Marines slash tuition assistance
The Marine Corps has slashed tution assistance for active duty Marines by 75% according to Stars & Stripes;
The change went into effect immediately and reduces the maximum education assistance available from the Department of Defense standard of $3,500 per year to just $875 per year for Marines — about enough to cover two university courses, according to a service-wide bulletin.
So the message is; if you want a college education, go use your rich new GI Bill benefits and GTFO out of the Corps. Taking college courses while on active duty improved the force and helped retention, cutting those benefits encourages exit from the service.
But you get the force you want to pay for.
Category: Military issues
Who joins the Corp to go to College?
…Corps…*headsmack*
Sgt. D in #1: Well, there was that one Marine that refused deployment back in the first Gulf War, because he said “I signed up for the college money, not to go to war”. I guess the rocket surgeon never read the fine print on his enlistment. Oh sure, the media made a big deal out of it (they can never let a good dig at the military go) and ran stories about him and had video on the nightly news of him walking along a beach and him saying that he wasn’t going, blah, blah, blah.
In 2006 I had a PFC who was having some significant issues. Good kid, just young and stupid and his personal issues were causing him to act out. Informal counseling time!
I found out that he was having problems for two reasons. One: his high school sweetheart couldn’t get to Havelock fast enough. Two: his recruiter showed him the sales binder used in interviews that lists all the possible schools and degrees available to him with TA, but the program he wanted wasn’t even offered there are Cherry Point or at Lejeune.
The half-retarded SNCOIC at my RSS obtained a bachelors degree on active duty, and would routinely sell TA to applicants. Dude was fleet dodging like crazy and hadn’t seen real duty in five years, but he kept selling that TA hard even though the prospects for obtaining a bachelors degree while on active duty in the Marines had pretty much completely evaporated by that point.
I know these are anecdotes, but I would be surprised if they are not representative of a trend rather than outliers. If I remember correctly, there is a benefit tag devoted towards education. This is an item sold hard. Not to convince the applicant, but to convince their parents/guardians.
Many Marines have either joined for the education benefits or the retirement benefits, good luck keeping the Marine Corps numbers up now, I project more Marines getting out after 4 years than ever to pursue education benefits through the Post 9/11 GI Bill. This new TA definitely takes away from the Marines that are trying to do well and don’t want to spend their weekdays/weekends drinking and acting a fool. Better and more educated enlisted ranks seem more distant now that our education benefits have been watered down to literally 1.66 classes per year, not even a full 2 classes! The Maradmin states that the rate is $3,500, but the Marine Corps goes to $875 due to a history of Marines using only 4 to 5 credits per year. I constantly preach education to my Marines and just when they are excited their education, something like this comes along…
If the Marines Corps wanted to save money, how about taking away other forms of money, like uniform allowances, which I can only imagine half the Marine Corps doesn’t even use for uniform items. Change the TA back to 100% and secure the future of the Marine Corps by securing the education of our future Marines and allowing them to pass down what they’ve learned.
And the evisceration begins.
The Marine Corps, or DON?
Keep in mind too that the Corps gets nothing. Just nothing. Less than 7 cents of each defense dollar goes to them. Thus they have to really prioritize on where any money they have goes. And fighting wars is mission 1.
My kid is a “Doc” he said he is doing a ton of seperation physicals. I can imagine that its only going to get worse because of the loss of benefits. God help us all. WTF are they thinking doing that?
My stepson enlisted in the Corp for five years and during that time he was constantly going to school and managed to get a degree even during two tours in Iraq (Airwing/CH46s) and certified AF&PP. My advice to him was to apply to MECEP and possibly stay in as things were shit in the economy. His standard reply was always, with his MOS, certifications, and education he could pretty much write his own ticket to a job.
My words to him were always; How many people in the last ten years from all branches with the same MOS or related have gotten out with the same thought, how many related jobs do you think are available? He has now been out for a week and had his OH SHIT! moment.
CW57 said “WTF are they thinking doing that?” That’s easy, the progressives want to defund the military to the point of ineffectiveness, as was done a couple of times before, because they feel that the military isn’t needed if we all get together and hold hands. That, and they feel that the money should go to more bloated programs that have more to do with gimme gimme gimme than anything the provides for everyone (national defense).
They don’t care, because right now they want to gut the military like they did in the 90’s. A crew chief in my husband’s unit wanted to reenlist, but they are making them get “approved” (they are only allowing some many to reenlist). When he went before the the “approvers,” he was told he may not be considered because he hadn’t been to any “schools.” The man has been deployed 3 out of the last 5 years- when the heck would he have had time to attend schools?
USMC Steve, you are correct. The Corps is downsizing to somewhere around 186K (from 202K), is fighting for every dollar it gets, and is also fighting to keep itself relevant, as it has had to do many times in its past. While it stinks that they have to cut a very nice benefit like TA, they need to save money anywhere they can.
This brings to mind the post WWI/II draw downs. Too bad we don’t have a bonus army to march on Washington. (Not to all the OWS guys out there. Veterans were clean respectful and asked only for what congress had already promised them)
This Marine joined the Corps and education is a big concern of mine. I have been in a little more than a year and am about to stand on my first meritorious Corporal board. I am already half way to a BA and just completed my first 2 classes using TA. I like to consider my self motivated and squared away. Anyone with half a brain and the will to not live off destroying their back knows the importance of education. The Marine Corps, cutting away at a plan the DoD already butchered to hell, is slapping every enlisted that wants to better them self in the face. I see a 186k strong and dumb Marine Corps in the future. Thank you Obama and your Washington cronies.
“American Public Education Inc. (APEI US) dropped 18 percent, the most since Aug. 6, to $31.01. The operator of the American Military University slipped after the U.S. Marine Corps cut tuition assistance for service members who take classes during off-duty time by 75 percent.”
I wonder if this has anything to do with the recent downsizing of the Corps. I know they are being much more selective than usual and I have heard that they are giving 1st LTs the opportunity to get out before completion of their obligation.
Any further info would be appreciated.