North Dakota's newest war veterans would get cash bonuses for their service and more help paying for school in Gov. John Hoeven's proposed budget.

The $5 million program would give soldiers up to $1,800 for service overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Those who have served stateside would be eligible for up to $900 in bonuses.

Military officials have estimated that more than 4,000 people would be eligible for the bonuses, more than half of them members of the North Dakota National Guard.

Hoeven's proposal also includes a $2,500 benefit for families of military members killed in action and for veterans wounded in combat.

"Our men and women in the North Dakota military are making a tremendous effort for all of us, and we must do all that we can to recognize their sacrifices," Hoeven said.

Shana Peltz, a Hebron school teacher who spent more than a year in the Middle East with the National Guard, said the bonuses' most significant value may be as a statement of gratitude for soldiers.

"It's more what it tells people than how much he's putting to each individual soldier," she said.

The governor also is asking legislators to grant a $1 million expansion of the state tuition aid program for National Guard members attending college. That would double the available aid, to $1,000 per semester.

Chief Warrant Officer Gerard Schwan, the state Guard's education services officer, said the larger package would help attract recruits and keep soldiers whose contracts have expired.

"It's a dual benefit for us," he said.

North Dakota once offered free tuition to National Guard soldiers, but several years of budget cuts have trimmed the program, Schwan said.

The state currently provides full-time students with $500 per semester for tuition, along with a 25 percent tuition break for the 11 campuses in the state University System. Guard members also can get federal money to help pay living expenses.

Education assistance has long been one of the Guard's top recruiting tools. About a third of the North Dakota Guard's estimated 3,200 members applied for education programs this year, Schwan said.

Peltz, who relied on military aid to get through school, said the extra money would be welcome for student soldiers.

"That would have been an amazing help to me because honestly, the amount of money I got nowhere near covered the expenses that a college student has," she said.

Schwan said members of a Bismarck-based Guard were excited about the proposed aid package when he gave them the details at a recent briefing.

"When I started mentioning some of those things you could see the eyes kind of getting a little bigger," he said. "I could tell the immediate reaction was, 'Hey, this applies to me.'"

There are about 580 North Dakota troops in the Middle East. Most of them are serving with a National Guard unit based in Valley City, which is expected to return home next year.

Ten soldiers from North Dakota or serving with military units from the state have been reported killed while on duty in Iraq.