Higher Education for Military Personnel

Over the course of this past year the Veterans Success Center (VSC) has made huge strides in being more visible and more involved with other areas across campus. I wanted to concentrate on reaching the incoming student-veterans so that when they encountered the veterans program it appeared to be far more established than it was, and interaction with it being perceived as a daily opportunity. This meant that we would need to be far more involved with the early processes of becoming a student such as: Premiere Night, SOAR/TSOAR/Preview Day/ Veteran specific orientation and Veteran campus tours. We also wanted to be much more accurate in speaking to our student-veteran population, so we worked directly with the Admission Office to create an

Veterans face many challenges when transitioning from the service. Those that have served shift from a fairly structured and ridged way of life to the less structured and more chaotic civilian life. Many veterans, especially those that have been in combat or have had to personally deal with catastrophic situations, have a very hard time adjusting and often require significant levels of assistance. Sadly many veterans fail to get help, either because they do not wish to appear weak or they are simply turned away.

Some believe training is as important as education. Army Doctrine Training Publication ADP 7-0 Page 2 paragraph 7 states, “Units train in garrison and while deployed to prepare for their mission and adapt their capabilities to any changes in an operational environment. (Headquaters, Department of the Army, 2012)” This simply means training is never complete. As a leader in the Army, NCO’s must seek new areas in which to train their troops. Proper education in these areas allows for them to receive proper training in whatever subject they are focusing on. For instance, when the Global War on Terrorism started in 2001 the Army began training soldiers for urban combat. Had the Army attempted to force the war to be fought in ways that were no longer compatible with the terrain of the modern battlefield, the battles would have been more costly for American troops.

Being in the military comes with plenty of benefits. Free education is probably the number one reason (how do you think I am paying for my school right now). You get to travel and see things you thought you would never see. Not only do you become physically tough but also mentally tough. You become prepared for the tough civilian life. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga repots that, “The Army taught me the very values that make us progressives--community, opportunity, and investment in people and the future.” Although many feel that they should not join the military it can really improve our lives and they way we think.

We should be grateful for Missouri having such a wonderful agency for a great cause and for Warrensburg for having one of seven veterans’ homes in Missouri. The Missouri Veterans Commission happens to be a state agency through Missouri. It provides veteran benefits, but the behind the scenes people deserve a huge pay raise for all the hard work they out into every day. As a sociology major I be destined find what type of career I want for the next forty years and working with veterans is an interest of mine.

Military training in a school environment was unlike anything I had encountered in high school. I was thrown into a curriculum filled with different aspects of military intelligence, from identifying ships in foreign navies to learning how to build and present an intelligence brief. I enjoyed learning how historical events shape present day policy and how new information fit into foreign policy and current events. I graduated as one of the top students in my class.

One can deduce from these findings that overall local veterans do feel safe in their neighborhood and can get around the area ok. They also clearly have a good support network of family and are able to connect with other people sharing their religious beliefs. In addition to this most do say they have access to medical services, per the survey, but as my individual interviews point out the quality is clearly lacking. The survey data also points to a need for more services which my individual interviews point to as well.

A large number of veterans with service related injuries live in rural areas due to the fact that residents in rural

After years of admirable service, many veterans choose to make the transition back to civilian life. During their enlistments, they’ve learned invaluable skills that are highly sought after by employers. For these individuals, the experience was a powerful and empowering experience, but it’s time for a new chapter in their lives. Each year, more than a million veterans take advantage of resources that are provided specifically for current and former military personnel. Just as there are many reasons why these men and women decide to go back to school, there are many resources to aid veterans in the process.

For-profit colleges target veterans because G.I. Bill was given to the veterans by the government, which helps veterans pay for their colleges’ tuition, up to $21000 a year. Also, veterans must be looking to seek degree and trying to get a good job after they get out from the military. So, that’s also one of the reasons for for-profit colleges to recruit them.

Virginia Tech has been the home for both my brothers through their mechanical engineer degree and their transformation into responsible and hardworking young adults. I am the third of my family to attend Virginia Tech and even before I was accepted the campus already felt like a second home to me. I know the campus extremely well due to the many visits made and the rural location is quite calming and therapeutic when overwhelmed with stress. The distance from my home puts my mind at ease due to the fact that I always have an opportunity to return home if any major problems arise at home. The entire environment given to me by attending Virginia Tech allows a tranquil learning experience where I will be able to complete my short term goal of rapidly adapting to college life and focus on pursuing my chosen major.

Under the original GI Bill (Public Law 78-346), about 4.9 million veterans enrolled in vocational and technical training (Field, Helbel, & Smallwood, 2008). According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bradley (2009) surmised that an estimated 112,000 claims for benefits under the new GI Bill have already been processed, and an estimated 250,000 veterans are expected to receive education benefits in the next two years. Perhaps the greatest need of many returning veterans is assistance in addressing psychological and social problems associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, or multiple physical injuries (Ford, Northrup, & Wiley, 2009). While, historically, community colleges are charged with serving those outside traditional student populations, it is imperative that institutions of higher education recognize and plan for military and veteran student needs.

Education is not the only benefit that comes from service in the military. When many people first join, they are assigned MOSs. MOSs are jobs assigned to someone when they first join (Nance). Each MOS is specific and is usually related to the field an individual is interested in. He is sent to training immediately after basic training. Each branch of the military has different jobs, depending on what is available. Jobs can range from being a dentist to becoming a lawyer, but each has its own school for

In the military, a person will also be able to learn valuable leadership skills. Coupled with training, an individual can take those leadership skills and become significantly more marketable to civilian employers. In fact, there are places that will hire people just by virtue of them being a veteran, in general, as long as they are discharged and/or retired, honorably! As a veteran, the veteran will receive an automatic five to ten point increase, also known as “Preference Points,” for many of the tests or exams that are required for federal government jobs that they may consider for employment (USA Jobs).

First and foremost, they offer financial assistance for undergraduate and graduate problems. They help to cover tuition costs as well as housing and books. In addition, other programs, like work study and tradework training, are available. With these programs, veterans can go to school, earn money through a job, and train for specific careers like HVAC and EMT (“Education Benefits”, 2017).