How important is civilian education to a service member's success?

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 19:39:04 -0500

I had a very spirited conversation with a friend the other day regarding the value of civilian education on our careers and its impact on opportunities past our time in uniform. We were on opposite sides of the spectrum in not only the way we value education, but also how we feel it contributes to our ability to do our jobs.

Anyone that has worn the uniform knows the military provides a requirement for a base level of civilian education commensurate with a service member’s entry rank and career path. The military also provides specific career training after entry, as well as in predetermined intervals to provide the knowledge service members need to do their job at given times in their career.

Is this enough, or should service members be required to continue their civilian education as they do their professional military education? Does this type of pursuit improve a service member’s ability to successfully perform their job, lead others, or set themselves up for a better chance at success following service? Is it right that continuing education is not necessarily required but often times expected? Along the same lines, should it be used as a discriminator for promotions if it is not required?

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 8:23 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 20:23:55 -0500

I think it's fairly important, CW3 Private RallyPoint Member, but I think the basic civilian education requirements are enough. Now, if a Soldier wants to go above and beyond in the civilian education arena, I think that shows something: That individual is willing to put in more effort, may have more aptitude, and should be recognized in some way for that (usually on promotion boards, and - of course - later in life, after the military).

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Mar 1 at 2015 8:43 PM

LTC Yinon Weiss — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 20:43:27 -0500

I would break my answer down into two components:

1) To succeed in one's direct military job (grunt, pilot, MP, technician, mechanic, etc.) then I think that civilian education does not add a ton of value. Our WWII service members probably would not have won WWII faster if more Soldiers had a college degree.

2) To succeed in the reality of our military, which is now mostly a peacetime military (and is mostly so over the course of one's career), to succeed as a career professional, and certainly to have a better career after one's military service, then a civilian education is a big advantage.

To address your other questions, my opinion is:
- Civilian education should not be a requirement, unless the military is going to pay for it.
- It's fine for it to be expected but not required; there will always be things that people can do to set themselves apart.
- As far as it being a discriminator... I personally think that one must look at the whole person, not just a military resume. One's education is part of what that person brings to the table, so yes, it should be considered... but only alongside and in the context of everything else (perhaps only as a tie breaker if everything else is equal).

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 1 at 2015 8:47 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 20:47:49 -0500

Continuing education is essential. College is not.

The problem is that most people don't know how to distinguish between the two.

If you are an artilleryman (chosen randomly), and you are knocking out all of your Professional Military Education, both Leadership & MOS related, attending every available Skill School that makes sense, do you really need college, for your job in the service? Probably not.

Are there specific courses that could help you, which would give college credit? Definitely. Things like Ethics, mathematics, technical writing (for higher ranks), are worth taking.

We should constantly be trying to improve ourselves, and if that happens to confer a degree, great. If that's not a degree track program, that's not a bad thing either. Now some MOS granting schools give so many college level credits it just makes sense to knock out the prerequisites. It's advantageous, or it's disadvantageous not to.

Now should it be a requirement? That is so loaded. I think things like Marine Corps University, and Marine Corps Institute (and the other Branch variants) should have their PME to the point where there is an actual "Military Leadership" Associates of Science/Arts Degree program available. Once you've completed all the PME through E-X, + 30 Entry level college credits, you apply and get a degree. Make another for BS/BA. That's when you make it a requirement for E-6/7+. If someone can't get an AS/AA by 10~ years in with all the help, then it's reasonable.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 8:55 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 20:55:23 -0500

In the AF, it seems to depend on who the Chief of Staff is at the time. It seems like the education requirement for certain ranks change every time there is a CSAF change of command.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Mar 1 at 2015 9:11 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 21:11:57 -0500

AF side, pretty important. You will not win any awards without perusing college. Promotion beyond specific ranks without the specified degree is impossible.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 10:02 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 22:02:51 -0500

In the Army, it provides promotion points, separates you from peers, allows better transition into civilian life, and increases overall education and wisdom.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 10:08 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 22:08:53 -0500

I agree with you in part that the military does provide for a base level of education in the PME that we are required to attend at certain pay grades. However, much of that PME is lacking for example I attended Airman Leadership School and as the one instructor put it, “we understand that the operational AF does not do things this way but we have to teach you this way.” The basis of that quote is much like what the Army teaches which is doctrine. I work in Signal and much of the civilian education that I have taken has helped me to better understand the why behind the how.
A lot of the problem with military education is not what is taught it is when it is taught. The second problem is the depth at to which it is taught. Some things need to be taught at a greater level but time limitations will not allow all of the detail to be taught. So we are left to look to the civilian side to teach us more or rely on experience to teach us. Both are good teachers however experience usually teaches all the lessons at an expense.

