California is the one state in the U.S. that does not give National Guard members money for college, and this fact is one legislators should address soon if they have any intention of addressing the declining number of Guard members.
All states in the U.S. other than California provide college tuition for National Guard members, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This fact is alarming, and the state should recognize the service of those in the National Guard by providing tuition assistance at state schools.
The reasoning behind this argument should be self-evident. The state owes the men and women who join the Guard for all the support they provide to the state, including natural disaster response services and supplementation for the regular armed forces.
Additionally, the ongoing war in Iraq has contributed to a steady decline in Guard enlistees. Numbers have fallen by more than 2,000 in the last 11 years to 15,800, according to the Times.
This number makes California the state with the smallest National Guard per capita, despite being one of the biggest states in the U.S.
Unfortunately, California’s lack of attention to this issue could push numbers even lower.
States such as Connecticut and Delaware give full reimbursement or waivers for college tuition to their National Guard members. Others, such as Idaho and Virginia, give periodic handouts every semester or year, which can add up to thousands of dollars saved, according to the Times.
For California, the problem is not one stemming from a lack of visibility. Many bills aimed at a program for tuition assistance have reached the state legislature, yet none have gone any further.
Some legislators use California’s dire budget situation as an excuse to avoid passing the bills.
But Guard officials say it would take just $3 million to fund such a program ““ a mere flick of a pen in a proposed state budget which totals $130 billion ““ according to the Times. The expense would amount to less than one-hundredth of 1 percent of the budget.
Others oppose the legislation because they fear it would be seen as support for the war in Iraq, which many National Guard members have been sent to fight.
This excuse is just as ridiculous as the last. The National Guard did not decide to go to war; President Bush did. The foreign policies of the federal government, whether abhorrent or laudable, should not determine whether these soldiers have access to money for college.
On the national scale, not even the most anti-war politician would deny support to the troops fighting and dying in Iraq.
So it is unbelievable that, on the state scale, legislators cannot draw the same distinction between support for the troops and support for the war.
California legislators need to make education spending for our National Guard a higher priority. This is a fundamental and well-established right for soldiers, but fostering a program for tuition assistance can help the Guard counteract forces causing the current decline in membership.
Furthermore, money for college can strengthen these soldiers’ futures, while also serving the future of California. It is a win-win situation.