Mobilizing Military Spouses

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Orange County Register
February 4, 2008 A three-year federal pilot project allows $6,000 for education and training in 'portable careers.'
By Vik Jolly, The Orange County Register
CAMP PENDLETON -- In an orientation room filled with about 25 U.S. Marine wives, Angela Smith sat in the back and breast-fed her baby.
A few minutes later she patted 2-month-old Rylan on the back and held him close.
Her husband returned home from his first tour of Iraq in October. She gave birth Nov. 15 -- by C-section -- and took her final examination at MiraCosta College in Oceanside in early December.
"My classmates thought I was crazy," said Smith, 23. Her husband, Cpl. Scott Smith, 21, with the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, took off during her finals week so that she could concentrate on school.
When her husband leaves for Iraq in the fall, Smith wants to keep going to school, just as she is this semester. On a crisp winter Friday morning, seated in a room full of military wives in a Marine & Family Services building at Camp Pendleton, she is making sure that happens.
The Department of Defense and the Department of Labor want to help.
Last month, the departments launched a $35.2 million, three-year pilot project in eight states, investing in the future of military spouses and potentially in the retention of men and women of the U.S. armed forces.
The departments have previously worked together on programs for military spouses, but this effort is a presidential initiative to look at helping the families in a new way, the Labor Department said.
The services continue to meet or exceed retention goals, according to the Defense Department. Last year, approximately 180,000 men and women were recruited into the Armed Forces.
"Military families move every few years. Careers are disrupted, delaying advancement," Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Defense Department spokesman, said in an e-mail. "Often, military spouses never catch up. This initiative would provide richer opportunities to gain or sustain a promising career."
The unemployment rate among military spouses is three times higher than that of their civilian counterparts, and nearly 77 percent of them report that they want or need to work, according to a Labor Department news release.
Almost three-fourths of military spouses say the cost of continuing their education is more than they can afford, the Labor Department adds.
The program allows a qualified military spouse to enter into an education or training program, providing $3,000 for schooling, which is renewable for another year. The goal is to get spouses a job in a high-demand field that fits their mobile lifestyle.
Camp Pendleton is one of 18 military installations targeted nationwide and one of two Marine bases. The other is in Hawaii. The San Diego Metro area Navy installations and Camp Pendleton will receive a combined $10.2 million for the program, said Dan Clouse with Marine Corps Community Services at Camp Pendleton.
Increased earning capacity and a rise in employment for military spouses at the end of the program will be among the measures for the program's success.
"One of the primary measurements: Are spouses getting higher pay based on this program?" Clouse said.
As of Jan. 25, Camp Pendleton had issued 81 vouchers to spouses for continuing education in five approved fields of study.
"Ultimately this is going to end in employment in a portable career you can take wherever you are stationed," employment specialist Corrina Brennan told the women gathered for the recent Friday session. "We want you to succeed."
Smith wants to be a dental hygienist and later earn a bachelor's degree in biological science. With a family income of $20,000-$25,000 per year, she and her husband were planning to apply for financial aid so she can continue her education.
The funds through the new program might help the couple avoid a student loan. The $3,000 for each year should cover tuition, books and school fees, Smith said.
"It's nice that they have these programs," she said. "It'll end up being better for our economy.
"I think you feel better about yourself if you either get an education or have the option to have a rewarding career."
Program pays for five areas of study
Dan Clouse, the transition family member employment supervisor with Marine Corps Community Services at Camp Pendleton, answered a few questions about the federal Career Advancement Initiative, a three-year pilot project launched in January. Below are excerpts:
Q. What will the new Department of Defense and Department of Labor initiative do for military spouses?
This is going to allow the spouse to enter into education or training where he or she can receive a certificate, credential or license to get employed in a portable career that supports their mobile lifestyle and (the job's) high demand nationwide.
Q. What is the genesis of the program?
It's been close to three years in development, and DOD is treating it pretty much as a retention tool.
If a spouse has a viable career, then the likelihood of (personnel) remaining in the military is stronger. And the DOL's bit in this is that there are high-demand careers out there that they are having difficulty filling.
Q. Who qualifies for financial aid?
Privates through sergeants and lieutenants through captains in the Marine Corps. (The DOD adds that the program is open to all but aimed at those most in need.)
Q. How much interest are you getting?
Looking at having 1,000 spouses involved by the beginning of second year.
Q. Do some service members not re-enlist because their spouses can't find jobs?
Absolutely. They don't re-enlist because they can't afford to stay in. This would counter that by giving the spouse a career which would allow them to stay in the military.
Q. Can they study what they want or only an approved program?
(The fields of study are) education, technology, health care, trade and industry and financial services. There are many subcategories within each of these categories. Real estate agent would qualify under financial category.
 
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