Posted on Nov 25, 2013
Should Soldiers receive some type of compensation for having a degree?
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I think the Army (speaking for Soldiers only) has compensated immensely as they are footing the bill for us to go to school. I believe that is enough for me and asking for compensation for having a degree could come off as wanting more than what we've already been given.
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SFC Todd,
Soldiers, Officers particularly are not paid to have a degree. They are paid based on their responsibility (Usually). At the end of the day it is that Officer that is responsible for the unit. That responsibility for mission, men and equipment at ever increasing levels is what creates a pay gap. As I said on another discussion, I have a Masters Degree, which educationally puts me up there with the average Major, but the Army is not going to pay me extra to bridge the gap between Company Grade Officers and Field Grade Officers, nor should they. I am a 1LT and I get the pay commiserate with my level of responsibility.
That is my disagreement with you. For the record, I didn't vote you down. I think people get a little crazy with that DOWN vote.
Soldiers, Officers particularly are not paid to have a degree. They are paid based on their responsibility (Usually). At the end of the day it is that Officer that is responsible for the unit. That responsibility for mission, men and equipment at ever increasing levels is what creates a pay gap. As I said on another discussion, I have a Masters Degree, which educationally puts me up there with the average Major, but the Army is not going to pay me extra to bridge the gap between Company Grade Officers and Field Grade Officers, nor should they. I am a 1LT and I get the pay commiserate with my level of responsibility.
That is my disagreement with you. For the record, I didn't vote you down. I think people get a little crazy with that DOWN vote.
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Why? Didn't the Army already pay for you to get that degree?
If otherwise qualified, that Soldier can apply for an officer producing program.
If otherwise qualified, that Soldier can apply for an officer producing program.
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SFC McKinley, I don't believe so. The Army already pays a substantial amount of money through the GI Bill, Tuition Assistance, the Student Loan Repayment Program offered as a bonus, and easy credits through degree programs tailored to specific career fields. I try to take a business outlook on it, which leads me to ask what the Army receives from soldiers going to school without the intent of taking a leadership position (i.e. commissioning.)
Personally, I think soldiers using Tuition Assistance should incur the same service obligation that ROTC students do: every year of using Tuition Assistance should incur another year of obligatory service.
Personally, I think soldiers using Tuition Assistance should incur the same service obligation that ROTC students do: every year of using Tuition Assistance should incur another year of obligatory service.
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SGT William B.
Sir,
Haha, I probably did. I'm sure that a couple years in the future, when I'm a crusty, mean SGT looking to finish a degree and transition to the civilian world, I just know that I'm going to regret inserting my foot into my fourth point of contact so deeply.
Haha, I probably did. I'm sure that a couple years in the future, when I'm a crusty, mean SGT looking to finish a degree and transition to the civilian world, I just know that I'm going to regret inserting my foot into my fourth point of contact so deeply.
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LTC Joseph Gross
I disagree. TAP is a benefit you have earned by virtue of your service. You want to turn it around and say it is something you don't deserve and by using it you owe the military more. Soldiers get little enough use out of the TAP that we don't need to add more stipulations and requirements. What I would like to see is ROTC scholarship students owing more time than they currently do and USMA cadets owing much more time. My sixteen weeks at OCS cost me three years of obligated time, no big deal because who doesn't want to stay at least three after OCS. An ROTC Scholarship student might get two to four years of free education and owes four years. A West Pointer gets the best education in the US and only owes five...
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PO1 B. Kieth Cooper
SPC(C) I have to disagree on the service incurment issue. If a enlisted person uses TA while serving they are already pay the debt. A ROTC is in school and not serving active service. If the military sends the individual to school and away from a serving command then yes they should inccur more time to pay back te expenditure of the military.
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SGT William B.
I think I understand the validity of what you're saying both saying. In my eyes, and in my relatively shallow experiences, I have always been told that TA is a privilege, and not a right. Without the TA Program being offered specifically as a guaranteed perk of signing an enlistment contract (much like you would see amendments to the contract for the GI Bill, Student Loan Repayment, etc), I can't definitively state that soldiers absolutely deserve that right. Don't get me wrong: I believe in higher education, and I absolutely believe that any man or woman that puts their name on the dotted line should have the right to pursue it as evenly as those who didn't. I just can't see it being an economically sustainable program when the military already spends so much money on other benefits and programs (perhaps if we would get smart and stop funding silly weaponry projects that cost us billions of dollars over decades while leaving us nothing in return, this wouldn't be an issue for me.)
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