Response by MSgt Jim Pollock made Mar 2 at 2015 12:09 AM

MSgt Jim Pollock — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 00:09:13 -0500

As to whether a degree is important career progression-wise (I can only speak to AF), as MSgt Copeland mentioned, it is essential. For enlisted, the Air Force covets its CCAF program and you will go nowhere fast without earning a CCAF degree your career field. I earned a relevant Bachelor's Degree from a civilian institution before I pursued my CCAF Associates. I didn't feel the CCAF degree was valuable to me... I was heavily counseled to change my mind.

As a SNCO, I witnessed the on and off emphasis on advanced degrees for officers. The rapid change of official stance, combined with the time and effort required to earn a Master's pretty much makes earning one a necessity within every company grade officer's career plan. It seems the Master's emphasis is low for now (masked), but that can change in a second. I wouldn't want to caught with my officer pants down.

Does a degree make a practical lick of difference for a member's duty performance? Debatable IMO. I'd say it's akin to a degree's value in the civilian world. Highly valuable in some career fields, simply a discriminator in others. I will say that enlisted moving into supervisory roles probably get the most benefit. Some college-level writing and management training is never a bad thing.

Response by SPC David Shaffer made Mar 2 at 2015 12:41 PM

SPC David Shaffer — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 12:41:56 -0500

I believe that education and knowledge should be a top priority for everyone. Knowledge is one thing that can never be taken from you. It is essential to getting everything that is available to us in this life and is one sure way to increase anyone's quality of life. I really think it should be a factor in promotion because it shows superiors who is trainable and who is driven to succeed. I do not believe society as a whole puts enough emphasis on the importance of education.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 5:04 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 17:04:40 -0500

Chief -

Purely from this Artillery Officer's experience.

None initially. Artillery = Math, caring about math, dreaming math, marrying math, understanding the rotation of the earth and wind.

Every single person in my OBC class majored in either History, Political science, or teaching.

Beyond that, TBD based on the individual, what they do in the military and what they study outside of the military.

The only thing I've seen make somewhat sense is putting philosophy majors into MI....kinda makes sense when you think about it.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Mar 2 at 2015 5:11 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 17:11:03 -0500

We can put too much emphasis on civilian education.....example: while in the Academy, several of my classmates wanted to push to make it a requirement that you had to have a Bachelor degree to be able to compete for SGM/CSM while serving in leadership positions (1SG) and deployments would not be required for consideration. I understand there are some specialties that do not have an opportunity to deploy, and I understand some do not have an opportunity to be a 1SG however, for the vast majority of the force that is not the case, especially the active duty side (speaking of deployment)....just over half the class had deployed and a large number had never been a 1SG. My point, there are other things that bring value as well the education, leadership positions and experience can help a leader relate the their formations.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 6:15 PM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:15:44 -0500

Education is paramount, always.

It doesn't matter if you're only going to do your initial enlistment or be a lifer, you won't ALWAYS be in the military and some sort of a formal civilian education is going to be needed for gainful employment once you get out.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 9:33 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 21:33:23 -0500

Education is very important in the Air Force. This past year, the majority of award winners had a Bachelor's or higher, including PhDs, among the enlisted. However, I am not sure how have any of those makes you better at your job. Especially since what you've learned, may or may not apply to your current career field/job/position. I'm not saying that it doesn't help, but I have yet to have seen how it makes someone a better Airman (big 'A') outside of how it applies to your annual report. Are they better leaders, followers, mentors? Did what they learn benefit the Air Force? And how? I'd love to hear from others that have gotten a higher education and how it helped them be a better military member. :)

