• The Marine Corps announce it has slashed tuition assistance by 75 percent for servicemembers who tak
    24 replies, posted
[TABLE] [TR] [TD][release] USA [SUB][SUP][URL="http://www.stripes.com/news/marine-corps/tuition-assistance-slashed-by-75-percent-for-marines-1.158049"](Stars & Stripes)[/URL][/SUP][/SUB] - [B]Tuition assistance slashed by 75 percent for Marines[/B] CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Marine Corps announced Tuesday it has slashed tuition assistance by 75 percent for servicemembers who take classes on their off-duty time. The change went into effect immediately and reduces the maximum education assistance available from the Department of Defense standard of $3,500 per year to just $875 per year for Marines — about enough to cover two university courses, according to a service-wide bulletin. The Marine Corps said the new rate is equal to the average class load taken on by Marines who use the tuition assistance program and is a more focused use of the service’s tuition funds. Cuts in military tuition assistance programs have been expected this year as Washington wrestles with reducing costs, though the Marines are the first to enact any changes, said Stephanie Styll, a spokeswoman for University of Maryland University College Asia at Yokota Air Base in mainland Japan. “We’ve been anticipating the changes to tuition assistance for all the branches of service,” Styll said. “We’ve really been beefing up our training on federal financial aid as well as veterans’ benefits.” It was not immediately clear Tuesday how many students may be affected by the cut or if any will be forced to drop classes due to a lack of tuition, she said. But the tuition assistance provided directly by the Marine Corps and other military services are highly popular among the university students, Styll said. “That’s the way that most of our military students finance their education currently,” she said. “We are not really sure what the impact is going to be.” Advertisement The new tuition rules will also require any Marine taking tuition assistance to be on their first permanent duty station for at least one year, which is already a rule enforced by the Navy. The Marine Corps in Japan did not immediately return requests for comment. In its announcement, the service said it made the decision to cut following an analysis of the tuition assistance program that confirmed most Marines only use the funding for four to five semester credit hours per year, which the service valued at about $875. Meanwhile, other forms of public assistance for servicemembers have grown, including the Montgomery G.I. Bill and the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, and some military training can be turned into college credits, according to the release. The various choices “afford all eligible Marines, especially first-term Marines, the opportunity to start the process to pursue their higher education goal,” the service said.[/release] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
I bet if the military spent less money on wars and the machines to use in them they could treat their men a little better
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32871948]I bet if the military spent less money on wars and the machines to use in them they could treat their men a little better[/QUOTE] When you're fighting guys with only civilian transport and weapons made in caves you need as many experimental million dollar jets as possible. Foot soldiers aren't important to any war effort.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32871948]I bet if the military spent less money on wars and the machines to use in them they could treat their men a little better[/QUOTE] I bet if the government spent less money on wars and machines to use them we can not need the Marines to begin with. But despite that, this is pretty terrible. A lot of people join the military for the whole reason of being able to take college courses to begin with.
I was planning on joining the Marines for this exact reason... Glad I didn't.
[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;32872237]I was planning on joining the Marines for this exact reason... Glad I didn't.[/QUOTE]Like half my friends are in the military for this reason, they probably don't know or are pissed.
Maybe if they spent less on the Army, the Marines would have a better education. If anything, transfer over some of the Army's Abrams MBTs to the Marines. Why do they need 6,000 A1s, A2s, and A2 SEPs when the USMC only has about 400 A1s?
[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;32871978]When you're fighting guys with only civilian transport and weapons made in caves you need as many experimental million dollar jets as possible. Foot soldiers aren't important to any war effort.[/QUOTE] Weapons made in caves? If I was trying to kill Iron Man I think I'd want as many experimental million dollar jets as possible too :v:
[QUOTE=Turnips5;32873715]Weapons made in caves? If I was trying to kill Iron Man I think I'd want as many experimental million dollar jets as possible too :v:[/QUOTE] During WWII, Germany technically produced V2s in caves...
It's only a matter of time to see what the National Guard will do. And I just got in too. :saddowns:
And this is the branch I'm enlisting in. Woo. At least there's still the GI Bill.
[QUOTE=Turnips5;32873715]Weapons made in caves? If I was trying to kill Iron Man I think I'd want as many experimental million dollar jets as possible too :v:[/QUOTE] [B]IN A CAVE! [I]WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!!![/I][/B]:v:
Well, your typical Marine doesn't really get enough time off-duty to take $3,500 worth of classes, so to a degree I can understand their decision. If they start cutting the GI bill I'll be pissed.
IT seems that it's going to happen.
[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;32872237]I was planning on joining the Marines for this exact reason... Glad I didn't.[/QUOTE] This is why I support this action by the military. So many people use it for that feature it is a joke
[QUOTE=JohnFisher89;32875813]This is why I support this action by the military. So many people use it for that feature it is a joke[/QUOTE] How is that a joke? would you prefer a return to drafting?
[QUOTE=Contag;32876252]How is that a joke? would you prefer a return to drafting?[/QUOTE] Maybe he hates education.
[QUOTE=JohnFisher89;32875813]This is why I support this action by the military. So many people use it for that feature it is a joke[/QUOTE] Yes, it's better to be a wanna be LMGunner serving out of pure nationalism. (kid at my school) He hates gays and muslims too. Related? I think so.
Okay. Government, uhm, when we said that you should slash your defense budget we didn't mean this. [sp]I'm Dutch. v:v:v[/sp]
For the record, this isn't slashing the GI Bill. This is slashing tuition assistance for marines currently enlisted who are able to take classes. The vast, vast majority of marines taking classes while still enlisted are only using about $875, hence the slashing. Once you're out, you have your GI Bill benefits still. Beyond that, you probably shouldn't be joining the military if literally the only reason you're in is to get college benefits.
In all honesty that's not that big of a deal. While you may be pissed that we're not getting the $3500 anymore, with the work schedule most MOS's have you can only take 1 or 2 courses a year. So it really doesnt change a whole lot except for the guys in Admin or some other weak pog ass job that only works 8 or less hours a day. I'm more worried about my GI bill than taking tuition assistance for courses while I serve. I can already take college courses for free in the form of MCI's anyway.
The Marines have the lowest budget out of all the branches, and getting promoted is harder. If you're joining the Marines just to get the benefits, you should probably consider another branch
[QUOTE=Glitch360;32880895]The Marines have the lowest budget out of all the branches, and getting promoted is harder. If you're joining the Marines just to get the benefits, you should probably consider another branch[/QUOTE] If you want to join for the "benefits" go army or airforce. Being a Marine isn't about money or benefits or whatever else, it's about being a Marine.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;32873756]During WWII, Germany technically produced V2s in caves...[/QUOTE] Look where they are now. [B][U][I]AMERICA, FUCK YEAH.[/I][/U][/B]
[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;32880934]If you want to join for the "benefits" go army or airforce. Being a Marine isn't about money or benefits or whatever else, it's about being a Marine.[/QUOTE] That's part of why I think I'll go Marine if I do get to enlist.
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