Don't Blame The Military
February 6th, 2008 by CJ
The anti-war, anti-military zealots in this country would like you to believe that the military is full of poor, uneducated children who have been (or will be) brainwashed into killing mindlessly. They call our recruiters liars and point – falsely – to statistics where Soldiers are not given the entitlements they are promised when they signed up to enlist.
95% of the active duty military force signs up for the Montgomery GI Bill when they enlist. The Bill requires that Soldiers pay in $100 per month for a year ($1200) total. At the conclusion of their military service these Soldiers are entitled to 36 months of benefits which generally equates to a 4-year degree. Additionally, while on active duty service, all Soldiers are entitled to $7,500 per year of tuition assistance to attend classes in the evenings and on weekends. TA pays for tuition and most books. Soldiers are not required to buy into or pay back this money. It’s there for them – free!
The anti-war retards in this country site statistics that very few Soldiers “receive†these benefits they are promised. They produce propaganda pamphlets, create websites, and haunt recruiting stations to spread vile untruths about the military violating their promises on education and other programs when the reality is that Soldiers voluntarily forego these benefits.
I could be a poster boy for the anti-war in this country. I’ve been in the Army over 13 years now and I haven’t been given over $82,000 in benefits promised to me. Guess why? Because I haven’t made the time to seize them. I’ve had other plans. I DECIDED not to receive those benefits by refraining from going to college (I’ve since corrected that minor deficiency in my resume).
According to available data from the Defense Department, about 7% of service members who separated from the armed forces before 1997 had used up all their benefits by the 10-year limit. 29% never even used the benefit. The remainder only used part of it. The anti-war heroes will say that this is proof of their claim that the military lied. What they won’t tell you is that the main reasons are that Soldiers’ intentions changed when they got out. They wanted to start another career, move to another state, get married, have children, travel the world, whatever.
To be fair, I think the 10-year rule is a crock and NEEDS to be changed. As Soldiers, we paid into the GI Bill and we should be able to take our benefits on our time, regardless of how long it takes. Legislation needs to be enacted that gives Soldiers unlimited time to use their benefits. But, the fact remains that ALL Soldiers KNOW that they have 10 years to use or lose their education benefits as currently authorized by law. If we don’t use them, then we’ve screwed ourselves.
Let’s address the recent trend within the military services to accept more recruits without high school diplomas. The anti-military buffoons love to use this one against us as well. First of all, is there something wrong with giving the uneducated youth in this country a step up with vital training, experience, and education in the military? I don’t think so. Where else are they going to go to get out of the rut? How else are they going to overcome their juvenile decisions to drop out of high school?
Right On CJ!
A Vietnam Veteran and dear friend of mine, waited until he was 50 years old before he finally went back and got his BBA. I agree with you on the need for a change to the time limit. If it takes us awhile to get around to going to (or back) to college, so be it, just let us have the funds we earned already. My friend got his degree, hopefully, so will all of the others who want to go to college, but waited a little too long.
I don't think you have to be anti-military to say that recruiters lie. It's almost a joke in the military. Find me one platoon where nobody was lied to by their recruiter, and I'll eat my China-made beret.
I mean, that doesn't always mean it affects the rest of the military service. My recruiter lied to me and told me I wasn't eligible for a bonus. Really, he would have just had to wait a few days for a waiver and he wouldn't have made his quotas. I still joined, I just occasionally curse his name while drinking and thinking of the few thousand more that could have been in my pocket. That doesn't make me anti-military, but I am fairly sympathetic to the idea that recruiters lie. Like the kid I just talked to the other day who said his recruiter told him his MOS couldn't deploy. That was worth five minutes of laugh right there.
The reason the GI bill is hard is that it doesn't cover room and board. It covers tuition. You can't do it without working while you go to school. And really, if you were going to work your way through college, what's the point of the GI bill anyway?
I'd like to see Jim Webb's version of the GI bill passed. That'd be something I could get my teeth into.