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2015 1:14 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 01:14:30 -0500

In my opinion a associates degree should help for technical positions such as signal, and will also aid in transitioning to the civillian world and remaining relevant to your military career. But the bachelors degree waste tax dollars mainly because in the United States it is high school on your own or employers dime. 2 years of general education which is high school subjects repeated at far greater expense. You study your major for 1 year (not including professional fields such as engineering and nursing) and a year of minor and electives. I used the University of South Carolina degree plan as an example for 4 year colleges

Response by HN Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2015 10:25 AM

HN Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:25:37 -0500

I believe that any military member should be continuing your education while you are in. Whether it is with your MOS/Rate/Job you can get it for free and it definately sets you apart from your peers when it comes to promotions. I believe that if you do continue your schooling you will be much better rounded off than what you get taught. As in my case i am a corpsman in the NAVY and i have to tell you, the training i got was good but not great, theres time i wish i knew why i was doing what i was doing and for what reason but that was stuff i never learned. I want to be more knowledgable about it but the military only trains you so much. It is definitely expected that you continue training because it does add extra points onto advancement and also affects your evals. As for SHOULD if be used as a discriminator YES YES YES. The reason why is because if you are continuing your education and working that same job it shows that you have a desire to do the best that you can and know 100% what you are doing. Thats just my 2 cents but overall i say YES for continuing education

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 12 at 2015 8:53 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 08:53:18 -0400

Everyone here has made some excellent points about the value of higher education in direct terms, and SGT Private RallyPoint Member, touched on the more intangible values of that education.

To take it a little further, whether college classes, work towards certifications, or the good old Army Correspondence Courses, taking some time to learn something new can do 3 important things: 1) Increases your perspective by learning about ideas, skills, and histories beyond your own. 2) improves your brain's ability to learn and retain information more efficiently. 3) might lead you to a passion or interest you never knew you had.

higher education may or may not lead to a degree, or a certification, but it will certainly lead to a more efficient mind, and expand the point of view of the learner.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 4:23 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:23:23 -0400

Education is important across the board, but we also need to look at why the system was created, blue and and white cala broken down to enlisted and officers. If you require the same level of education for an enlisted service member then yout will be evoking the equal pay system! How would you then compensate say a Staff Sergeant with a bachelor degree and 8 years of service to a Capain with with 3 to 5 years of service. That Non-Commitioned office technically is more qualified than that officer yet is paid less. Yes we need our our leaders at all levels to be more educated but at the enlisted level it should be more technical.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 5:44 PM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:44:53 -0400

all these questions about the civil education during the military era or continue studying civil situation is summarized in a single answer that is, if a man live seven never leave lives to learn life is a continuous learning and absorption of knowledge, thus education and learning should not be questioned both military status as civil

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 8:35 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 20:35:39 -0400

Education has always been a net benefit to those receiving it and to the organizations whose members have it. It is no surprise that the military looks to reward those who seek to set themselves apart by obtaining it. As the maxim goes "Steel the body, civilize the mind." Individually, we may be able to perform our jobs extremely well without civilian education. That said, the organization benefits as a whole by having educated members in the ranks.

Response by SPC Steven Garcia made Mar 18 at 2015 9:45 PM

SPC Steven Garcia — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:45:25 -0400

Answer: Very important for upward mobility.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 11:17 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 23:17:04 -0400

