My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.

 Tell me your experiences.

ETA: He really wants to serve his country first and foremost, but he is also concerned for  his future.

Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences.

Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences.

I joined the Marine Corps to become a Marine.

I hear that people who join the military in search of free college and other benefits gravitate towards the other services.
If those are his goals, I suggest he do likewise.

As far as the Air Force goes he can get 100% tuition assitance. As far as when he gets discharged, he will get no medical beifits besides the VA (And That really sucks if its not really service related injury).

If he retires after 20 yrs he will be eligiable for Tricare which is a real joke. And I agree from the privous poster that if he is in it for the medical bennies and education he should pick somthing besides the Marines. I think that he would be better suited for the Air Force or the navy and even the Army. My nephew is in the Corps and he has hardly the time or energy for school. BTW Iam in the Air Force and it is tough to find the time to get schooling in.

Remind him that in any service its service before self and to go to school is a distant last to the needs of the services. He will deploy alot and it won't always be easy to go to school.  

He is a member of NJROTC and is being told by different recruirters the pros and cons of different military branchs. His first choice is to join the Marines to serve his country. He just wanted to know if the Marines would help him through college if he ever choose to leave the Marines.

If he can afford to go to College first, that is the best path.  It is much harder to play catch up with your studies after a few years than it is to go on after High School.  
There are ROTC programs also.
Counting on one of the military College funds is a loosing proposition.   There are only a small number of MOS fields that qualify you for the Army or Navy College Fund.  You MUST  go to a 4-year college in order to receive maximum benefits.   When you look at the college money you earn compared to the time you must spend active duty and take away from potential education time, it is seldom worth it.  
If he wants to be a Marine, have him enlist.  
If he wants a college education and wants to earn a graduate's wage, tell him to just go to college.

Quoted: He is a member of NJROTC and is being told by different recruirters the pros and cons of different military branchs. His first choice is to join the Marines to serve his country. He just wanted to know if the Marines would help him through college if he ever choose to leave the Marines.

I speak from experience...

The simple answer is "Very Little".

Isn't "tuition assistance" available to every branch? That's not to mention GI bill.

Hell, the Navy is practically forcing folks to go to college these days.

if he wants to do the military/college thing have him do ROTC.  that way he gets college behind him before the service, and when he graduates he has a commission

Quoted: if he wants to do the military/college thing have him do ROTC.  that way he gets college behind him before the service, and when he graduates he has a commission

+1

I just got out of the Navy about 18 months ago. I don't have any medical coverage for non service related injurys but thats pretty much standard. As far as collage goes There is allot of hoops to jump thrugh but you get paid well in the end.

Every branch of service offers the same GI bill, for going to school after you get out.  The Army and Navy can add their respective "college funds" to help you out even more, depending on your MOS/NEC.  If he is planning on actually going to school while on active duty, the Air Force will be his best choice.  Yes all four branches offer 100% tuition assistance now, but the Navy caps it at a much lower annual amount, for the USAF and Army its $4,500 a year.  Like bluesuiter says its tough to go to school even in the AF, but its definitely possible.  I'm half way done with my MS degree, and I only started in 2002.  Here are the hard numbers for people who do complete degrees in the military.  It shows, in my opinion, that the USAF is the only branch really serious about education.

www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/library/docs/voledfacts/FY05.pdf    

Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences. ETA: He really wants to serve his country first and foremost, but he is also concerned for  his future.

College is a bonus.  Don't join the military to pay for college unless you're prepared to wait until after you get out.    

That being said, I served in the army and the navy.  When I got out they gave me plenty of help with college.  I wasn't promised, and didn't receive, any medical benefits after I got out.   To my knowledge, he won't either.  He'll get good medical while he's in, though.

After I finished college I stayed a civilian for a bit then went back in the Army.

If he wants to serve, serve.  He'll get the college benefits he's promised.  Just make sure it's in his contract.  

Quoted: Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences. I joined the Marine Corps to become a Marine. I hear that people who join the military in search of free college and other benefits gravitate towards the other services. If those are his goals, I suggest he do likewise.

It's quite the rarity to encounter a Marine that doesn't take a jab at his sister services; I guess we'll just have to keep looking.

There are no real hoops to jump through for college stuff.

Here's what you do:

Everyone has the GI Bill.  Everyone.  All you gotta do is sign a paper that allows them to take $100 from the first 12 paychecks.  He pays $1200 and gets something like $20,000 back.  There is also a "Kicker" where the service member pays an addition $600 to get another $5000 back.  That's it:  Pay in $1800, get $25,000 for college.

