This was an administrative oversight that would cost me and my family $30,000 in tuition. This forced me to take on significant debt to attend college.

Unfortunately, my story is not an isolated incident. Nearly every member of the National Guard faces this unfair disparity in one form or another. It’s time for the next administration to direct DOD to address this double standard and ensure that every day in uniform counts equally.

The solution is clear and simple: The Department of Defense must update its bureaucratic process to ensure that all service members receive equal benefits, whether they are in uniform as a member of the National Guard or on active duty, through a process called service status reform.

The changes would not require legislation and could be carried out entirely by DOD. But that work has been delayed by Pentagon leaders for more than a decade.

Further delaying service status reform sends the message that Defense Department leaders view service in the National Guard as poor. Some opponents of tariff reform within the DOD say a legislative solution is necessary. Other critics point to the need for Congress to intervene because of the exorbitant cost associated with providing benefits to the thousands of National Guard members who would be eligible for them.

Whatever the reason, members of the National Guard endured the same rigors of training, faced the same enemy fire, and bled for the same cause. It’s time to honor their service by providing them with the benefits they have rightfully earned.

Let’s correct this disparity and ensure that every day in uniform counts equally.

Daniel Elkins is the founder and president of the Special Operations Association of America. A veteran of the Green Berets and Special Operations, he is also a member of the Atlantic Council Counterterrorism Project and a nonresident fellow of the Quincy Institute.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the positions of the United States Government or Department of Defense.