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Military Education News And Info

Stay up-to-date with news and information about your military education. You can get the information you need to make informed decisions about your online and military correspondence programs. Learn what's going on with military continuing education and how you can make a smooth military transition. Your civilian career awaits you!

The snowy mountains of Afghanistan are about as far away as you can get from the American desert, but members of the Arizona National Guard's 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry were up for a wintry challenge when it came to rescuing three U.S. Senators in harm's way.

Blizzard-like conditions on Feb. 23 forced a helicopter ferrying visiting U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to make an emergency landing in an unsecured part of the country.

Arizona ARNG Soldiers at Bagram Airfield headed up a convoy and went out into the hazardous conditions to secure the landing site and rescue the senators.

"The weather was our biggest adversary," said 1st Lt. Dennis Chamberlain who led the D Company platoon and other service members of Combined Joint Task Force-82."We moved out slow and methodically," Chamberlain said. "If we had crashed or had a problem with our convoy, it would have delayed our response time even more. 'Slow is smooth and smooth is fast,' is a saying in the infantry and this mission was no different than any other."

The members of D Company platoon have been in Afghanistan over a year and seen a fair amount of combat. When they left the base that night, the Soldiers didn't know there were congressional leaders on board the stranded helicopter, and after a safe convoy to the LZ, one squad took the unarmed senators back to the base while the rest of the platoon spent the night in freezing weather protecting the helicopters and crew until more help came the following day.

When these Guard Soldiers return to the States, they'll likely be welcomed home by family and friends as heroes. And once they've caught up with their families and returned to active-drilling status, they may return to their civilian jobs or even consider their educational options. Guard Soldiers on active-drilling status are eligible for Army National Guard (ARNG) Tuition Assistance (US Military Tuition Assistance), which may pay up to 100% of a Guard Soldier's fees and tuition for military distance learning courses. Guard members should see this military education benefit as something they've earned through their dedicated service to their country.

ARNG Soldier's looking at military continuing education should consider the benefits of an online school. Studying online allows National Guardsmen to get career training while juggling their Guard training cycles, family commitments and other responsibilities.

By Robert Fay, Allied Schools, http://www.education4military.com/
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Posted by Allied @ 4:02 PM • 0 comments

For service members experiencing their transition from the military this year, it's worth looking at a few of the hiring trends that companies are engaging in this year.

According to a Gannet News Service article by Dana Knight, one of the major keys for companies this year is to hire candidates quickly before competitors can snatch them up.In the past companies might invite candidates back for multiple rounds of interviews - sometimes lasting weeks - many companies now have all the decision makers meet the job candidate at one time. This allows the company to make a quick decision and then make a job offer.

Here are some other trends that service members undergoing their military career transition can expect this year:

Internet Background Search - Companies are increasingly plugging a candidate's name into search engines and seeing what they can find out about someone. Service members should be aware that companies may take a peak at their "My Space" page; military personnel shouldn't post information or photos online that paint a negative picture of them.

Video Resumes - Employers are more open to video resumes; and though this is still a new format, wearing a business suit and keeping your speech conservative and relevant to the potential job is a good bet.

Benefits, More Money - There is a shortage of good job candidates in a lot of fields - that means companies will do more to get you. Many candidates can expect better health care benefits and increased salaries on initial offers.

Military personnel, in addition to understanding the hiring trends of companies, should take advantage of their military education benefits to get as much education and training as possible. Active-duty service members are eligible for US Military Tuition Assistance (TA), which pays up to 100% of tuition and fees for military distance learning courses.

Many service members use their Tuition Assistance at an accredited online school because an online course allows them to study wherever and whenever they have time - even while deployed. When considering an online school, service members should make sure the school is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Military personnel should also be sure to learn if there is a transition assistance program offered on base by the ESO.
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Posted by Allied @ 9:53 AM • 0 comments

There is no question that the issue of deployment cycles is now an important one affecting the Army Reserve. It has been suggested recently that year-long alerts would help Reserve Soldiers train for theater-specific skills as well as give them time to prepare their families for deployment.

As the Global War on Terror continues, the Army Reserve's training cycle is no longer just two weeks in the summer; the Reserve is now a deployable force that can be quickly assimilated into the active-duty Army component.

And even with this expansion of the Reserve's traditional strategic reserve function, Army Reserve Soldiers are still unique because they are both warriors and members of the civilian workforce. The Army Reserve has been working with employers to help ease the tension that can sometimes arise between Army Reserve Soldiers and civilian employers, particularly around the issue of mobilization.

