Happy birthday trip

Since it's Chief's birthday today, and although he hates to celebrate it, we are going on a little trip. Yeah, on a day it's going to be hotter than the hinges of hell or as he puts it "Baghdad weather", we are setting out for a day in Richmond. Maybe.

It's been a helluva week, hasn't it? The whole MyCAA thing blowing up again, dividing us by rank and wish list for our futures. Some feelings were hurt that those trying to get a different degree said they didn't want a cosmetology or realtor certification, as if we were saying "it's not worthy". That, of course, isn't what we were saying, but that's the general gist of many conversations and denunciations. When I talked to someone on the Hill about it, he asked me which other Fortune 500 company offered this. I told him I didn't give a rip if AT&T or IBM offered it, this was a PROMISE made to us. A promise that was broken in February, and again and again. It would have been far better if they had simply said - those who are already in, will get the $$, the rest of you, sorry, try something else. This cobbled together version - no, not a good compromise at all.

So, heading out, water bottles are filled. wish us luck.

LAW

GI Bill tranferability

Weeeelllll..... there seem to be discussions about ending that transferability which, the last time I looked, is one of those "options" DoD is telling us to use instead of MyCAA! Let's hope like hell the panel doesn't go for this.

One of the more notable options in the bill is transferability. It gives career servicemembers who’ve served on active duty or in the selected reserve on or after Aug. 1, 2009, the option to transfer their education benefits to family members, Clark said. Transferability was approved in the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Improvement Act of 2008, which became law in June 2008.

Panel members are debating that option for the 2010 bill. Some say transferability shouldn’t be available for every servicemember, because of budget constraints. Rather, the option should be reserved for specific military specialties that are difficult to fill, they said.

“We had concerns about the generous benefit being more of a draw for first-term members to leave [the military] in order to use this benefit,” Clark said. “[But] we were very pleased to see the transferability … to share this benefit that [servicemembers] have earned with their family members.

“We did not believe this benefit for family members was to be limited to any specific targeting,” he continued. “We believe that every soldier, sailor, airmen and Marine who chooses to stay should have the same opportunity to share their earned benefits with their family members.”

Something we'll have to keep an eye on.

LAW