Why do so many people in the military have useless degrees?

Keep in mind what maybe useless to you is a sincere interest to someone else. I majored in Parks and Recreation Management with and administration emphasis. What Uncle Sam wanted done in Army Logistics is very similar to what Mickey Mouse wants at Disney properties.

I spent 20 years in the Navy. I was a JO, and earned enough credits to complete two years of a four-year degree. I earned to bachelor's degree, including an undergrad degree in psych. I came home attended NCCU in Durham, NC and earned a MA in psych. I worked with children with special needs, counseled homeless men with addictions in a county run facility and when the job became too dangerous I returned to journalism took a job at a local paper. Now I'm retired again. Earning degrees while I was in the navy helped me grow up. Please don't judge anyone who is trying to improve his or her life.
Journalist Sharon D. Powell, USN(Ret.)

In my opinion if it is a degree that was obtained during active duty than it doesn't matter. It took about 3 years and blood sweat and tears to get my associates degree. Half of my classes completed while in Afghanistan. So there were some days I simply didn't sleep.

Wow...the vituperative discourse is appalling to witness as the troglodytic murmurs emanate from the caverns. There are a few attributes imputed to a college degree. The first is that one actually made it to graduation. A feat unto itself. Secondly, a degree in any discipline does not mean that is the only subject one studies. A humanities degree requires science, math, foreign language, and demonstration of critical thought. Thirdly, very few actually spend a career in their degree’s field.

True, a degree is not the be all and end all, and it should never be used as a bludgeon. My brother and I took vastly different routes. I went NROTC and a Navy career. He developed a marine engine and transmission expertise envied by many. His skills with his hands with not only steel moving parts but also fine woods are worlds apart from my skills. But, neither of us wanted the other’s job.

Then again, I had the damndest experience with an Ensign from Villanova with his engineering degree. He could not conn a ship to save his soul...spatial and situational awareness were nowhere to be found. I had a W-4 Bos’n (God in Navy parlance) who had mastered just about any subject concerning ship operations. While he could utter the most degrading curses known in two languages, he would have pinned back the ears of some here for their lack of courtesy and manners.

I think the more important question is, why do so many civilians have useless degrees? For a lot of people they're the person to go to college in their entire family, so they don't get a lot of guidance. Secondly for some it's just a matter of getting a higher wage or consideration for a job. A lot of businesses don't care what you studied, just the fact you have that fancy piece of paper. Useless is a rather opinionated term.

when you get a degree it should be in something that can be used to get a good paying job

I once worked with a First Lieutenant who had an Anthropology degree...

I asked him if he was there to study us...

Is the degree really useless? If it accomplished their purpose for completing the degree, then it was not useless or worthless to them. I remember when I got my bachelors degree there were many companies that wanted candidates with a bachelors degree, the major was not important. My first job out of university (>20 years ago) was as an insurance adjuster and they just wanted a bachelors degree. Now most of the insurance companies want a business degree. I know people that have moved up in their company to a business analyst position without a degree at all, but many companies now want candidates with a business or analytical major. There are many executives in big corporations that completed their bachelors in English, philosophy, history, economics, etc. So are those useless degrees? I don't think so. It provided the first step.

Edit: after re-reading the question I see that the question was limited to online degree mills. I have nothing positive to say about degrees from those places.

For many it is easy promotion points, I wish I had had some when I was in, never made e6 in the Army,made it in the air national guard

No degree is truly useless but I would agree that some are less useful than others. Before I became a Warrant Officer I was in college ROTC and some of the cadets preferred easier degrees so that they could get better grades and focus on excelling at ROTC to increase their chances of getting their branch of choice. Seems like a reasonable choice in retrospect.