If he picks a job that has a college fund or bonus, there will be more money.  When I went in, I opted for the college fund which added $35,000 to what I was already getting for the GI Bill.  I now have a college fund of over $60,000.  The total also goes up each year, and I get the increases too.  Example:  It totalled out at $40,000 when I went in because the GI Bill was $15,000 at the time, and is now over $60,000.  That's right, even though I'm out, I still make money when they increase the GI-Bill.

To use it after he gets out, all he has to do is enroll in school, fill out some VA forms, and prove enrollment each term by submitting a one page form listing the classes he's taking.  Each month, I hit the VA website, and verify enrollment to get my check deposited into my account.  The amount I get is based on how many credits I'm taking.  

Quick math:  Take total fund, divide by 36 to get each months payment for full time student (12 credit hours).  They pay for a total of 36 months of school (4 years if taking summer off).  If attending school half time, the student gets half the money for twice as long.

GI Bill benefits must be used within ten years of separation from active duty...

Did I get everything?

This is not a marine/navy/army thing.  The process is exactly the same.  THe only person who can screw him out if college benefits is him.  And the recruiter...

ETA:  There is another thing:  the recruiters will tell him that he can get college credit for training in the military.  This is iffy at best.  The military recommends credit for training, but that doesn't mean a school has to accept them.  Also, they will tell him that he can work on college while he's in.  It is true, but not many do, and the support behind this is lacking.  Basically it's a pain in the ass doing correspondence courses or getting CLEP tests while in the military.

I have been using my GI Bill this last year since I got out. If you have a good VA benefits person at the school that helps a bunch, if you do the $600 buy-up on top of the initial $1200 you can get up to around $45,000 total if you use it, there is a 10 year time frame from the time you leave active duty I think.

While active I also used the $4500 a year tuition assistance some. Again it is easy if you have a decent Education Services Officer (ESO). I took online classes through a state college here in Florida so it was very flexible as far as using it.

I was active in the USCG and am now in the reserves so I could still just be using the tuition assistance but the GI Bill pays more while going to school so I am gonna try to use that up over the next few years.

That's a bunch crap about getting screwed out of the benefits. Everyone I know that has used it has had minimal problems. Keep in mind it is the government we are talking about so some clerical errors and screw-ups are not that uncommon but for the most part it is a good deal.  

Quoted: There are no real hoops to jump through for college stuff. Here's what you do: Everyone has the GI Bill.  Everyone.  All you gotta do is sign a paper that allows them to take $100 from the first 12 paychecks.  He pays $1200 and gets something like $20,000 back.  There is also a "Kicker" where the service member pays an addition $600 to get another $5000 back.  That's it:  Pay in $1800, get $25,000 for college. If he picks a job that has a college fund or bonus, there will be more money.  When I went in, I opted for the college fund which added $35,000 to what I was already getting for the GI Bill.  I now have a college fund of over $60,000.  The total also goes up each year, and I get the increases too.  Example:  It totalled out at $40,000 when I went in because the GI Bill was $15,000 at the time, and is now over $60,000.  That's right, even though I'm out, I still make money when they increase the GI-Bill. To use it after he gets out, all he has to do is enroll in school, fill out some VA forms, and prove enrollment each term by submitting a one page form listing the classes he's taking.  Each month, I hit the VA website, and verify enrollment to get my check deposited into my account.  The amount I get is based on how many credits I'm taking.   Quick math:  Take total fund, divide by 36 to get each months payment for full time student (12 credit hours).  They pay for a total of 36 months of school (4 years if taking summer off).  If attending school half time, the student gets half the money for twice as long. GI Bill benefits must be used within ten years of separation from active duty... Did I get everything? This is not a marine/navy/army thing.  The process is exactly the same.  THe only person who can screw him out if college benefits is him.  And the recruiter... ETA:  There is another thing:  the recruiters will tell him that he can get college credit for training in the military.  This is iffy at best.  The military recommends credit for training, but that doesn't mean a school has to accept them.  Also, they will tell him that he can work on college while he's in.  It is true, but not many do, and the support behind this is lacking.  Basically it's a pain in the ass doing correspondence courses or getting CLEP tests while in the military.

Good advice, just wanted to add that the maximum payout for a full-time student with the buy-up is over $1200 a month now if I remember right. Let's just say that would be $1250 x 36 months = $45,000.  The college credit for military schools and time depends on the school, some that are accredited "military education institutes" will give elective credits for a variety of things.

Depending on the service they also have many programs in place while one is active where they will pay you to get a bachelors or masters. For instance I was an electronics technician and I could have put in to go through a program whwere you get a bachelors in electronics or electrical engineering or something like that. You have to obligate more time but there are many different variables and opportunities out there.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences. I joined the Marine Corps to become a Marine. I hear that people who join the military in search of free college and other benefits gravitate towards the other services. If those are his goals, I suggest he do likewise. It's quite the rarity to encounter a Marine that doesn't take a jab at his sister services; I guess we'll just have to keep looking.

