DoD Stops Payment on Military Spouses' Tuition Assistance

While I will be the first to defend a military life as beneficial to a family in many ways, I am not naïve enough to pretend that it doesn't come at great sacrifice. While it is wonderful to be able to live in places that I might not have otherwise seen and be able to meet people all over the world, there are certain drawbacks to the frequent moves.

Part of that is job stability and educational opportunities for  spouses trying to make ends meet on a military paycheck and possibly trying to juggle a few kids in the mix. While I am privileged to have a job where internet access is my only accessibility issue, I can't say the same for the many spouses (and let's be honest, it is mostly women) who do what it takes to make a military home work. Outside of being a DoD teacher or contractor, there are not a lot of jobs that will tolerate frequent moving while paying a livable wage. Continuing education can help the chance that a spouse will find a better paying, transfer-friendly job.

For the ambitious spouse trying to finish their education there has been a rise in online courses available to those who could work it into their budget, and some in-classroom situations too for those lucky enough to find them. The DoD started a tuition assistance program to help those people interested to make those ends meet, offering eligible spouses up to $6,000 to help defray costs.

Suddenly last month, without any warning, the Military Career Advancement Accounts program (MyCAA), citing unforeseen popularity as its reason, announced a "temporary pause" in the assistance program. The short notice and sudden stoppage has left many spouses with little or no choice but to withdraw from classes, drop out altogether, or take out student loans to cover costs. Financial aid, though, is difficult to apply for when you are so close to a class start date. For the 133,000 spouses who responded to the program offer, this is a significant derailment for an education plan.

We in the military are aware that no one promised us anything (well, nothing we should have taken seriously) when we agreed to this life, but there are lines that should not be crossed, and screwing with people's money is one of them. MyCAA's suggestions that spouses look into using other options such as post 9/11 G.I. Bills are laughable, as many spouses are not prior-service and don't have that option to fall back on, and to ask their spouses to transfer their own that they paid into is asking another sacrifice.

The Congressional Military Family Caucus is working to solve this issue as quickly as possible, imploring Defense Secretary Robert Gates to restore the program soon. I would suggest that you could do the same.

Photo credit: lindsayloveshermac