Education is, in my opinion, one of the most important things you can do for yourself while you’re in the military.  This wasn’t always the case for me. One of the reasons I joined the Navy after high school was because I didn’t want to go to college. Jokes on me, now I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s; all paid for by the Navy. 

When I joined the Navy, the last thing I wanted to do was write papers or read textbooks.  But, after some time on board my first ship, I quickly began to realize how taking college classes could help set me apart from my peers.  It was one more way for me to take advantage of all the opportunities the Navy was offering me.  In addition, it helped boost my evaluations, taking me to the top of my peer group and solidifying my sustained superior performance.

You can’t go wrong by improving your education.  Not only will it help you develop personally and professionally, but it will also help you think critically and become a valuable problem solver within your command.  In addition, having a degree makes you more marketable when the time to leave the Navy finally arrives.  Furthermore, to be a competitive candidate for a commission you need to have some college under your belt; your competition will.  

Earning your degree while on active duty is not easy.  It took me seven years to complete my Bachelor’s degree and five years to finish my Master’s because I was typically only able to take one or two classes at a time due to my military obligations.  During that time I deployed four times, moved six times, went through two rate conversions and a second “A” school, transferred overseas, and earned my commission.  I went to night school on base for three years, took classes at sea, took CLEP exams, and took a lot of online classes.  Instead of going to the bar with my buddies, I spent most nights at home studying, reading, writing papers, and doing homework.  I’m not saying I didn’t go out and have fun — I did — but I knew my education was my priority. Earning my degree was important to me, and I knew it was going to open many more doors for me.  My point is, you need to find a way to do it.

Don’t pay a dime for it

The best part about pursuing higher education while serving in the military is you don’t have to pay a dime for it.  I have paid almost nothing out of pocket for nearly $300,000 of education, and so can you.  The military offers us a plethora of opportunities to earn our education without paying anything for it.  I am always shocked to see how many service members don’t take advantage of all of these free educational opportunities!  I used several different programs and attended seven different schools to earn my degrees.  While it’s certainly not the straightest path to a degree, nor is it traditional in any sense, who cares?  All that matters is that you can earn your degree for free while on active duty.  Let’s talk about how.

Pathways to a Degree

There are several avenues for active duty military members to earn their free education.  The military has gone to great lengths to develop programs that extend these free educational opportunities and put degrees in reach of all service members.  Here I’m going to discuss the Service member’s Opportunity College-Navy (SOCNAV) network of schools, Tuition Assistance (TA), Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE), College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST -Department of Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES), and the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  

The SOCNAV Program

The Service member’s Opportunity College-Navy (SOCNAV) program is a partnership between the military and approximately 1,800 schools nationwide.  This agreement has two important benefits for service members.  First, schools participating in this program offer Associate and Bachelor’s degrees in a format that is easily accessible to military personnel. That means classes are on or near base, or online.  Second, all schools within the network agree that their classes will transfer between one another. 

For anyone that has tried to transfer college credits from one school to another only to find that not all of their credits transferred and they will have to re-take classes (and pay for them again), this is hugely beneficial.  As a military member you will likely have to move often, and having to re-take classes over and over again at new colleges or universities can make getting a degree daunting.  The only caveat to this second point is that at least 25% of your classes need to be with the school you decide to get your degree from.

Tuition Assistance

The SOCNAV agreement makes getting your degree more convenient for service members, and Tuition Assistance (TA) is one of your primary vehicles to pay for it.  TA provides active duty Sailors funding to cover the cost of tuition for courses taken off-duty from regionally or nationally accredited colleges and universities.  In order to utilize this program you must receive command approval (more on that in a minute), have been counseled by the Navy College Office, and establish your degree plan. 

The are three caveats to utilizing TA, however: 

1. TA does not cover the cost of books and materials.
2. There are certain criteria for dropping a class, and if you don’t meet them you may be liable for the cost of the course.
3. There are annual funding caps for each service member utilizing the program. 

Make sure to check with the Navy College Office for up to date information on current funding caps.

NCPACE

In addition to TA, the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE) is the other primary vehicle for funding your education through the Navy College program.  NCPACE is a dynamic vehicle for taking classes while assigned to sea duty; and, more importantly, classes than can be taken while on deployment.  These courses can be taken by individual Sailors online and via cd-rom (no internet connection required!), or by groups of Sailors in person with an instructor.  That’s right, college professors can be embarked on your ship to conduct classes during your free time while deployed!  The one caveat to NCPACE is that it is not a standalone program from TA; funding utilized with TA counts against your NCPACE funding, and visa versa.  Make sure you talk to your command’s Education Service Officer (ESO) several months before deploying to determine which options will be available to you and your shipmates on the upcoming deployment.

TA and NCPACE requirements

1. Served a minimum of two years and a minimum of one year at your first command (training commands not included) — the CO or OIC can waive this requirement.
2. Not separating from the military during the current academic term.
3. Passed the last Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA), or your participation was waived.
4. Been recommended for advancement and passed your last rating exam.
5. Have not gotten in any trouble resulting in non-judicial punishment (NJP, more commonly referred to as “Captain’s Mast”), or are not being administratively separated for any reason.
6. And lastly, you’re not currently under instruction for initial skills training.

CLEP and DSST

Are you a big history buff, did you take Calculus in high school, or are you an avid reader?  Good news!  You can earn college credits for the skills you already have!  If you think you can pass a multiple choice test on American History, or maybe a multiple choice test on Analyzing and Interpreting Literature you can save yourself the time and tuition credits by testing out of various subjects.  This is a great opportunity to earn college credit for information you already have, and it’s free!  There are 33 different tests available through CLEP and they’re widely accepted by SOCNAV schools.  DSST offers 38 tests on different subjects and are also widely accepted by SOCNAV schools. 

