Navy changes ed benefits

Discussion in 'Military-related education topics' started by Kizmet, Dec 26, 2019.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  2. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    Would have been interesting if they elaborated a bit further on this.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Supply-and-demand, fellow babies. When recruiting and retention get tough, the goodies will return. Believe none of the other rationalizations.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  4. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    There are news articles stating they've been experiencing recruitment and retention challenges throughout 2019.
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    The services are notoriously slow in reacting to changing manpower requirements. Once they feel the pain of it, they'll begin to move.

    For example, the military killed the Vietnam-era GI Bill in 1976. In 1980, they had a record year...for missing their recruiting goals. Even the Air Force missed its recruiting goals--for the first time ever. By 1984, pay had improved tremendously, the economy had rebounded, and recruiting was great. Still, it wasn't until that year when Congress caught up and introduced the Montgomery GI Bill.

    Limiting benefits due to funding is a simple thing. But if it eats into recruiting, the government will eventually respond.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  6. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Honestly, don't hold your breath on the Navy changing course (see what I did there?) because the odds of them facing a recruitment crisis is tucked away somewhere between slim and none.

    The Navy has been tightening its requirements for over 20 years.

    First branch to require a waiver for enlisted applicants who possessed a GED. This during a time when the Army was allowing people in with no diploma or GED.

    They have very strict guidelines for criminal records. If it wasn't a traffic infraction, you need a waiver and those are only allowed for a small list of misdemeanors. This during a time when the Army decided to allow people convicted of certain felonies to enlist.

    The Navy cut its TA many years ago from 75% for an unlimited number of credits to 100% of a fixed number. They offset this by allowing sailors with 12 months of service to tap into their GI Bill, something I availed myself of personally. The rest of it? Loans like everyone else.

    The Navy attracts more people to enlisted ranks who have bachelors and associates degrees pre-enlistment than the Army or the Marines. When war breaks out, the Navy has to turn people away. The Navy is also a very popular destination for OSVETS, Other Service Veterans, who want to sign on. When I was still on active duty the Air Force specifically didn't want any. Once you were tainted by another branch, the USAF wanted no part of you (except in the ANG and possibly the reserves) during the Invasion of Iraq. The Navy, meanwhile, took in a whole bunch of former Marines and soldiers with bad knees who perceived the Navy as being "easier" on the body.

    Let's not forget the massive reduction of manpower they went through in the early 2000s where they kicked out scores of people who didn't advance quickly enough or people who failed the body fat percentage of their PRT even if they passed the actual physical test.

    The Navy has been automating functions and combining rates at an alarming rate for years now. This is not government stupidity (for once). This is a strategic plan to make the Navy run more efficiently with fewer people with more specialized skills. The Navy wants highly proficient professionals, not people who flunked out of community college. Where I live, it isn't uncommon to see the Army recruiter set up outside of the unemployment office. The Navy, meanwhile, is cold calling the kids with top ASVAB scores.

    Nuke school is, and probably always will be, not only highly desirable for civilians but basically confers enough credits for a bachelors at TESU.

    Not to mention, where else can you find pleasure
    Search the world for treasure
    Learn science technology
    Where can you begin to make your dreams all come true
    On the land or on the sea
    Where can you learn to fly
    Play in sports and skin dive
    Study oceanography
    Sign up for the big band
    Or sit in the grandstand
    When your team and others meet?

    In the Navy.

    Seriously, though, the Navy pretty much banked on the rush toward STEM jobs well before it was fashionable. It paid off. Crap I was paid to do alongside nearly 30 other people can now be done online. The Navy wants smaller and smarter.

    Oh, and the professors aboard ships thing was a waste of money even when I was in. They're all adjuncts hired specifically to deploy with ships and to overseas bases. The trouble they got into per capita put 18 year old Marines to shame.
     
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Funny, because that's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw they were deploying these civilian temps. Federal employees don't seem to get into trouble on overseas assignments, but I can just imagine what could happen with these people.
     

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