Army tuition assistance suspended

Roxymom

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On the 3 Rivers Battalion FB page it says that as of 5pm today the Army has suspended future tuition assistance. What does this mean and does it affect scholarships?
 
On the 3 Rivers Battalion FB page it says that as of 5pm today the Army has suspended future tuition assistance. What does this mean and does it affect scholarships?

Here is an article from the Army Times.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2013/03/army-army-to-suspend-tuition-assistance-030813

I do not believe you will see any impact to the scholarships already given. It looks like the Tuition Assistance that has been suspended is what the enlisted and officers use for continuing education while serving. It also looks like the GI Bill is not effected by this.

I guess the BIG question now would be in light of these cuts, will they also cut the number of scholarships from the final board in March, it would seem like the next logical step. Also in question will be whether any Campus AROTC Scholarships will be available. In some way it would seem hard to justify new scholarships in light of the cuts to all other Tuition Assistance, but then again we are talking about the Military, so anything is possible.

From the wording in the article, funds from the National Guard may still be available, whether this will impact the current SMP cadets is unknown based on what is written. I'm sure more information will come out soon.

It sure does not seem to setting well with the current soldiers, recruiting will most likely take a hit since there is now one less tool in their toolbox.

Soldiers will now have to start using their GI Bill once they become eligible for any further education, not entirely a bad thing from a budget perspective if that education is for college credits.

Continuing education is a big plus for promotion, without the tuition assistance many enlisted will have to struggle until they are eligible for the GI Bill. This could have an effect of promotion points for a lot of soldiers.

It also seems that the tuition assistance for Masters degrees is being cut as well, those officer reaching O-3 that thought they would be able to apply for the Masters Program and receive the assistance may be out of luck.

It will be very interesting to see how this effects retention. The military has said that because of such a high retention they would need to RIF some soldiers that don't want to leave, this may have just made their job a little easier.

Over the past few weeks the Army has been fairly quiet when it came to cuts as a result of the Sequester compared to the other services, I guess that has changed. Now we all have to wait for the other shoe to drop.

Seems to me they could just cancel the order for the 300 new tanks the Army doesn't want to help fund the tuition assistance program, but hey, that's just me thinking out loud.

Here is the link to the GoArmyED site with the official announcement.

https://www.goarmyed.com/public/public_display_news.aspx?news_id=1670&type=5

They mention the National Guard in this statement, just have to wait and see how this impacts the SMP Cadets. It does sound like those using State Tuition Assistance through the National Guard may be ok, only time will tell.
 
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Thanks for the link. Doesn't seem right to affect those who have served.
 
Thanks for the link. Doesn't seem right to affect those who have served.

No, it doesn't. A lot of those soldiers were recruited with the claim of such a tuition assistance program. This was a major selling point by recruiters. Kind of like having the rug pulled out from under them. For new recruits, they will know what they are getting and can make the decision to enlist or not, the ones already in, well, they're stuck with the new rules.
 
I used TA when I was enlisted. It ABSOLUTELY was a major factor in my enlistment. For those who have enlisted and planned on utilizing the TA program, will not be able to anytime soon. Kinda sad considering what our enlisted folks sacrifice.
 
Seems to me they could just cancel the order for the 300 new tanks the Army doesn't want to help fund the tuition assistance program, but hey, that's just me thinking out loud.

Unfortunately there would be 435 Congressmen and and 100 Senators who would make a stink about that... or thereabouts anyway. :mad:

EDIT: Hey, maybe we could make the tanks anyway and then just give them away to Egypt. I bet that would fly with Congress!
 
Unfortunately there would be 435 Congressmen and and 100 Senators who would make a stink about that... or thereabouts anyway. :mad:

EDIT: Hey, maybe we could make the tanks anyway and then just give them away to Egypt. I bet that would fly with Congress!

No, they'll probably just park them in the Arizona desert along with the 3000 already there.
 
No, they'll probably just park them in the Arizona desert along with the 3000 already there.

Really? We really have 3000 parked in Arizona? :eek: Hope they aren't all in one spot! Or double parked.:smile:
 
The dominos just keep falling.

It was also announced today the the March Selection Board for WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) has been cancelled.

I know that has nothing to do with ROTC but it shows how the cuts are coming, if they cancel that board what does it mean for the March ROTC Scholarship Selection Board.

It will be an interesting next week, as usual they make the announcements on Friday, the end of the weekly news cycle.

Kinnem,

They are all lined up like a drive in movie, sitting there Mothballed. (sorry for the bad spelling) The big reason they don't need 300 more, that and the Army doesn't even want them.
 
The dominos just keep falling.

It was also announced today the the March Selection Board for WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) has been cancelled.

I know that has nothing to do with ROTC but it shows how the cuts are coming, if they cancel that board what does it mean for the March ROTC Scholarship Selection Board.

