Julia's response to the DOD........

I would like to say that $6,000 paid for 2/3 of my junior year of social work at a public university. There are many spouses out there that will end up being the sole breadwinner for the family if their spouse is injured in the line of duty and is medically discharged. What about the spouse who loses their service member spouse in the line of duty? To have an education will at least ensure that we can take care of our families if it comes to that.

MyCAA is an important benefit for military spouses. The following statement disturbs me.

" He offered examples: real estate licenses or home health-care provider accreditations.".

I am a military spouse and grateful recipient of the MyCAA grant. What good is a real estate license today? These examples would land a military spouse a minimum wage job at best. Limiting the program to low wage certificates is not going to better the military spouse and her job prospects. Allow all spouses to use their MyCAA funds to help them get a career that is not only in demand, but can support the family should that time come.

I have spoken to the press on more than one occasion about the MyCAA closure. My classmate and I have started a blog about our experiences advocating for this program. http://julia-lauren.blogspot.com/

I want to encourage the Secretary Gates and the DOD to rethink limiting the program to low paying quickie degree programs. It also bothers me that the statement says that the MyCAA was not used as it was intended. Every one of us who have gotten to use the MyCAA grant was in a program that was covered in the rules of the program.

The DOD listened to military spouses when they said education was a priority for them. They stated the MyCAA program and are surprised it was so popular. This a HUGE need in the military community. Our spouses put their lives on the line for this country and we keep the family going and strong for their return. Without the family you will not have a good military force. We also take care of these broken service members when they come home to us mentally and physically hurting.

DOD may limit MyCAA to job training - Stripes Central - Stripes

DOD may limit MyCAA to job training - Stripes Central - Stripes




THIS IS NOT WHAT I WAS HOPING TO HEAR. There is still
no definitive answers coming from the DOD.

Julia

Julia Here.....

This comment was left on the Tribune site. Really nice huh!

opinionated1 wrote on 04/04/2010 07:45:54 PM:

Benda, I think the comments should stick to the subject rather than putting so much energy into criticizing another poster.

I appreciate the service-members but they are not martyrs and I'm tired of feeling like I can't be critical about anything military because, "OMG, they are fighting for our country!" I support our country too, in a different way. It's like military members are untouchable and it's pure evil to be critical. And I adamantly do not support giving money for college to spouses-unless the service-members are transferring their VA education benefits to their spouse-that I agree with.

I know the military members are not making a killing, but try finding a job on the outside that pro-rates your childcare, allows you to live on base free or pays part of your rent/mortgage to live off base, pays you more when you have children, and pays all of your medical bills.

And calling people liberals or conservatives when you disagree with them only makes an argument sound like partisan regurgitation.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/30/1128592/military-spouse-tuition-aid-at.html#ixzz0qieWWkvp

OKAY let me get some things straight here. These are like the myths of welfare that people believe. I call this the military family myths...We DO NOT GET MORE MONEY FOR HAVING CHILDREN, service members either live in the barracks (WHICH IS A BENEFIT), military housing, or out in the towns surrounding military bases. Daycare prorates---how many single parents families do we have right now on Fort Lewis. 17,000 soldiers are deployed and almost 10,000 are married. That is a lot of time spent for the spouse ALONE. The lower ranks are the ones that get daycare cuts. Just like in civilian land. The lower paid workers sometimes qualify for daycare assistance. We also have medical insurance as a benefit. WHOA what a concept. I guess other companies in the US do not give medical benefits, or is it civilian workers deserve and we do not.

Military service is JOB with benefits. Like many other jobs in the U.S. They offer tuition help for continuing education, housing stipends, cost of living raises, employee health and dental plans, etc. OH BUT THEY GET PAID WAY BETTER in civie land. I love how people think we are given things for FREE. Are you kidding me? Every single benefit and paycheck a service member gets comes with a prices. Sometimes the ultimate price of their lives!!!!!!

Lauren Here

While waiting for a phone call that my husband was coming home, I joked with Julia that I was an "on-call" wife. And now the wait is over! I can't believe he's finally home. The entire time I've known my husband we have been on a time crunch of sorts. I met him less than a month after he finished his first tour in Iraq, and our 2 years together was like a count down to tour number 2. And then it was a count down to when he'd come home on leave, and then it was a count down to when he was coming home! And now... no more count downs. Can I function under this no pressure life? Haha.

It's definitely been a journey. I'm so glad that I became friends with Julia. I just wish we'd met sooner! It was amazing how our paths crossed, we have soooo much in common (stuff you guys will never even realize!). I'm glad she's been there for me and I'm glad I could be there for her too.

To tell you the truth, I'm a little nervous to start this chapter of my life! It's actual LIFE. There shouldn't be any more goodbyes for a while now, but you never know when it comes to the Army! Things have been good so far. Lance hasn't been hogging the bed like he did before = ) The cat has been on her best behavior, which is AMAZING. She is a little terror. Julia doesn't even believe she is a cat. But she kept me company while Lance was away.

Julia to Lauren

I hope that today is just a wonderful reunion for Lauren and her husband. They looked very happy in the pictures.

I am so glad this chapter is over for you Lauren.