2010/07/21 00:00:00
Alexandria, Va. — The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) has expressed strong disagreement with the Pentagon’s July 20 decision to severely limit military spouses’ eligibility for the wildly popular My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program.
Last year, the program was offered to all military spouses, authorizing up to $6,000 for servicemembers’ spouses to enroll in a wide variety of educational, licensing, and credentialing programs aimed at helping the spouses pursue portable careers.
More than 130,000 spouses subsequently enrolled. The program was so popular the Pentagon suspended it in February 2010, fearing it would run out of money. It was subsequently reopened on March 13 to already-enrolled spouses, pending further Pentagon review of the program’s fate.
This week, the Pentagon announced severe new restrictions on program eligibility that will take effect October 25, 2010. Under the new rules, only the most junior servicemembers’ spouses will be eligible (E-1 through E-5 in the enlisted grades, warrant officers in grades W-1 and W-2, and officers in grades O-1 and O-2).
In addition, the program will be restricted to covering licensure and credentialing programs and courses leading to an associate’s degree. The program provides up to $2,000 in a single year, with total payments not to exceed $4,000 per eligible spouse.
“MOAA believes strongly that the newly announced restrictions penalize the spouses whose careers are most injured by military relocation requirements,” said retired Air Force Colonel Steve Strobridge, MOAA Government Relations Director.
“That’s why MOAA has been urging defense leaders so strongly not to disenfranchise spouses above the most junior grades” Strobridge continued. “Limiting it mostly to spouses of first-term personnel – many of whom won’t stay for military careers – seems to miss the whole point. Allowing coverage for courses leading to associate’s degrees, but not bachelor’s or master’s degrees that are essential for nursing, teaching, and other portable careers seems equally incongruous.”
“When the program was first announced last year, spouses were extraordinarily enthusiastic and grateful that the Defense Department was finally acknowledging it had some obligation to help them ease their own personal sacrifices,” Strobridge said. “That’s why they were so angry when the program was suspended in February, because they saw Defense leaders as backtracking on the only funded career program they ever had.”
“The reopening of the program in March offered a renewed ray of hope, but now this new restriction yanks the rug out from under career spouses yet again,” Strobridge said.
“MOAA believes longer-serving spouses deserve fairer treatment, and we’ll be asking Congress to help them get it.”
