SFC Private RallyPoint Member 39503 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I have been working on my college education since about 2011. It's very slow going. The only 2 times I have found that I had the stability / time to complete a 9 week online course is during my last 2 deployments (Garrison is simply not an option due to the training calendar). I have yet to be in garrison for a 9 week period without going to the field for 2 weeks or more. Needless to say it takes a long time to complete the necessary courses for a degree.  <div><br></div><div>My question is this. Should there be a bigger push for civilian education? Should the Army implement a new program for soldiers to complete an associates degree? If so, how would you form it and how would it work? I would also like to hear from different sources on how much effort is put into mentoring soldiers on civilian education benefits as well as success stories. Aside from the occasional mentioning of "take college", there really doesn't seem to be a big push for it. </div><div><br></div><div>I believe that it is my duty as an NCO to mentor each one of my Soldiers on education benefits. If they show an interest, I am willing to walk them through the entire process of getting them signed up for classes, TA paperwork talking to the education center and providing the proper time and resources to ensure their success. But again, the training calendar can be a major obstacle to overcome. I have to take the training calendar, match it up to the available course dates and then go through line by line to see if it the soldier can complete the course while still receiving critical tasks training. I have no problem going to my 1SG and requesting that PFC Snuffy be allowed to take college and miss some field time or be transported home to complete exams etc...Generally I can usually work on about one or two soldiers at a time and the chain of command is generally supportive if they can afford to be. But it is nerve racking and totally hit or miss. However it was not like this when I came up through the ranks. Even now, I know a lot of NCO's that are not pursuing a college degree and could really care less if their Soldiers do. What can we do to fix this? There has to be a better way for a soldier at the junior level to start on college without the OPTEMPO constantly getting in the way.</div> 2014-01-18T01:39:37-05:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 39503

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I have been working on my college education since about 2011. It's very slow going. The only 2 times I have found that I had the stability / time to complete a 9 week online course is during my last 2 deployments (Garrison is simply not an option due to the training calendar). I have yet to be in garrison for a 9 week period without going to the field for 2 weeks or more. Needless to say it takes a long time to complete the necessary courses for a degree.  <div><br></div><div>My question is this. Should there be a bigger push for civilian education? Should the Army implement a new program for soldiers to complete an associates degree? If so, how would you form it and how would it work? I would also like to hear from different sources on how much effort is put into mentoring soldiers on civilian education benefits as well as success stories. Aside from the occasional mentioning of "take college", there really doesn't seem to be a big push for it. </div><div><br></div><div>I believe that it is my duty as an NCO to mentor each one of my Soldiers on education benefits. If they show an interest, I am willing to walk them through the entire process of getting them signed up for classes, TA paperwork talking to the education center and providing the proper time and resources to ensure their success. But again, the training calendar can be a major obstacle to overcome. I have to take the training calendar, match it up to the available course dates and then go through line by line to see if it the soldier can complete the course while still receiving critical tasks training. I have no problem going to my 1SG and requesting that PFC Snuffy be allowed to take college and miss some field time or be transported home to complete exams etc...Generally I can usually work on about one or two soldiers at a time and the chain of command is generally supportive if they can afford to be. But it is nerve racking and totally hit or miss. However it was not like this when I came up through the ranks. Even now, I know a lot of NCO's that are not pursuing a college degree and could really care less if their Soldiers do. What can we do to fix this? There has to be a better way for a soldier at the junior level to start on college without the OPTEMPO constantly getting in the way.</div>

2014-01-18T01:39:37-05:00 2014-01-18T01:39:37-05:00 2014-01-18T01:39:37-05:00