It will be an interesting next week, as usual they make the announcements on Friday, the end of the weekly news cycle.

Darn (I wanted to type something else but its a public forum). One could make the case that this is related to flight hours/training and not necessarily connected in any way to ROTC. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
Very bad news. Husband is an E9 USN who used TA to get his bachelor's from Embry Riddle about 6 years ago so he could preserve his GI Benefits to give to one of our children. It has been a HUGE savings for us as a military family and a fabulous benefit.
 
I was literally just about to use TA to finish the rest of my pre reqs...
 
Let's all have a little freaking perspective. TA has been cut. Boo freaking hoo. You know why it was cut?

Because we're broke. BROKE. B-R-O-K-E.

Yes, it's sad that soldiers can't get TA to finish their online degrees from University of Maryland University College or what have you (which is how most of it is used). But the fact is that we don't have two nickels to rub together.

We don't have money to fly our aircraft. Or drive the tanks. Or buy ammo. Flying hour programs have taken a huge hit. The result is that we can barely keep crews current. We're furloughing thousands of workers.

TA is a nice perk, but it isn't vital to our nation's defense. Sequestration has had awful effects, but TA is pretty far down the list.
 
Wow, you are pretty nasty person. No one is saying it is a necessity, just a nice benefit. Especially for military familes when many of them fall below the poverty lines. There is a lot more waste elsewhere in the government going on. That is a totally different discussion. Nice of you to show some class.
 
:popcorn1:

Proudmom, judging by your post count you're relatively new here so I'll clue you in. Scoutpilot is far from a nasty person. What he is is the voice of reason on this board. He is 100% correct regarding all of the whining (on this board and others) about the loss of TA.

I've even seen posts calling it a "breach of contract" by the military. Guess what? At my last place of employment, we had a pension plan. Until they froze it. We had 401k match. Until they cancelled it. I had a job. Until they closed the plant. Reality is difficult sometimes, but it doesn't change the facts.

The military is under no obligation, ever, to provide free educations to its members. Anyone who joined primarily for that reason needs to reevaluate their priorities.
 
Wow, you are pretty nasty person. No one is saying it is a necessity, just a nice benefit. Especially for military familes when many of them fall below the poverty lines. There is a lot more waste elsewhere in the government going on. That is a totally different discussion. Nice of you to show some class.

The lower pay level, poverty lines you speak of, junior enlisted, will still have access to the GI Bill for education benefits. Quite a few soldiers would use TA as a way to complete their degrees, saving their GI Bill for their kids college, not sure I ever really agreed with that option. The soldiers will now be required to use their GI Bill for their own education.

Officers from the Academy or those that received ROTC Scholarship will not be eligible for the GI Bill until they have gone past their original service obligation. The loss of TA will effect them more during their first 4 or 5 plus years. Need to remember that these officers did receive a free college education to start with.

There are many other things that we may see on the chopping block soon. My son received a slot at SF CDQC this summer. I would not be surprised if that is cut as well, I'm sure he will be disappointed but in the big picture, there is really no benefit to the Army that he attend this 7 week school. The savings to the Army could be spent training troops already on Active Duty. I think right now the Army needs to look at priorities. Scoutpilot is correct that TA, while nice is not a requirement when the budget is being slashed to the bone.
 
Let's all have a little freaking perspective. TA has been cut. Boo freaking hoo. You know why it was cut?

Because we're broke. BROKE. B-R-O-K-E.

Yes, it's sad that soldiers can't get TA to finish their online degrees from University of Maryland University College or what have you (which is how most of it is used). But the fact is that we don't have two nickels to rub together.

We don't have money to fly our aircraft. Or drive the tanks. Or buy ammo. Flying hour programs have taken a huge hit. The result is that we can barely keep crews current. We're furloughing thousands of workers.

TA is a nice perk, but it isn't vital to our nation's defense. Sequestration has had awful effects, but TA is pretty far down the list.

OH MAN...I don't know if I can take this...:eek:

Twice in a week... :confused:

Scout...the rest of you...I have been reasonably assured that Hades is still a tad too warm for my liking, the earth is still spinning around merrily in the cosmos...

And on this topic, I agree 100% with Scout! :thumb:

TA is "nice to have" but in reality, that's all it is. Professional Militlary Education will still be available and as a commander, THAT is what is more important to me "most" of the time. Members will still have their "Post 9/11/01 GI Bill" to draw from. That's a very nice benefit.

TA though...a nice to have, but never contracted, never promised in stone guarantee, just a "nice to have."

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
I am not making a judgement on the validity of the tuition assistance cut but, tuition assistance is used by ROTC cadets who are in the SMP.

Cadets who are not on scholarship sometimes join the Guard or Reserves and are *promised* tuition assistance for college.
 
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