This is a great question and it is particularly relevant to our current environment (joint operations, restructuring, realignment etcetera). I would be interested in hearing how the person posing the question defines success, as that would certainly go a long way toward helping me shape a quality answer. Assuming we are striking a balance between the needs of the military and the aspirations of the individual service member, there are several key points of discussion. The modern military clearly needs a force that is more institutionally educated than in past eras. Mostly, this is because diplomacy is executed at a much lower individual level than in the past. That being said, we already have a terrible problem with a metrics driven agenda at the strategic level that has trickled down to the individual Soldier to the detriment of the entire force. We are not a Fortune 500 company, but some leaders have gone way off the rails in pursuit of a warped business process management model. Simply put, it is not helpful to tie specific education certificates directly to particular tiers of promotion. There is a certain reactionary resentment that immediate follows any such policies. The have nots are particularly loud in their response. Slick sleeve E8-E9’s don’t like promotion systems that give weight to deployment frequency or duration (As a sidebar it is getting really old hearing people argue that many have no control over the eligibility of forward assignments….at this stage in the game it is very rare to find someone who could never get into the fight despite a careers worth of attempts). A different cohort rally’s against the same process when it favors civilian education achievements. Nether group is focused on the needs of the force when they demonstrate disdain for something simply because it excludes them. The more relevant issue is the effect of formal education on the small group leadership dynamic. There is certainly a ‘what’s my role’ fog rolling in right now. An O1-O3 looks out over his/her formation these days to the returning gaze of multiple NCO’s with lower pay and equal or greater education; often the same group can and does perform most of that same officer’s tasks, because of absence or indifference. It’s only going to get more twisted. I think that we need to divert the focus toward job descriptions, expectations and compensation, rather than dwelling on how we decide who ‘succeeds’ and why. Incidentally, I firmly disagree that gun bunnies and other similar MOS’s benefit less from well educated service members. How one manages and leads (two words that are used erroneously in an interchangeable manner far too often in the military) can be greatly bolstered by formal academic degrees, regardless if it’s a grunt or a loggy. Anyway as a high school dropout and 1SG who used his post 9/11 GI Bill to attain both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree I am very thankful towards the Army. I don’t actually know if it helped me get promoted, but I do know how it is best put to use: Mentoring young officers who are systemically devoid of any mentorship program within their own ranks; encouraging the enlisted Soldiers who I work for to strike a balance between personal needs and the needs of the force by pursuing an equilibrium between classically educated and technically educated personnel.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2015 7:58 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 19:58:36 -0400

I do not think civilian education should be used as a discriminator however should be pursued by all enlisted personnel. Limiting academia for military or personal growth is up to the individual. Unlike officers who already have degree's minus a few warrant officers who have accumulated a certain number of credit hours. Warrant officers must have a Bachelors Degree before they can pin on CW3. Higher education speaks some key things about you 1: You will complete it 2: Your language proficiency is always evolving 3: You bring valid suggestions, diversity by MOS and knowledge to the table. A degree does not make you smart however the things that were learned from that degree allow you to assist with addressing the problem; giving solutions and barriers that other areas will face. Bottom line an educated Soldier is only as good as the education that they have learned and effectiveness that is used to build the team.

BA Criminal Justice AMU

Response by SGT Dolores Rosas made Mar 21 at 2015 7:28 PM

SGT Dolores Rosas — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 19:28:04 -0400

In regards to education and the Army it helps with promotions and so forth. Granted while you are in the service it is not necessary to obtain further education if you don't desire it. It is a completely different animal when it comes to the civilian world and your future. I can speak first hand when I say that there have been many of times when I have been passed for a position that I applied to although I had all the other necessary requirements. It really depends on what type of position you are trying to obtain. I would highly suggest that every soldier gets some sort of education. It makes it extremely difficult to get that job you really want.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Apr 11 at 2015 7:34 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 19:34:46 -0400

I have a BS and a MS in Criminal Justice and I am a military police officer. My education help me earn more promotion points to Staff Sergeant as well as make me a better performer in the realm of law enforcement and knowledgeable in the rights of the accused, court proceedings, and self defense in terms of legalities. When I retire I plan to attend law school. I do not want to perform LE duties after I get out. I want to use my experiences from the military, and my education to represent individuals with proper counsel in criminal proceedings. Actually, the law aspect of law enforcement is a passion of mine.

Response by SGT John Wesley made Apr 11 at 2015 7:53 PM

SGT John Wesley — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 19:53:05 -0400

I feel it's important to have all the education you can gather. For professional and personal development.

My Uncle left the Navy after his four years, worked while going to school. Eventually owned numerous gas stations, yet continued to go to college. Ended up with a doctrate. All this while working.

