Vets who are 100% disabled don’t need student loans. They can go to school on the VA’s dollar. So I’m guessing it was before he went into the army.
Yes, if they’re service-connected veterans. I went to college on VA vocational rehabilitation as only 10% (at that time) but usually it’s 20% or more. The article is leading us to believe that the veteran is on SSDI, not VA disability, where in reality he’s probably on both and the reporter either knows nothing about the VA or didn’t bother/didn’t know enough to inquire about the other program. Most journalists have trouble spelling “military” and have no first-hand experience with it.
Plus, IIRC, serving in the military absolves your student loans, though I don’t recall what the formula is.