Hey Marines!

Marines Losing 75% of Tuition Assistance

Is this true?

US Marines lose 75% of their Tuition Assistance. : politics

 

Full text here:

MARINE CORPS TUITION ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY, FUNDING PROVISIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

I think it is important that folks understand TA versus GI Bill. A friend's son is in the Marines and he allows his wife to use his GI Bill while he uses TA.

When reading the MARADMIN there is a good explanation of the rationale for the cuts. I'm amazed at the ability of all branches to provide any assistance to active members given the budget cuts. However the GI Bill is stronger than ever and active members can utilize it in addition to TA.

 

Considering how generous the Post 9/11 GI Bill is (compared to the Montgomery GI Bill), I figure this was bound to happen. While this may be a big change to active duty Marines, they at least have something that will 100% fund their degree(s), since the old GI Bill provided considerably less, and VEAP was just terrible (in comparison)

I wouldn't be surprised if the other branches follow suit in the next few years...

 

$875.00 per FY is not enough. When I attended Troy University at the rate of $150 - $165.00 per credit, and $4,500.00 was not enough.

 

From what I am hearing from my Marine students at AMU, it is definitely true. I think the USMC is making a huge mistake here, especially since these limitations are not being implemented in the other services. I can understand the rationale, but I think the USMC should have waited a bit and been part of the larger service-wide effort that is sure to come.

TA mis-usage has become a huge problem, so this is obviously their attempt to address the issues.

 

As a side note, I was initially kind of pissed for my Marine friends when I heard this one. When I did some additional research on the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill vs. what I got with the MGIB, I was a whole lot more understanding of the needs for cuts. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill is a significant improvement over the MGIB. Using the MGIB while on active duty was never really a viable option in my view since the benefit amount was so little, so I used TA extensively on AD.

 

It seems that the Marine Corps forces Active Duty members to use their GI Bill while on active duty. Maybe USMC tries to avoid people like me, who used exclusively TA and saved GI Bill for later.

 

This is disgusting....we should not be cutting benefits for our armed forces members and veterans while there is billions wasted on foolish (and even dangerous) programs like "Fast & Furious".

 

I had VEAP and the Army College Fund back in the mid-80s. I was pretty happy with it. I can only imagine how much better these other programs must be for mine to have been terrible by comparison. I not disagreeing with you, just wowing at what must be.

 

VEAP was a $5400 return for a $2700 investment. MGIB is a ~$53k return paid in arrears for a $1200 investment. Post 9/11 GI Bill is a free degree (or degrees if you're thrifty) plus a book allowance and living expenses with no monetary investment, no matter the cost (so long as the institution is public), or $53k plus a book allowance and living expenses for private schools. That's my rationale for the comparison.

I didn't mean to insult the nature of the VEAP program, but just compare the returns. VEAP was probably pretty good when a college degree was <$5400.

 

During the late 90's I was one of only 3 Marines in an entire Infantry Battalion utilizing TA. Even though the deployment tempo has increased a lot since then I am willing to bet that the number of Marine using TA, even in infantry units, has increased by an order of magnitude.

Marines are the tip of the spear. First with the digital uniforms (and still the best looking of the bunch) first to fight and all that. The Marines have never been about job training or college education or anything that the other services usually tout as their "benefits". There are still plenty of young Men and Women who want to test themselves and become Marines. For many that is enough. The TA reduction will hurt, and might possibly hurt retention a bit too but somehow I think we'll survive.

This is the first of many cuts for us in the DoD. We should just do a band-aid rip off for cuts and get it over with. End both wars and then cut 20% out of the DoD budget and of course 20% out of Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security too.

 

No insult received. For me, VEAP plus Army College Fund came to $20,100. I received $559.29 per month in the late 80s. Consider my rent on a simple one bedroom apt was $250. A part time job and a little help from dad and I was all set. It got me through a BS and then I went to graduate school with a teaching assistantship. Free tuition plus stipend of around $800 per month, no outside jobs allowed but I could do a little tutoring in the evenings.

I left school with an MS and no debt. Not much savings either (smile).

 

Are we going to have to create a Marines forum?

OccupyMARINES!

#OccupyMarines are Preparing to Occupy America Nationwide

 

He is a Marine. Thats about where his truthfullness seems to end. We've already debunked a lot of what this guy claims about his service over at the SB (Marine only internet forum).

This may surprise most of you but a lot of the young people who serve in the military are not that bright when it comes to politics and societal problems. If it's one thing a Marine can do, its follow a crowd.

I met some of the most amazing people in my time in the Corps. Some of the best people I have ever met served in the military. Some of the biggest d'bags I have ever met have been/still are in the military. There are some that I would be embarassed to be seen with, would not let them near my kids, and would not trust them to do anything for this country other than pay taxes or die.

Not everyone who has served is a hero. Not everyone who served did it for the love of their country. Some guys should not be in the military...at all. Deployments do not exempt you from being a dikwad.

That being said...he has the right to be heard just like everyone else. What a country.

 

To whom are you referring?

 

I don't know who he is or who he is not. I don't know what he has done or what he hasn't. I simply thought that his premise that the people of the United States should be protected, not threatened, in their right to dissent/protest was a good, honorable point.

 

Absolutely agree with you 100%. The person I am referring to is Marine Sgt Shamar Thomas from the link you provided.

The NYPD was not targeting people I'm not sure what he was going on about. He can protest and wear the uniform incorrectly all he wants. But, as a Marine, we are taught that behaving a certain way in public wearing the uniform is disrespectful to ourselve, the Corps, and to the American public that we serve. He is being disrespectful. I'm not calling him out on his 1A rights, but on his obligation to his Marine brothers and sisters. That's it.

 

OK, so what your saying is that a lot of the stuff from your first post was just crap. You don't like it that he wore a psuedo uniform in public (issue addressed in the article). Your claim that NYPD was not out of line holds no more water than his accusation (no evidence produced by you).

 

I just saw the video;

Awesome Marine Takes On 30 Cops In Wallstreet Faceoff 2011 "EPIC" - YouTube

What I see is a radical activist desperately trying to provoke a confrontation with police officers who didn't take the bait, and remained 100% professional. You can gauge his increasing frustration by the tone of his voice when the police officers just give him blank stares while he's yelling and screaming, as he yells and screams louder towards the middle of the video, obviously enraged that the police haven't reacted.

I actually giggled a bit when Thomas was at his histrionic best, yelling and screaming, because it was obvious he was so frustrated that he wasn't getting the reaction from the police that he wanted, so he just left.

Good riddance.

 

Posted today at AMU:

Good news for our Marines! Today we received word that Marine Corps Tuition Assistance Program has been restored to the previous TA levels (undergraduate $250/semester hour; fiscal year max of $4500). The only exception is the $350/SH for graduate level courses will be reduced to $250 SH. As always, please contact your admissions or financial aid representative to discuss how this may affect your benefits, or speak with your ESO.