What I got from that was that I should always strive to better myself through education because you never know when another door of opportunity might open for you. Whether you're a Private or a Colonel. Go for it!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2015 10:01 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 22:01:10 -0400

As a guy who started collecting degrees, I think that no one should leave the military without at least a general associates degree and preferably a bachelors degree in anything.
It's true that those general survey courses don't teach you much more than what you probably learned in high school, but what they are supposed to do is expose you to the material and give you something to focus on next term. Did you like Kantian ethics in philosophy 101? Take the 200 level course next year. Did covering opportunity costs in intro to business help you out when the commander said "I have enough funding for x or y, but not both, what should we do?" Take business finance and learn to do it better next time.
There is no such thing as useless knowledge. A higher education expands the mind, adjusts perspective and , hopefully, gives an appreciation for the different. A few philosophy classes might leave you wondering if you are a good person or a completely selfish egoist, but might give an insight into how others think and assigning qualitative value. Computer programming gives a good foundation on logic and sequential operations. Etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam. All useful things in the military and out.
I won't go so far as to say that promotions should be predicated upon higher education, but I feel that the NCO corps should try to keep up. Technical MOS's are becoming more and more specialized, technology advances come at a pace that once you master one thing it's been replaced. Senior NCOs at the company level might be the generalist managerial integrators that junior officers are now and officers might be becoming administrators much quicker. I can't speak to the quality and quantity or material covered in the NCOES programs then or now. I knew I was etsing long before I felt ready to be a sergeant. My peers who went to PLDC/WLC never pretended to possess knowledge that couldn't be gained by sitting down with a stack of ARs and the platoon sergeant a few hours a week for a few weeks. Graduates of BNCOC didn't come back any different or wiser than when they left. Maybe that was unique to my time and place in the army.
I will say this, education, any education, can never hurt. If you plan on a career in the civilian world after the military, get a degree. Even JROTC instructors need a bachelors now. I don't remember the army being very picky about what you major in, find something you like and just do it.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Apr 13 at 2015 11:06 AM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 11:06:10 -0400

In my active duty days (69-91) USAF made it clear that Professional Military Education and academic education were very important for promotion. Having PME "one level ahead of your grade" by correspondence (ACSC as a Capt) was a discriminator. A post grad degree was a major discriminator to Maj. For Lt Col you needed AWC and a Masters to ensure the promotion board should actually open your folder. Those were much different times. Combat experience was rare. Selection rates much lower than today to O4 or O5.
On the more practical side, a degree in a marketable field will greatly improve your post-service employment opportunities. Marketable depends on what you want to do in civilian world. Education if you want to teach. IT if you want to do IT. Business or accounting will work for many opportunities. Stay away from the soft degrees like gender studies or art appreciation. Look at job announcements in the qualifications section to get an idea of the path you should take.

Response by MAJ David Vermillion made Apr 13 at 2015 11:46 AM

MAJ David Vermillion — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 11:46:41 -0400

Let's keep it simple, you won't be promoted to the field grade ranks unless you have it. I remember back in the early 80s having my records reviewed for promotion to Major and was passed over. Believe this or not a clerk in Virginia called be about updating my records, he said several important areas looked incomplete, I gather everything I had and flew to Virginia to review my records got everything updated and the following year I was promoted to major. Back then I had always heard go to Virginia and make sure your records are complete. I know they don't do that now with all the technology but the point is this, don't assume everything you have gets to your record file. YOU MUST CHECK IT! Education along with your OERs and assignments can play a very important role in advancements

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 13 at 2015 1:13 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 13:13:34 -0400

In my career I was able to use my college experience (finance degree) as a budget officer. Once in a while I would find a nexus of what I learned in academia and what could be a practical solution now. But by and large, my degree was not paramount to my career. What made me who I was as a soldier were the soldiers, superiors, and Army schools who shed light on paradigm shifts.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 21 at 2015 7:36 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 19:36:17 -0400

Education, while possibly applicable within many military fields, is not exactly necessary to succeed within the military. Much of what is "necessary" is taught within the military via their various schools.

HOWEVER, looking long term -- education helps after the service. I also believe that education should concentrate more on either STEM based degrees, or certification/craft/technical based. There are a slew of soldiers who leave the service with little civilian based skills, or at least poorly worded to their prospective civilian employer. Transferring (and even remembering) the skills used within the military is hard for many. I had to dig deep to try to find transferable skills for my resume -- which has a degree attached to it.