It's no jab, it's a fact.
The other services offer FAR maore in college tuition deals and enlistment bonuses.
The Marines have ALWAYS prided themselves on the "We Never Promised You A Rose Garden" approach.

Sorry to be the one to break the news.

Unless you get are trying to go to some fly by night truck driver school, you get crappy grades or flunk out, I have never actually heard of anyone having trouble with GI Bill college money.  Use the various kicker programs and buy more college if you are serious about going. Most colleges have a VA rep to help guys out, they like students who pay and get good grades.

While everyone says you can take classes while on active duty, it is very MOS specific.  If you are some admin loser who works M-F you will get plenty of time for classes. Anyone with a 24/7 kind of job has a harder time.    

VA does mostly service connected treatment.  Lots of guys who decide 20 or 30 years of hard living after their hitch is a service connected disability find it hard to get treatment.  While it sounds silly when you are 24 y/o and pretty healthy, it is always a good idea to document everything and make copies for yourself and save them for the rest of your life.  Things that do not hurt when you are young come back to haunt you.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences. I joined the Marine Corps to become a Marine. I hear that people who join the military in search of free college and other benefits gravitate towards the other services. If those are his goals, I suggest he do likewise. It's quite the rarity to encounter a Marine that doesn't take a jab at his sister services; I guess we'll just have to keep looking. It's no jab, it's a fact. The other services offer FAR maore in college tuition deals and enlistment bonuses. The Marines have ALWAYS prided themselves on the "We Never Promised You A Rose Garden" approach. Sorry to be the one to break the news.

That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.  

Quoted: That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.

Hah, no shit.  For my job the enlistment bonus was $12K (I took the college fund whihc is now $60K) and I made E-6 in 6 years.  Go Navy!

Quoted: Quoted: That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.   Hah, no shit.  For my job the enlistment bonus was $12K (I took the college fund whihc is now $60K) and I made E-6 in 6 years.  Go Navy!

If you like the Navy so much, why'd you bail out?

ETA:  I haven't had to use a dime of my GI Bill $$ yet, there is $40K just waiting for me to use for a second Master's, some tech training, or whatever else I want to use it for.  The $2.3M of retirement I will get paid for actually staying 20 years is nice too.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.   Hah, no shit.  For my job the enlistment bonus was $12K (I took the college fund whihc is now $60K) and I made E-6 in 6 years.  Go Navy! If you like the Navy so much, why'd you bail out? ETA:  I haven't had to use a dime of my GI Bill $$ yet, there is $40K just waiting for me to use for a second Master's, some tech training, or whatever else I want to use it for.  The $2.3M of retirement I will get paid for actually staying 20 years is nice too.

You must have one of those "good jobs" I kept hearing about.  

I would explain mine, but this does it better:  100 reason why working at McDonald's is better than being a Nuke on a Submarine

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences. I joined the Marine Corps to become a Marine. I hear that people who join the military in search of free college and other benefits gravitate towards the other services. If those are his goals, I suggest he do likewise. It's quite the rarity to encounter a Marine that doesn't take a jab at his sister services; I guess we'll just have to keep looking. It's no jab, it's a fact. The other services offer FAR more in college tuition deals and enlistment bonuses. The Marines have ALWAYS prided themselves on the "We Never Promised You A Rose Garden" approach. Sorry to be the one to break the news. That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.

Yeah, but you Air Force guys get to live in luxury condominiums.
Your uniforms are made of the finest Italian wool.
And every meal is a banquet.

Quoted: Yeah, but you Air Force guys get to live in luxury condominiums. Your uniforms are made of the finest Italian wool. And every meal is a banquet.

And that's the Gospel truth, can't argue with the facts.  

Don't you Marines sleep in a dirt hole in the ground, even in garrison?
Prefer to eat snakes and bugs to those damn pansy MREs?
Love it when it sucks, and wish it would suck some more, it makes for better stories.  

Quoted: Quoted: Yeah, but you Air Force guys get to live in luxury condominiums. Your uniforms are made of the finest Italian wool. And every meal is a banquet. And that's the Gospel truth, can't argue with the facts.   Don't you Marines sleep in a dirt hole in the ground, even in garrison? Prefer to eat snakes and bugs to those damn pansy MREs? Love it when it sucks, and wish it would suck some more, it makes for better stories.

It's all true, it's all true.....

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.   Hah, no shit.  For my job the enlistment bonus was $12K (I took the college fund whihc is now $60K) and I made E-6 in 6 years.  Go Navy! If you like the Navy so much, why'd you bail out? ETA:  I haven't had to use a dime of my GI Bill $$ yet, there is $40K just waiting for me to use for a second Master's, some tech training, or whatever else I want to use it for.  The $2.3M of retirement I will get paid for actually staying 20 years is nice too.