When it comes to helping families and civilian careers, one of the great assets that Reserve Soldiers can depend on is Army Reserve Tuition Assistance (TA). Reserve TA (TA Army Reserve) is a military education benefit that pays up to 100% of tuition and fees for Reserve Soldiers on active-drilling status.

The attractive feature of the US Military Tuition Assistance Program is that Soldiers pay nothing up front for their education - the Army Reserve pays schools directly. Reserve soldiers are eligible to receive up to $4,500 per fiscal year toward military courses online for such high-demand careers as medical transcription, home inspection, medical coding and property management.

Allied Schools is an accredited online school that accepts 100% online Tuition Assistance Army Reserve at no cost to Reserve Soldiers. Allied has enrolled over 10,000 military students since 2004 and its support staff walks service members through the TA process one step at a time. Military students at Allied can enroll in career training programs in the medical field, business and real estate.

As Reserve Soldiers increasingly face questions regarding future deployments, their civilian careers and separation from families, they can rest assured that taking advantage of military distance learning programs will always come in handy. Army Reserve TA is a benefit that Soldiers have earned through their service to the nation, and they should not miss the opportunity to use this military education grant while they are still on active-drilling status.
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Posted by Allied @ 3:40 PM • 0 comments

Military spouses looking for scholarship money to help fund their educational goals should consider applying for the National Military Family Association's (NMFA) "Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship." The military spouses of active-duty military personnel (including National Guard and Reserve) are eligible.

Applications for this military spouse education programs are available online at NMFA's website and the deadline is March 15. Scholarship money ranges from $500 to $1,000 and the number of awards depends on current funding. According to NMFA's website, the scholarship money must be used "for accredited vocation or technical programs, ESL classes, associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees and graduate programs," as well as distance learning programs.

Online programs are an excellent resource for military spouses, because spouses don't need to worry about in-state/out-of-state tuition rates. Military spouses can use their scholarship funds to train for high-growth careers like medical transcription and medical coding. In some cases, military spouses are eligible for military spouse education programs at many schools. This tuition assistance for military spouses will help supplement scholarship funds for tuition, fees and textbooks.
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Posted by Allied @ 2:46 PM • 0 comments

It's a new year and there is a lot that Marines can look forward to in 2008. Marine Corps Times recently assembled their "must-know list" for Marines. We'll take a look at a few of the highlights:

More Leathernecks - The Corps is committed to a force of 202,000 Marines by 2011. With that goal in mind, 5,000 Marines are expected to be added this year.

Resigning Bonuses - Details aren't available, but the Marine Corps is looking to retain qualified men and women with competitive bonuses.

Appearance Counts - A great PFT won't cut it anymore! You now have to look like a Marine, which means that your body fat percentage better be ship-shape.

The Osprey - Expect to meet the MV-22 Osprey if you deploy this year. The goal in Iraq is to eventually replace the CH-46E and the CH-53D.

Running Suit - Your sea bag may contain the new green running suit by the end of the year. Enjoy!

In the area of military education benefits in 2008, Marines can continue to take advantage of 100% Federal Tuition Assistance (TA), which pays up to 100% of tuition and fees for military distance learning courses. When leathernecks begin preparing for their military to civilian transition, civilian education courses will prove invaluable. Marines can also earn bonus points for promotion as part of this marine program education.

In addition, married Marines can now help their husbands or wives when they use their TA at Allied Schools. When they enroll, their Marine spouses can enroll in a select course at no charge. This is military spouse education at its best. Tuition assistance for military spouses allows marine spouses to get career training that will pay dividends when they're hunting for a civilian job.
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Posted by Allied @ 2:41 PM • 0 comments

The Navy's all-volunteer spouse support group "Compass" held a training conference in December 2007 at the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Base in San Diego, Calif.

The conference was titled "Compass Connections" and included Compass teams from around the world. As reported in Navy Compass newspaper, the "purpose was for Compass team leaders and trainers to get to know one another while going over the teaching curriculum and teaching new ideas."

Compass, a division of Naval Services FamilyLine, is a 12-hour program taught by Navy spouses for Navy spouses. The program is designed primarily for new Navy spouses and seeks to help them integrate into the Navy culture. New spouses are mentored by spouses who have been part of the Navy for a longer time - helping them navigate the procedures, jargon and lifestyle that are unique to Navy culture.

