Published January 08, 2024
Publisher: Timothy Kim, CapSentinel Director

Less than 1% of the American population volunteer to serve in the military across all the services, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force. As a transitioned Army veteran, myself, I found that there were many opportunities that Soldiers can take advantage of that end up being neglected and not utilized. This includes the population of Soldiers that decide to make the military a 20+ year career, and those that decide to transition after their preliminary service obligations. Whether it’s due to not knowing the opportunities exist, not wanting to put in the time to take advantage of the opportunities, or leadership preventing the individual from pursuing those opportunities, there are wasted resources every year from Soldiers not taking advantage of them.

Below is the breakdown of funding an Active Duty Soldier receives every fiscal year where they can utilize towards their tuition or credentialing:

Whether it’s going towards classes/credits/exam fees for a degree (associates, bachelors, masters, or doctorate), or a certification (PMP, CISSP, Sec+, etc.…), these programs should be utilized, especially for individuals wanting to transition into the civilian sector to pursue a career after their service to the nation.

Soldiers are trained in their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), which is their skillset developed throughout their military career. Ranging from logistics, combat, engineering, cybersecurity, and much more. Soldiers hone their craft in their MOS at the various assignments that they are given throughout their career. To help facilitate their transition from their respective services, obtaining degrees and certifications help articulate their level of competence and knowledge they’ve developed from those positions held within the military. Some Soldiers take advantage of the tuition/credential assistance every year, while most neglect this resource. From my peers and my experience, I found that people start to utilize their education benefits when they are set to transition out within a year timeframe. Out of the four to eight years of mine and my peer’s service, we utilized less than 20% of the funding and resources available to us throughout our entire careers.

A prime example shared between us would be when Soldiers, both enlisted and officers, begin their careers. As a junior officer, I noticed that very few Soldiers who are beginning their careers take advantage of the tuition assistance. Primarily because they aren’t familiar with the program, and secondly because they want to solely focus on learning their job without anything added on their plate. The ones that I noticed who took advantage of their tuition assistance either came from the following backgrounds: Green-to-Gold Officers who were originally enlisted and worked to commission as an officer, junior officers who have a family background in the military, or individuals who are very close friends with one of the two previously mentioned categories of people. The common trend between all of them is the fact they have knowledge about the resources available to them. Although the resources are well advertised and not a hidden thing, I believe leaders need to place emphasis on this to show their peers and subordinates that not taking advantage of this is a definite wasted opportunity.

Leaders need to begin by developing a culture around their units to encourage professional development in the right ways. Instead of forced Leadership Professional Development (LPD) sessions where Soldiers are beat to death by PowerPoint, mentoring and guiding them to plan for their future both in and out of the military would benefit the organization. Encouraging the masses to utilize their tuition assistance will show that leaders care, and protecting their time to pursue their degrees and credentials shows commitment to them. When Leaders don’t instill this type of culture, their Soldiers will be discouraged from using their education benefits with reasons range from, “If I take off work for a week to pursue this certification, I’ll be distracted from the endless phone calls because I do a lot for my organization” to “I work from 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM every day and just don’t have the time to work on a degree or certification.” Although these reasons are painfully true for most individuals, there are people who work through these challenges and still take advantage of the program. Imagine if you had an organizational culture that emphasized and supported individuals to pursue their degrees and credentialing? I can predict there would be many more who would actively pursue the use of their education benefits to better themselves and prepare for their future. I acknowledge this is easier said than done, however if you look at your entire military career as preparation for transitioning, it makes sense to prepare for what you want to do outside of the military. There is a saying in the military that goes along the lines of, “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up,” that references to Service members exiting or retiring from service and looking for what to do next on the civilian side. Leaders should be encouraging their subordinates and peers to best prepare themselves for this transition, because there will come a time when everyone hangs up their uniform and continues the next chapter of their life.