Educational Benefits
DOD officials concerned about GI Bill benefits
Monday, March 17th, 2008Faced with the threat of a bipartisan bill to expand GI educational benefits, Defense Department officials are expressing concern that if soldiers can actually afford college, reenlistment rates will drop. This highlights not only how the military relies on the economic draft to recruit soldiers, but also how they rely on keeping their numbers up by ensuring soldiers can’t afford other options when it comes time for re-enlistment. There is an inherent conflict of interest in ensuring GI benefits are actually paid out.
Link to article: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60518&archive=true
$70 Thousand for College?
Saturday, February 16th, 2008Well, not really, lets look at that a little closer.First on their list of what you get is the Montgomery GI Bill, $282.00 times 36. Apparently they will send you $282.00 a month for 3 years. Hmmm, last I heard, it takes 4 years to get a 4 year degree. Of course, you won’t be able to pay your tuition AND your rent on $282.00 a month. Don’t forget, you have to pay IN $100.00 per month during your first year in service to get this “benefit”
Then there’s the GI Bill kicker, $200.00 times 36. Oh, that’s a little better, you might be able to eat while attending the college of your choice. But still, not enough money to pay rent and eat and pay tuition. Please note the * next to this amount, below it says “Member must qualify for these programs” Too bad they don’t bother to specify how you qualify, maybe you won’t.
Advising My Students on Marching to War
Friday, February 15th, 2008By Kirk Stapp, Friday 24 June 2005
After a marine or army recruiter visits Mammoth High School, students frequently ask me questions about my military experience in Vietnam. Eventually, these conversations lead to a single question: Should I enlist?
Advice can carry a heavy burden in shaping a seventeen-year-old’s future: employment, culinary school, a community college, a UC, a tour in Iraq, an amputated leg, a lifetime full of nightmares, cancer from the hundreds of tons of depleted uranium used in US and British munitions, a flag-draped coffin.
The Easy Money for College Myth
Friday, February 15th, 2008Recruiters might promise you tens of thousands of free dollars for college, but it’s not free-you must work for it. And it’s not automatic. Unless you qualify for special jobs or sign up for an extra-long term, you’ll never see the higher amounts of money. To qualify for any college aid at all, you have to pay a $1200 non-refundable deposit to the military. If you receive a less-than-honorable discharge (as about one in four people do), leave the military in less than 3 years, (as one in three do), or later decide not to go to college, the military will keep your deposit and give you nothing.
Money for College
Monday, February 11th, 2008The military recruiters promise money for college, but to qualify for any college aid at all, you have to pay a $1200 non-refundable deposit to the military.
If you receive a less-than-honorable discharge (as about one in four people do), leave the military early (as one in three do), or later decide not to go to college, the military will keep your deposit and give you nothing.
According to the VA less than half of eligible veterans use their educational benefits.
Good Jobs for Vets?
Monday, February 11th, 2008Returning veterans get good jobs because of all the training they get in the military, right? Well, maybe not, check out the chart and see for yourself unemployment rates nearly double for vets as compared to non-vets.
You have probably heard that the military gives you job training. But if that’s true, why is it so hard for returning veterans to find jobs?