"All spouses are welcome. There are no ranks, no communities; we come in here with our first names only, no last names, "Compass director Rosemary Ellis told Navy Compass. "The only reason that you're in the room is that you are married to a Sailor. That's what we all have in common."

In addition to meeting a network of Navy spouse peers, participants in Compass learn among other things, naval history, customs, pay scales, resources and benefits.

And when it comes to benefits, military spouses now have an increasing number of education and career training resources available to them from the Navy, the federal government and private schools.

Some educational institutions that work with military personnel have created military spouse tuition assistance programs. Some schools offer discounts on military spouse education, while a few select schools have even begun offering no-charge tuition for military spouses when their spouses enroll using their Tuition Assistance benefit. Program education for military spouses is an essential part of any effort to address the high unemployment rate that plagues many military spouses.
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Posted by Allied @ 2:34 PM • 0 comments

The financial magazine Smart Money in its 2007-year-end issue warned its readers of current consumer scams, including one particularly evil scam directed solely at military spouses whose service member spouses are serving overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The scam works like this: thieves call up a military spouse and pretend to be a representative of the American Red Cross. They inform the military spouse that their husband/wife has been wounded in combat and is being flown to Germany for medical care. To ensure that the administrative process goes well, the thieves ask for the service member's social security number and date of birth. Once the callers get this personal information the crooks can easily steal the person's identity and cause all kinds of financial damage.

Earlier this year, the American Red Cross put out a statement warning of this consumer scam, noting that their organization always works through the military and Department of Defense (DOD) - they do not call military spouses directly. The Red Cross strongly urges military families not to give out personal information over the phone to individuals whose credentials or organizational affiliation can't be verified.

This particular consumer scam aside, 2007 was a year in which people became more aware of the needs and concerns of military spouses. The Army announced its Army Family Covenant to support military families, while the DOD and the Department of Labor launched the Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative to provide grants for military spouse education at select bases.

In addition, some schools that work with military personnel have been implementing military spouse tuition assistance programs. In many cases, when active-duty service members enroll at a school using their Tuition Assistance benefits, schools offer discounts on military spouse education. A few select schools have even begun offering no-charge tuition for military spouses when their service member spouses enroll. Program education for military spouses is an important area that is finally getting the attention it deserves. Military spouses looking into educational options are encouraged to identify themselves to admissions representatives when contacting a school - military spouses can't afford to leave money on the table.
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Posted by Allied @ 2:29 PM • 0 comments

Military spouses checked in their "screen names" for the real thing earlier this month as they gathered in North Carolina for SpouseBuzzLive, an event that brought together military spouses who regularly blog on military.com's "Spouse Buzz" page.

The nearly 200 military spouse participants attended panel discussions and lectures on a variety of topics, including how to cope as a military spouse, as well as information on available educational benefits.

A military spouse at the event told the The Fayetteville Observer: "I have told these people some things I don't tell my husband," she continued. "(The blog) is a place to say something to somebody who understands how you feel. It's a safe place to go where they understand and they don't judge you. It's (a family readiness group) without borders."

In addition to the online emotional support, military spouses are also finding career and educational help from both the military and schools. Both the Army and the Marine Corps have recently announced plans to help military families and spouses with the complex challenges they face during the Global War on Terror and the constant deployments it requires.

More and more these days, schools that work with military personnel are discovering the need military spouses have for military spouse tuition assistance. In many cases, when active-duty service members enroll at a school using their Tuition Assistance benefits, schools offer discounts on military spouse education. A few select schools have even begun offering no-charge tuition for military spouses when their service member spouses enroll. Program education for military spouses is an important area that is finally getting the attention it deserves.
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Posted by Allied @ 2:17 PM • 0 comments

Americans rightly acknowledge the sacrifices and heroic deeds of those who serve in the military, but all-too-often the contributions and sacrifices off military spouses are overlooked. This may soon change, however, if a military widow and a military spouse are successful in their goal to have a military spouse monument built in the Washington, D.C., area.

Karie Darga, the widow of a Sailor who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq, and Navy spouse Nicole Alcorn have spearhead the memorial effort. Their efforts got a boost this summer when Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Va., introduced a bill in the House to authorize construction of the monument on public property.

Supporters of the monument expect it to be funded entirely with public funds, with the cost expected to be between $30 and $50 million.

