The GI Bill is a very valuable recruiting tool for the military. It is also a very nice benefit for members of the military. In a perfect world, an individual would join the military, usually separate from the service around age 22 and go to college to get their education. That’s becoming harder and harder now with the rising costs of education. The current benefits offered by the GI Bill don’t cover as much education as it used to. Now, some of our elected members of Congress is trying to change that. It should be a no-brainer, but there are some issues to be worked out.
The current proposal provides a full-ride scholarship to an in-state university. I think this is great! The hang-up is that the Democrats want the benefits to kick in after three years of service, and the Republicans want them to kick in after six years. As someone who has been in the military, I can absolutely understand the perspective that three years is way too short. This whole GI Bill proposal is very expensive, and I would want to make sure I was getting a good return on investment if I were the government (or the taxpayer).
I think that a 5 year commitment would be a great compromise. This allows for the service member to get the normal 3-4 year term under their belt to see if signing up for another short stint is worth it to them. If they feel like putting forth the extra effort, they payback can be enormous. Then again, based on the length of contracts in the military, there would really be no difference between a five or six year agreement. The service member would still have to sign up for the first time, then re-enlist when that initial term is over.
With the rising costs of school, this program is as good as gold. At the same time, there is a real recruiting and retention tool for the military. If the government and the Pentagon can come to an agreement on this, I see no downside. But I do agree with the Pentagon that the term should be more than three years as proposed by Congress.
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Scott Davis is a manager for a large media and communications company in Austin, TX. He has worked there since June of 2001. Scott has an Associates degree in Information Systems and a Bachelors degree in Management from Kaplan University. In 2009, Scott will have earned his MBA from Norwich University. He loves fan mail and feedback from his readers. His hobbies include distance education issues, educational research, organizational leadership, training, and photography. Scott's blog is titled "Divide by Zero". He enjoys fielding questions from people who are interested in distance education. So if you have anything on your mind, please feel free to drop him a line from the contact page listed below. All inquiries will be answered as soon as possible.
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About WheelCipher
Scott is a manager for a large media, communications, and Internet company in Austin, Texas. He's been in that position since June 2001. He has experience in the high-technology industry in management, engineering, and support positions with Dell Computer Corporation, UUNET Technologies, Wayport and others.
Scott started his degree program in 2003, and had no prior college credit before jumping into the distance learning environment. He graduated in October 2007 having attained an A.A.S. in Information Technology and a B.S. in Management from Kaplan University.
He is now a MBA student at Norwich University
Scott maintains his own blog at ScottDavis.info where he talks about business, education, politics, technology and society.