by Col. Phil McNair
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, American Public University System

If you are in the military and interested in earning a college degree, chances are good that you are short on two things that might be holding you back: cash and time.  Let’s talk about the time issue.

Few active duty folks are fortunate enough to be sent to school full time on Uncle Sam’s dime.  Realistically, your military duty obligations or job requirements, coupled in many cases with family responsibilities, may leave you little free time for college.  And no matter how you look at it, earning a degree is going to be time-consuming

If you are a habitual procrastinator like me, sometimes you need a little nudge to get moving, even when you know doing so is in your best interests.  The current issues surrounding the suspension of the military’s tuition assistance program should be the impetus for military students to avoid procrastinating about getting a college education.

With the exception of the Navy, the popular Military Tuition Assistance program came to a screeching halt recently due to the Federal Sequestration.  After a congressional mandate and the backing of the President, the Army and Air Force reopened the tuition assistance program, and recently the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard restored tuition assistance to pre-sequestration numbers for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2013.

One of the big benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill is the benefit’s transferability. Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits can be transferred to family members of our servicemembers, enabling children and even spouses to use the benefit to finance their education.

But beginning on August 1, 2013, servicemembers will have to serve an additional four years to transfer the benefits.

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By Dr. Kimberlee Ratliff
Program Director, M.Ed. in School Counseling at American Public University

As we celebrate the month of the military child in April, I reflect on my own experience as a military child many years ago. I enjoyed moving and adjusting to new places, but the challenges I did not look forward to often occurred in the school setting.  I remember moving suddenly from Ft. Clayton, Panama prior to the ousting of Noriega and being tossed from a Department of Defense Dependent School (DoDDs) to a public school in Arkansas.

By Jim Sweizer
Vice President, Military Relations at American Military University

The U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps have canceled military tuition assistance (TA) programs as a result of the federal sequestration and a recent memo sent to each branch by the DoD comptroller suggesting significant reductions be made to their respective TA programs.

Vince Patton, Ed.D.
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, USCG Retired

As we approach the chief radioman’s stateroom, Flanagan (Scott’s his first name, but everyone called each other by their last name that few of us ever knew what the first name was) gave me a quick revised ‘how to report aboard’ line, and told me with all sincerity, “forget what they taught you in RM school – this is how it’s done out here in the REAL COAST GUARD.” So, all I had to do was just say to the chief, “I’m Patton, your new radioman reporting aboard.” So – I knocked on the chief’s stateroom door, and about a second after the knock, I hear this gravelling yell, “WHAT DUH YA WANT!” in a rather southern-type drawl. I repeated what Flanagan told me to say. It was rather interesting that after hearing the yell from the other side of the door, Flanagan sort of ‘takes off’ at Mach speed. The stateroom door opens, I get a quick split second glance of the chief, and immediately the door is slammed in my face.