The memorial would be a fitting tribute to the men and women who are truly the backbone of the American service member. During long deployments overseas, military spouses maintain the family finances, care for the children and often work to bring in additional income - all without the daily support of their husbands or wives. Their sacrifices make it possible for military personnel to focus on their mission with the confidence that their family is well-taken care of.

Hope for a memorial coincides with the Army unveiling its new Army Family Covenant, which among other things, acknowledges the sacrifices of military spouses and lays out plans to help them improve resources in the areas of child care, education and career training.

When it comes to education, military spouses can take advantage of tuition assistance for military spouse programs at many schools. Military spouse education is an important element in helping military spouses meet the career and educational goals they set for themselves. Military spouse tuition discounts can be found at many schools serving the educational needs of military spouses.
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Posted by Allied @ 1:49 PM • 0 comments

When we think of long wars, we naturally think of the impact on troops and equipment, but the military family is equally strained when conflicts continue for multiple years. With this in mind, Marine Corps officials have announced a $30 million budget increase to a USMC program that looks to strengthen both Marines and the Marine family while the longest all-volunteer war in our nation's history continues.

Like the Army's recent "Army Family Covenant," the Marine Corps Family Team Building (MCFTB) program recognizes that military families are the warrior's true support system. Marine Corps leaders understand that current family programs are still based on the realities of a peace-time Corps, and as a result, they've committed to increasing the MCFTB's resources.

The MCFTB offers programs that, among other things, offers spouse-to-spouse orientation for spouses new to the Marine Corps, personal and professional growth workshops for spouses, Military OneSource resources, marriage and relationship seminars and religious enrichment programs run by Navy chaplains.

The impact of this funding will reportedly be seen early this year during the first fiscal quarter and is supported on all major Marine installations by the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS).

In addition to the MCFTB programs, Marine spouses can also take advantage of military spouse education opportunities by pursuing military spouse scholarships and searching online for schools that offer military spouse tuition discounts. The Navy-Marine Corp Relief Society offers scholarships to Marine spouses - information can be found at their site www.usmc-mccs.org/ - while many online schools offer some form of tuition assistance for military spouses.
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Posted by Allied @ 1:32 PM • 0 comments

The news for Army spouses and their families got a whole lot brighter this past year when Army leaders signed the Army Family Covenant, which is a written commitment by the Army to improve the quality of life for Army families.

During a signing ceremony at Fort Knox Army Gen. George Casey emphasized that families are the backbone of the Army and its Soldiers. He credited Army families with standing firm behind Soldiers during six years of frequent deployments.

The covenant addresses five key areas that impact the quality of life for Army families. The Army's plan consists of:

-Standardizing and funding existing family programs and services
-Increasing accessibility and quality of health care
-Improving Soldier and family housing
-Ensuring excellence in schools, youth services and child care
-Expanding education and employment opportunities for family members

The expansion of education and employment opportunities, along with improved child care resources, should help Army spouses who want to work or train for a new job. Army spouses with computer and Internet access can take advantage of distance learning to train for a new career. Army spouses should also look into fields that lend themselves to home-based businesses, such as medical transcription or medical billing. It's also important to note that some schools offer military spouse tuition discounts.

Military spouse education, of course, is just one piece of the larger quality of life issue that the Army is addressing. Secretary of the Army Pete Geren summed up the importance of the Army family best when he said: "The health of our all-volunteer force, our Soldier-volunteers, our family-volunteers, depends on the health of the family. The readiness of our all-volunteer force depends on the health of the families."
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Posted by Allied @ 1:16 PM • 0 comments

Marine spouses at MCAS, Beaufort, S.C., now have more than a fighting chance when it comes to facing the challenges of wanting to care for children and earn an income.

The Fightertown Marine Corps Community Services' (MCCS) new Home Care program aids Marine spouses in two important ways. First, by providing well-qualified child care providers on base, it keeps children within the Marine community. It also trains Marine spouses themselves to be child care providers, which provides them both an income and a chance to watch their own children. Spouses in the program can watch their own kids, along with other Marine children, with the maximum number capped at six.

For Marine spouses who want to work as child care providers, or to work at jobs off base, this is encouraging news. A 2004 Rand Group study revealed the obstacles military spouses face when it comes to their education and career goals. The study noted that nearly 25% of Marine spouses actively looking for work could not find a job; a figure much higher than spouses in the civilian world.

