Thursday, September 22, 2005

Lying about the lying

I spent some time tonight searching the various "I hate America's children and want them to be drafted into military service" counter-recruiter sites. I stumbled upon one that was pretty impressive. It has some really nice graphics that look like stuff straight out of Stalin's USSR but with more of an earth tone look.

One of the links on the Sepia-hued communist-inspired deco site was debunking the "myth" of the GI Bill. Their claim is that the Montgomery GI-Bill will not allow you to earn the $70,000 that the Army advertises is available for enlisting. They further claim that only highly specialised professionals, doctors, lawyers, etc are eligible for that $70k. They are 100% correct in their statement. Let me say it again, they are 100% correct when they say that the GI-Bill will not give an enlistee $70,000.

They are 100% correct and they are also 100% full of s**t. I don't know of a single recruiter who would ever tell a prospect that they'll get $70,000 through the MGIB. It's the Army College Fund, when combined with the MGIB that allows someone to receive $70,000. All of the pretty, well-designed, and occasionally snarky charts found here are as misleading as the most heinous things that counterrecuriters claim that us recruiters do.

The Army College Fund is simple. If you qualify (high school grad, 50+ AFQT, choose a job that's offered, and fulfil the contact you sign) you can receive up to $70,000 to use while you're in college. It is paid out in monthly installments of about $2,000 a month for 36 academic months if you're a full time student. If you're not a full-time sutdent you receive a prorated portion of the payment, but the duration of the money is increased.

Military Free Zone LIES when they say that you receive your GI Bill for 3 years then it stops. You're paid for 36 months while you're in school. If you're not in school, no payment. If you go to school for one month, then stop, you still have 35 months left. And you can use your benefits at any point up to 10 years past the end of your service. If you don't fully use your benefits before 10 years you will lose out.

They also lie when they talk about how only a full-time student will receive the full benefit. IE a student taking 12 credit hours (VA definition of full-time) will get the full $70,000, but one taking 6 hours will only receive 36k. Yes, the half-time student will receive less money over the same calendar period, but their benefits will last longer. A Full time student will receive their GI Bill for 36 academic months. A 3/4 time student (9 hours) will receive 48 academic months. 1/2time will get 60 months. Someone taking a single class will be able to have the Army pay for that class for 6 years.

It's late. I'm tired. Mrs. SSG B is already in bed and I want to join her. I hate having to spend my time having my job made harder by a group of nimrods with an axe to grind because a recruiter probably told them they were too fat to enlist. Despite the claims of Kevin, Counter Recruiter, and all those other twit-wits out there the Army really isn't out to cornhole America's youth.

What you sign with the Army is a contract. The Army takes it's contracts seriously. If you fulfill YOUR end we WILL fulfill ours. Unfortunatly for some their end is too hard for them to fulfill and they get "screwed" because the Army won't give them what they want, even though they haven't earned it. For a generation raised on instant gratification and appeasement the concept of not getting something they want can be hard to digest. It's kind of depressing that the first contact with a grown-up who will hold them accountable for their decisions is their recruiter.

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