Great way to use our huge Federal budget surplus.
I was thinking the same thing, where is the money going to come from?
Great way to use our huge Federal budget surplus.
I was thinking the same thing, where is the money going to come from?
Almost nobody says "Hell yeah, I'm gettin' out so I can go to college for free."
That's because before now that wouldn't have been true.
I was thinking the same thing, where is the money going to come from?
That's the sorry GI Bill I enlisted under.It's about damn time. I came in under the POS Veteran's Education Assistance Program (VEAP). It was the gap fill after they canceled the Vietnam GI Bill. Again, it was put to shame by the Montgomery GI Bill.
College wasn't even close to being paid for me. How the times have changed.That's because before now that wouldn't have been true.
Well, I don't see how it will improve retention in any case. If the program is meant to increase recruiting there are other more targeted tools. Recruiting success is largely a function of the nation's economic situation at any given time and the military challenge a potential recruit will face, ie wars. This program will be in effect during easy recruiting years as well as tough. Even if the program improved recruiting why have a program that rewards guys that sign up to be medical technologists, MPs, veterinary assistants, air traffic controllers, and other specialties we have no trouble recruiting for, equally with the guys that sign up for Infantry, Motor T, and Bosun's Mate. If the program is meant to be a feel good measure because "they deserve it", then one has to ask what they deserve it for. Do our four year vets deserve this rich of a benefit at a cost that will compromise other programs or hurt retention? I suggest our junior Es don't deserve a gold plated college plan as much as more pay. The suggestion to tie sweetened veteran's benefits to gates, time in service, professional guals or sea duty is a good idea. The longer you serve, the more you contribute, the better your benefit. Even with all the previous vet programs I never understood how it was a guy that was a four year dirtball that barely rated an Honorable Discharge of any sort, including admin seps, got the same benefits as a 10 year vet that made E-6 and went to sea 5 or 6 times. When awarding veteran's benefits one has to ask what kind of service is the guy a veteran of? We make that distinction with dishonorable discharges, so why not extend it to premium benefits for those we retain and rely on to really make our military the best in the world. Oh, and we can't afford to give this gold plated benefit to everyone anyway. So target it to specifically improve retention and guys that enlist for the grunt jobs.I dont think it was instituted for retention. But because they deserve it.
Exactly. What a deal: you pay in a grand and get 80 back! Even if you don't want to go to school you can get out, take 12 credits at a JUCO and collect the cash. This is retarded.
Agreed. It is a feel good measure. It makes the public feel better about all the military has had to invest in the last 6 or 7 years. It makes the politicians look good and for those that regret their vote for war, they see this as absolution. Politicians that are against the war will look to this as just another cost of the war to bludgeon the administration with. As written, it is bad policy on more then one level.It's not even that.
It's that the Federal Government is committing itself to pay out money that it does not have.
It's bad enough that we're funding a war on our Chase-Manhattan Visa, but Congress has done the same with programs like the Prescription Drug bill from a couple years ago. Now we have this. Yet another charge on the Visa and no way in sight to ever hope to pay it back.
Legislation like this looks good to people who think that Federal money grows on trees.
Unless this has changed you mean while not on active duty. When I used the GI bill on active duty it only paid the left over portion of what TA did not pick up.
as per http://education.military.com/money-for-school/gi-bill/new-gi-bill-overview#2If you are an officer who graduated from a service academy or received ROTC scholarships, you also qualify for the new GI Bill benefits. However, your ROTC/Service Academy associated obligated active-duty service time does not count toward the three years necessary to qualify for the full benefits.
. My GI Bill Payed about $1000 a semester which was somewhere around 8 or 9 weeks at extended campus.