I've spent the past 7 months looking for a new job, and come May 1st I'll most likely be visiting the unemployment office while I start turning to minimum wage jobs. I have a liberal arts degree, and it may have gotten me a few interviews (though, personally, I think the cover letter does a better job at getting interviews). But, most of the positions that I qualify for (or that my military/civilian experiences promote) require either a HS diploma, or an associates.

In general, I possibly would have been better off starting at the bottom of the ladder and already have started moving up as opposed to getting a liberal arts degree. The only up side is that I don't have any debt...so there's that. The simple fact is that a college degree isn't nearly as useful as it once was -- Master degrees are much more marketable now for "better paid" positions.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 24 at 2015 4:44 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:44:23 -0400

The only way my college degree helped in my career is giving me a broad education and a baseline of ignorance until I went to Army schools and conducted technical and tactical training. Now I am a proponent of everyone getting a degree if they desire it, but there are no degrees about Army Aviation. I have yet to remember anything from a college leadership class.

Response by CW5 Jim Steddum made May 1 at 2015 5:42 PM

CW5 Jim Steddum — Fri, 01 May 2015 17:42:02 -0400

I am truly sold on the Army's three pillars of the Army Training and Leader Development Model. The pillars: Institutional (military official schooling like PME), Organizational (training at the unit level based of organizational mission), and self-development (external/personal education).

Ultimately, all three pillars are not for personal development; they are for organizational effectiveness. Personal growth is a side benefit.

Individual success is based on ones ability to balance obtaining training and education and using that and experience to perform. The record of training and education is evidence of ability/potential to perform.

Response by PO3 Lori Ann Brummer made May 6 at 2015 1:07 PM

PO3 Lori Ann Brummer — Wed, 06 May 2015 13:07:04 -0400

I've never heard of education of any kind, limiting personal and professional growth; but I know for a fact that ignorance is the breeding ground for all kinds of trouble...But education does not guarantee wisdom; and I believe that training, time and experience are the usual common denominators for wisdom. Perhaps this begs the question "Does the Military educate their soldiers so they can do their job as efficiently and expertly as possible?" I can only speak for the USCG, and I say wholeheartedly, "YES!".

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 2:09 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 14:09:41 -0400

In my opinon, I believe that a civilian education is highly important to a Soldier from a personal and professional aspect. On the personal side, how does one better themselves and prepare themselves for life after the military if they are not working towards a higher education in a field that they intend of working in post military life? Those goals will vary from each individual. Now from the professional perspective, how could anyone not believe a college education would not be a beneficial? It shows professional growth, professional goal achievement and in many cases, depending on your degree plan, your college degree may correlate directly to your MOS or current and future duty positions. Also, college degrees play a major factor in future promotion consideration, well at least on the Warrant Officer and Enlisted side of the house. With the promotion numbers the way there are currently in certain MOS’s, having a degree (higher the better) will help you gain extra consideration over someone who doesn’t have a college degree. In the eyes of the board members, not having a college degree may show a lack of investment in your future in bettering yourself as an overall leader and this could cause you to lose a promotion to an equally qualified candidate with a degree.

Response by PFC Tuan Trang made May 13 at 2015 2:10 PM

PFC Tuan Trang — Wed, 13 May 2015 14:10:49 -0400

It'll help me with Promotion and knowledge.

Response by SFC Kenneth Hunnell made Dec 28 at 2017 5:54 AM

SFC Kenneth Hunnell — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 05:54:54 -0500

Look at people that have degrees and are still looking for work

Response by SPC Gary Welch made Nov 9 at 2018 1:25 AM

SPC Gary Welch — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 01:25:10 -0500

This college stuff hits a nerve with me if you want to go to college go for it but after you leave the military college courses and degrees have no place in the military they distract from accomplishing the mission ( example studying to be a business administrator does nothing if you are an infantryman)I always go back to what my first Sergeant when I pcsed to ft hood told me "welch the army didn't train you to go to college they trained you to shoot a weapon " and I always believed in that still do I retired in 08 I was in for 19 yrs never even thought about going to college never opted for all that college stuff because it was a collosal waste of time