I really truly meant to blog yesterday, but the world conspired against that happening. I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, because yesterday was a rough one.
I am sure that most of my military readers are aware that the Army decided to suspend tuition assistance as part of the budget cuts associated with the sequester. Well, since I am a military education counselor, this is pretty much my entire job. Yesterday our office was overflowing with soldiers trying to figure out how they are going to pay for classes. It was a bit of a stressful day. I am sincerely hoping that Congress will get its act together and pass some kind of budget so these across the board cuts don't have to be as extreme. I understand if tuition assistance needs to be a smaller pot of money, but this sudden cut off certainly makes life much harder for many soldiers.
If any of my readers have questions on how this affects them or their husbands, please let me know. I work on Fort Drum, but I am happy to help any soldier, anywhere in the world, with figuring out how to go to school.
There is also a petition online that you can sign. Amanda at Somewhere Over the Camo has a link to it on her blog. I think they need something like 77k signatures and they had 22k as of yesterday. Hope work gets better soon! :(
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard this, I just couldn't believe it. Luckily Dalton is graduating this semester and I already have other scholarships, but I feel so bad for all of the other soldiers and military spouses who are now going to struggle because of this.
ReplyDeletehttps://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/reinstate-military-tuition-assistance-ta-and-block-armed-service-branches-any-further-suspension-ta/kSyVdySm
ReplyDeleteThis is the petition!!
-Haley @ A Long Distance Love
When I heard about TA getting yanked, I thought about you (knowing vaguely what you do) and wondered if it'd impact your work. I'm sorry to see that it has! My husband and I both went to college before he joined, but even so, I'm upset on behalf of the other military families this is effecting. I get that it's a benefit, but it rubs me raw that something people were told they'd be given was taken away with barely a moment's notice. Not cool.
ReplyDeleteI finally took the time to write my congressmen and senators. I'm not sure that it'll do anything, but at least it's something. I hope all this budget hullabaloo gets sorted out before we more and more things like happen.
That is HORRIBLE!!! I don't agree with that move Congress made AT ALL!!! I'm sorry you're stressed at work, but breathe and remember that you're there to help them, and you're totally on the same side!!!
ReplyDelete