Plan on retiring as an 06 and living until you are 89, or making General in 20?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.   Hah, no shit.  For my job the enlistment bonus was $12K (I took the college fund whihc is now $60K) and I made E-6 in 6 years.  Go Navy! If you like the Navy so much, why'd you bail out? ETA:  I haven't had to use a dime of my GI Bill $$ yet, there is $40K just waiting for me to use for a second Master's, some tech training, or whatever else I want to use it for.  The $2.3M of retirement I will get paid for actually staying 20 years is nice too.   Plan on retiring as an 06 and living until you are 89, or making General in 20?

None of the above.  This is retiring as a lowly E-7 at 20 years.  

www.dod.mil/militarypay/retirement/calc/02_highthree.html



Don't worry though, you aren't the first person to have no clue whatsoever what a military retirement check is really worth.  All the lemmings getting out after one tour because the grass is always greener have no clue what they are giving up.  That's only 40 years of retired pay btw, if I live to be 100 (not at all unrealistic in my family) it will be 20 more years of that $$.  That's not including the 1-200K I will have in my Roth IRA and TSP before I retire btw.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: That's actually not true.  The Air Force offers exactly the same education bennies, dollar for dollar.  Enlistment bouses were only a brief fluke a couple of years ago, and were tiny (1-2K).  Our retention is very high though, so we don't need to recruit like mad to keep up or promote ridiculously fast like the Army and Navy do.   Hah, no shit.  For my job the enlistment bonus was $12K (I took the college fund whihc is now $60K) and I made E-6 in 6 years.  Go Navy! If you like the Navy so much, why'd you bail out? ETA:  I haven't had to use a dime of my GI Bill $$ yet, there is $40K just waiting for me to use for a second Master's, some tech training, or whatever else I want to use it for.  The $2.3M of retirement I will get paid for actually staying 20 years is nice too.   Plan on retiring as an 06 and living until you are 89, or making General in 20? None of the above.  This is retiring as a lowly E-7 at 20 years.   www.dod.mil/militarypay/retirement/calc/02_highthree.html img89.imageshack.us/img89/5853/retpay0do.jpg Don't worry though, you aren't the first person to have no clue whatsoever what a military retirement check is really worth.  All the lemmings getting out after one tour because the grass is always greener have no clue what they are giving up.  That's only 40 years of retired pay btw, if I live to be 100 (not at all unrealistic in my family) it will be 20 more years of that $$.  That's not including the 1-200K I will have in my Roth IRA and TSP before I retire btw.

Ahhh. Adjusted for inflation.
That 2.3 mil is equal to $855,000 in todays dollars.

Retirees get a COLA raise each year that pretty much cancels out the inflation thing.

Quoted: My son was(is) seriously contemplating joining the Marine Corps. this year, but was told by a couple of Vietnam Vets that he will have trouble getting help with collge as was promised by the recruiter or have any health benefits after he is discharged.  Now he is having second thoughts.  Tell me your experiences. ETA: He really wants to serve his country first and foremost, but he is also concerned for  his future.

Don't know about the Corps, but the Army seems to have a pretty strong emphasis on furthering your education. In addition to recruiter promised bennies (ACF, GI Bill (MGIB is mainly good after you get out, however), etc) you get tuition assistance, which gives you $4.5k/year in free tuition (this is a DOD program, so the Corps has it too).

That's the financial side. On the oppertunity side, many commanders will allow troops to leave early for class (mission permitting), and the base ed center works with various schools to offer the oppertunity to advance to a degree while in service.

Or he could use his GI bill money when he gets out...

There's also ROTC (if he wants to be an officer), either before he joins or (if the Corps has this program) after he's been in for 2-3yrs (with the advantage of the 2nd option being he'd know WTF he was doing before he got put 'in charge')....

Health benefits? You get free healthcare vis-a-vis Tricare while you're in. After you leave the only thing they will help you with is any service related injuries you may sustain.

Now, that's a run thru of the benefit programs...

The flipside is he WILL go to Iraq, and will be busy on mission for most of the time he's there... So all of that will have to get squeezed in between deployments, or wait untill the war winds down...

This isn't the time to be joining for freebies... However, if as you seem to indicate he wants to serve, and is just taking care to get as much back from the service as possible, then a-ok... Since these programs are out there, why the heck not use 'em?

Tuition assistance is avalible for every branch.  Also, the GI bill is 100 a month for the 1st year, and then you get soemthing like $36000 in collage stipend when enrolled.  If full time, that's about $1000 a month (not enough to let him not work at all, but work 1/2 as much).