MCAS Beaufort's Air Station Child Development Center holds one-week child care certification classes to train Marine spouses. The Home Care program is only for military families and the homes and child care providers are monitored by the MCCS - there are up to three unannounced house visits per month.

Marine spouses who place their children in the Home Care program can then go on to work outside the home. This also frees up time for career training at the base education center, at nearby colleges or even online, through distance learning programs.

In terms of military spouse education, online career training gives Marine spouses the opportunity to become, for example, real estate agents, medical transcriptionists or medical administrative assistants; Allied Schools offer military spouse training for a number of different vocational careers. Marine spouses can learn more about distance education courses by speaking with the ESO at the military education center. Additionally, spouses should know that some online schools offer special military spouse tuition discounts.
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Posted by Allied @ 1:12 PM • 0 comments

Several years ago the Rand Group surveyed military spouses from four service branches concerning their employment and education opportunities.

In general, the study's findings were disappointing. Among other things, the 2004 study noted that Army spouses were three times more likely than civilian spouses to be unemployed, while 25% of Marine Corps spouses actively seeking work could not locate a job.

Military spouse noted that three major obstacles stopped them from getting career training, and ultimately getting a job: lack of affordable/available childcare, limited education offerings on base at the military distance learning centers and frequent reassignments to new duty-stations, often out of state. The military and the Department of Defense are aware of these issues and have implemented programs to address these needs, for they understand that unhappy military spouses often influence whether an active-duty spouse decides to reenlist.

One of the keys to addressing the career woes of military spouses is to make Internet service and computers more available to spouses, opening up the option of military distance learning (online) education, where military spouses can train for a civilian career regardless of where their family is stationed.

One way to help with tuition for online courses is with scholarships from local and national military spouses' clubs. Most bases have a local spouses' club that offers scholarships to dependants and military spouses of service members stationed at their base. Many have websites with deadlines and application information.

Several national organizations also offer scholarships, grants or military education loans; a few examples are included below:

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
Army Emergency Relief
Air Force Aid Society
Coast Guard Mutual Aid

Military spouses can use their scholarship money to take military distance learning classes at accredited online schools. Some schools offer military spouse education discounts, so military spouses should be sure to identify themselves when registering for courses.
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Posted by Allied @ 1:04 PM • 0 comments

The scene is being played out on Air Force bases all across the country: a plane with Airmen returning from overseas deployments lands on an airfield; children hop into the arms of Airmen in beige camies, while spouses clutching American flags wipe away tears.

It's a precious time for these families, but somewhere on another U.S. airfield, other Airmen are saying goodbye to their spouses and children and readying themselves for their long separation.

Deployed Airmen generally worry more about their wives or husbands than themselves. They understand the mission will keep them busy most days, while their spouses will struggle to fill the void left by their spouse's absence. There are dozens of things Airmen can do for their spouses, but one of the most important is to get the family's financial house in order. Air Force families should first hold a financial summit meeting, and then work on paying off all credit card debts, outlining a strict budget for the deployment period and setting up a liquid money market account to serve as an emergency savings reserve.

If there are concerns that the family's current income isn't enough, then a serious discussion about a second or increased income might be appropriate. One option for Airmen is to educate spouses about distance education - emphasizing how it can provide a quick and convenient career training. Airmen, like most service members, are familiar with military distance learning online - the military has relied on it for years, but for many civilians, it's a new concept.

It's entirely possible that an Airman's spouse could receive online vocational training, secure a job and then begin making money all in the span of a 12-month deployment. And because the military distance courses are 100% online, spouses can train for a career even if there are young children in the home - military online education can be completed while the kids are napping or after they go to bed.

Airmen looking to help their spouses find a new career can look to the U.S. Department of Labor, which projects that jobs in the medical field will grow 27% from now until the year 2014. Career training for a number of medical office jobs, such as medical transcriptionist, medical administrative assistant and medical coder, can be completed within less than a year. And medical transcriptionists, for one, can ultimately work from home as a contract employee or proprietor of their own medical transcriptionist business - a nice advantage for an Air Force spouse who must accompany her husband or wife to a new duty station every few years.

When helping their spouses choose military spouse education at an online school, Airmen should make sure the institution is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), offers live student support by phone and provides some kind of job placement assistance. Airmen are advised to contact the ESO at the base military education center, discuss issues concerning air force program education and ask about the reputation of various distance education schools.
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Posted by Allied @ 12:58 PM • 0 comments