Should the military grant a 4 year "General Studies" degree to soldiers whom have served in the Armed Forces?

Sir, I like your question !!  Having just looked at my AARTS transcript recently I got I think one credit for physical education and that's after spending a few years pounding the pavement,.  The ACE is skewed in their lack of usefulness to military personnel in my opinion.  I think something more useful would be at least the award of an Associates level degree in Military Studies.  This would be beneficial in that almost all service members would receive credit towards higher level education.  The problem with that is there is not enough writing and math skills that I used in basic and AIT to warrant the award of such a degree.  This however would definately make much more sense at ANCOC, if they still call it that, for example where there is more course work and time for an accelerated class load.  This idea has the potential to retain more service-members since civilian education is almost a requirement for most job promotions.  Once again I think formalizing some of your practical education in the military would go a long ways in my eyes. 

I think an Associates would be acceptable. When I used my GI Bill it didn't even cover my Associates degree. It wasn't a lot but I still had to pay 7k on top of everything after pell grants. Everything from boot camp, MCI's and MOS schools counts for something. The American Counsel of Education provides quality assurance and policy guidance to the Army, Navy, and
Marine Corps for military transcripts.  More than 2,300 colleges and
universities recognize these transcripts as official documentation of
military training and experiences and applicable ACE credit
recommendations.

Now I'm not saying it should just be handed out after 4 years. The service member should still have to show an interest in higher education while enlisted and use the Tuition Assistance program while in garrison and if possible while deployed.

After 20 years it should be automatic at the very least. I see way too many college grads who have terrible grammar and math skills, cannot find Canada on a map and have cannot form an original thought, but demand mid-level management positions because they are 'degreed'. Further food for thought... a college degree obtained 10 years ago is about as valuable as your high school dipolma. Unless you've kept up with your skills your degree is a great reminder of days gone by.... Military people are forced to stay current. Some jobs in the military are more technical than others.. some more professional than others and some stressfull or dangerous than others, but all require skill, dedication and leadership to be successful. That should be rewarded.

no, in fact I think the military shold take a look at the current colleges offering "degrees" and "credit" for certain military activities.

I do not believe that institutes of higher learning should grant such a degree.

No, I fear that would provide a false sense of security for those that serve and say that they have a "degree."  The real world experience of serving provides valuable experiences for those who pursue a degree during or after service.  I don't think that service can be compared to a rigorous academic program, nor should it be.  They seem to be great complements, not substitutes.

Do i believe that anyone should be given anything just for doing something? No... If that where the case why dont Mcdonald Employees get degrees for working at a McDonalds for 10 years? <br><br>That being said... There could be a system that would use military Schools, courses, and programs to help/create an opportunity for soldiers to complete a degree easier than it currently is. <br><br>I think this would depend on the Military Job/specialty. And i do believe that this would be possible to create.&nbsp; a few others explained why this wouldn't work. How about entertaining how and why it could work. <br><br>Infantry spend a lot of time learning security measures, and the rules of engagement. which you could possibly transfer over to something such as a Security Management Degree. <br>A cook can work towards a nutrition/food service degree. There are degrees that can match up plenty of occupation specialties in the military. <br><br>SO we have the basis that we can connect the two. Now how do we do this. Ill use my MOS as the example. <br><br>I am a 25S. Satellite Communications. If the Signal School at Ft. Gordon ensured that the courses where taught to coincide with a Nationally accredited University we would then begin receiving credit for our time in the school house. <br><br>Now say that what you learn in the School House and ALC Phase 2 are both accredited... and part of the same process and ensure that ALC Phase 2 tests the growth that would be required for any OJT that would be required to happen or expected to happen over the time between AIT and Phase 2.&nbsp; (the University of Phoenix calls these tests a "<span class="st">Prior Learning Assessment").<br><br>Now you have a standard for your "Major" This would require beefing up AIT and Phase 2 a little bit, but produce a ground work for future learning. <br><br>Now for the rest of the Course work... T</span>he school then can create a component list of what the soldier is required to do, to finish the degree.&nbsp; at which point a standard is set for Yearly/promotion requirements for each degree that would require the soldier to work continuously over the course of his or her enlistment.<br><br>Using the SSD system require certain courses/phases to be complete to move to the next iteration. These would be your more basic or standard courses. Math, Science, History, Writing Comp. Ect. so at the end of the six years that a soldier has spent in the military they will have Earned a Degree by doing the course work over time. <br><br>I understand the Some MOS have shorter AIT and some have longer but at each one you have certain focuses that may or may not be applicable to a Course of study. If the MOS does not coincide with any degree at all a General Military Science degree can be used. <br><br>If you made this mandatory it could have severely negative affects, however if you made this a program that a soldier could opt into or Enlist for the results may be better. <br><br>That being said i do believe that ALL military courses should be connected to an accredited college that provides credit for each class, and when the soldier that does not want to be a part of this program walks away from the army they still have some college credit from his or her service. <br><br><br><br>

Base it on the NCOES or OES Schools completed, and years of service say 2 year degree at 4 years with completion of WLC, 4 year Degree at 6 or more years service with completion of ALC and at least one other school (EO, Safety, ETC) And stop the practice of taking college kids who went through ROTC got a degree in underwater basketweaving and making them officers. Recruit officers from the middle - senior NCO ranks and from Military Academies. 

I think it depends. If you do 3 years then I think you should get a 2 year Gen Degree but if you do 4 or more then I think you should get the 4 yr degree in Gen Studies. All the training and military schools are valuable. We learn more in the military then most students learn in college. We are able to apply numerous training to everyday life in which an 18-22 year old college student only knows what a book tells them. They have no work experience and do not really know how to trouble shoot in real life scenarios.

I wouldn't say a 4 year General Studies, but I think with the training we receive we should at least have an Associates degree in general studies.