The U.S. military has made efforts in an attempt to ensure
current and future veterans have the opportunity to receive a
higher education.
Much attention has been placed on the importance of educating
U.S. soldiers, which has resulted in the passage of legislation
like the GI Bill and the inception of programs such as the U.S.
Army Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship at schools around
the country, including UCLA.
“The No. 1 priority is college,” said Staff Sergeant
Fajardo of the Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion in East Los
Angeles. He added that the GI Bill is one of the biggest benefits
for enlisted men and that he always encourages his new soldiers to
take advantage of it. The bill can only be used once the soldier
leaves the Army and must be activated within 10 years of being
discharged.
One of the most important government bills to affect U.S.
veterans, the GI Bill of Rights, officially known as the
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, was signed into law by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
There are other forms of educational benefits from the military
available, like ROTC at UCLA.
ROTC was established at UCLA in 1928 by the U.S. Army. There are
currently 75 UCLA students in the program, and about half of them
are receiving scholarships, said Lt. Tynes of the UCLA ROTC
program.
The scholarships are valued at up to $20,000 a year and can only
be used toward either room and board or tuition. Not until the
third or fourth year in the program does the student need to sign
the contract requiring a minimum of four years as a commissioned
officer in the Army.
“You can go into many different fields (and) become a
doctor or a lawyer,” Lt. Tynes said, adding that there are
graduate programs to help pay for further education in these
fields.
By being in the ROTC program, “people get the best of both
worlds ““ an education and the experience of being an Army
officer,” said Jerome Eckel, a UCLA geology student from
Canton, Ohio. He is a former soldier and a current UCLA ROTC
member.
Eckel was an active member of the Army until 1999. Because of
his prior enlistment, he was able to use the GI Bill to pay for
college. His GI Bill scholarship finished last year, forcing him to
rely more on personal funds saved for college.
Once enlisted in the Army, soldiers are no longer financially
dependent on their parents, so the GI bills are a “great
thing if you didn’t come from a wealthy family,” Eckel
said.
“I am proud to go and serve my country. When Sept. 11
happened (and) with my experience from before, I called the (UCLA)
ROTC and got in the program,” Eckel said.
Though the GI bill has changed over time, it is still beneficial
to veterans’ education today.
The bill currently gives veterans between $29,000 and $70,000 in
funding towards higher education. Other recent changes include the
Selected Reserve Educational Assistance Program, which enables
reservists to receive full-time education benefits.
The GI Bill was created 60 years ago in order to combat the
economic aftermath of World War II. A depression was expected due
to the high unemployment rate, and the bill was one of many
programs created in order to educate and train newly returned
soldiers so they might be prepared to enter society fully equipped
with the necessary skills.
The first GI Bill education benefit entitled veterans to a
maximum of $500 a year for tuition, books and other expenses and an
allowance of up to $50 a month. The program enjoyed immediate
success: In 1947, 49 percent of college students were veterans,
according to the Veterans Benefits Web site.