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CMSAF urges Congress to beef up education benefits

by Master Sgt. Scott Elliott
Air Force Print News

03/07/03 - WASHINGTON -- The service's senior enlisted airman told members of Congress on March 6 that, while quality-of-life issues have gotten better in recent years, there are still about 57,000 airmen without veteran's education benefits.

Besides education benefits, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray cautioned members of the House Subcommittee on Military Construction of the possible effects of current high-operations tempos on retention.

"I had the opportunity to travel throughout Southwest Asia to visit our airmen," Murray said. "Our airmen continue to impress us with their dedication to duty and their love for our country, regardless of the conditions they're serving in.

"Why? Because they know their mission is important," he said.

But, Murray told the lawmakers, despite their devotion to duty, every airman would reach a point in their career when they will have to decide whether to re-enlist or separate from the service.

According to Murray, when many of the nearly 40,000 airmen currently mobilized come home, they will be returning from their sixth, or maybe eighth, deployment.

"About 77 percent of them will make a re-enlistment decision in the next three years," he said. "That's why it's critical that Congress continues to pursue improvements for them and their families."

Murray's concern over quality-of-life issues extends beyond those on active duty, to airmen and families in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

"In terms of airmen in uniform, the Air Force is the smallest it's been since its inception in 1947," he said, "yet we're supporting more operations on more fronts than at any time in history."

The Air Force is only able to sustain the current operations tempo through extensive use of its reserve components -- the Guard and Reserves, Murray said.

"We can't do it without them," he said. "The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are our nation's treasure, and we're asking more of them now than ever before.

"For these citizen airmen, we must ensure that their compensation is equitable and consistent with the jobs we're asking them to do."

Another major area of concern that Murray hears at "almost every forum" is perceived inequity of education benefits among today's airmen.

According to Murray, the Air Force has about 57,000 airmen who will have no veteran's education benefits upon separation or retirement. Of those airmen, about 47,000 declined to enroll in the Montgomery GI Bill while in basic training, while the rest opted not to enroll in the Veteran's Education Assistance Program, which was offered from 1977 to 1985.

"For many of these people, it was their own doing," Murray admitted, "but the decision to decline was made when they were 17 or 18 years of age, and they had somebody advise them who didn't have all the facts."

While acknowledging that airmen currently receive 100 percent tuition assistance for classes taken while on active duty, the chief said that is not enough.

"The truth is that not everyone can balance college classes with the high pace of deployments and operations, plus meet the demands of their families at home," Murray said.

"This has been a source of frustration among our airmen for many years and can only be resolved by allowing an 'open season' for all active-duty airmen to enroll in MGIB," he said.

By giving all airmen the chance to enroll in MGIB, Murray said, airmen who do not have the chance to earn college degrees while serving on active duty could still pursue advanced education after separating or retiring.

"This is not just good for the individual," he said, "it's an investment in the future of our nation."