The bottomline is that if you want to save time and earn credits toward your degree, you want to explore all of your options when it comes to CLEP and DSST.  I certainly did.  CLEP helped me earn the last few credits I needed to complete my Bachelor’s degree saving me countless hours and valuable GI Bill credits (more on the GI Bill coming up).

CLEP and DSST requirements

The requirements for CLEP and DSST are much simpler and do not require any approval from your chain of command.  To be eligible for your free initial use of these two testing platforms you just need to be active duty military.  There are two caveats you need to be aware of, though:  1) you need to check with the school you plan on getting your degree from; and, 2) it’s only free on your first attempt.  While there are, at the time of this writing, more than 70 subject exams you can take between both CLEP and DSST you need to check with your school first to make sure they’ll honor the credit you receive from passing the test.  Some schools have a minimum amount of CLEP or DSST credits they’ll accept toward your degree, or will have policies that preclude you from testing out of certain subjects.  So, before you go through the effort of studying for and taking a CLEP or DSST exam, make sure you check with your school first. 

The Post 9/11 GI Bill

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is, in my opinion, one of the greatest benefits afforded to military service members.  For many, the promise of free education is the reason they join the Navy, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Honorably serving our country for the hope of a better life is an American tradition.  The Post 9/11 GI Bill is the most comprehensive education benefit that has ever been available to service members and veterans.  It will:

• Pay 100% of your college tuition and fees.
• Provide housing allowance based on the geographic location of your school.
• Pay you stipends every semester for books and supplies.
• And, can even provide a one time payment for those who need to move from rural communities to go to school elsewhere.

Now, as you probably already know, you need to have been honorably discharged to enjoy all of these benefits.  But, you don’t have to be discharged to use your GI Bill.  In fact, I whole heartedly recommend using it while on active duty.

Why you should use your GI Bill while on Active Duty

I can already feel some of you getting heartburn from this subheading.  When I told people I was using my GI Bill while on Active Duty people thought I was throwing money away.  Very few people supported my choice to use it while still active.  They were near sighted and couldn’t see the bigger picture.  Let me explain.

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is one of the greatest benefits we earn as service members.  It will cover the cost of your tuition for your Bachelor’s degree and pay you E5 with dependent Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) at the rate associated with your schools location — free tuition and free rent!  That is, if you’ve already left the military.  If you’re still in the military and you decide to start dipping into your GI Bill benefit you don’t get the BAH money.  Which, depending on the where you decide to go to school, could be hundreds of thousands of dollars you’re missing out on.

For example, let’s say you decided you wanted to attend the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  E5 with dependents BAH (2021) for UCSD is $2,949 per month!  For 36 months, that’s $101,164!  You’d be crazy to pass up that kind of money, right?  Well, it depends.

When I decided to start using my GI Bill I knew I wanted to become an Officer, and I knew that the most sure way to achieve that goal was to already have my degree (more on why that’s the case later).  I had already been in the Navy for eight years and knew I was going to be in for twenty.  To me, the people making this argument were focusing on the wrong numbers.  Let’s look at some different numbers.

The Money Argument

A hundred thousand dollars is a lot to miss out on, but the thing is, once you’re commissioned you’re going to get that money back and more.  Let’s look at the numbers. 

I’m going to use my two hypothetical possible career trajectories as an enlisted member and as an officer.  For simplicity I’m only going to calculate Base Pay numbers.  There’s too much variation in BAH and special pay, and Base Pay should be sufficient to make my point.  We’ll start at rank E5 because that’s when I started using my GI Bill and we’ll take both career paths out to twenty-two years.  Why twenty-two years?  Because I was commissioned at twelve years of active service and as a prior enlisted officer I need to serve an additional ten years to retire with officer benefits.

Hypothetical Enlisted Career Path

Rank	Number of Years	Base Pay (FY21)	Annual Base Pay	Running Total (2 years)
E5	8	$3,405.60	$40,867.20	$81,734.40
E6	10	$3,882.90	$46,594.80	$93,189.60
E6	12	$4,114.50	$49,374.00	$98,748.00
E6	14	$4,185.30	$50,223.60	$100,447.20
E7	16	$4,895.10	$58,741.20	$117,482.40
E7	18	$5,039.10	$60,469.20	$120,938.40
E8	20	$5,706.30	$68,475.60	$136,951.20
Career Totals	22			$749,491.20

On an average career progression starting at eight years of service and at rank E5, assuming you retire at twenty-two years, and assuming you make Senior Chief, you could expect to make $749,491.20.  Now let’s look at the career and pay progression if you earned your commission as a Naval Officer at year twelve.

Hypothetical Enlisted to Officer Career Path

Rank	Number of Years	Base Pay (FY21)	Annual Base Pay	Running Total (2 years)
E5	8	$3,405.60	$40,867.20	$81,734.40
E6	10	$3,882.90	$46,594.80	$93,189.60
O1E	12	$5,058.30	$60,699.60	$121,399.20
O2E	14	$6,251.70	$75,020.40	$150,040.80
O3E	16	$7,617.00	$91,404.00	$182,808.00
O3E	18	$7,839.00	$94,068.00	$188,136.00
O4	20	$8,573.00	$102,876.00	$205,752.00
Career Totals	22			$1,023,060.00

So, with the same assumptions as in the previous scenario, but commissioning at twelve years of service, and assuming you’re selected for O4 at twenty years, you can expect to earn $1,023,060.00.  As you can see, the career total earnings for the same time period are very different. In fact, there’s a difference of $273, 568.80 — more than twice the value of the Post 9/11 GI Bill BAH if utilized after military service.  Furthermore, following this scenario, you can expect to recoup your “lost” GI Bill BAH within about five years after commissioning.

The Difference

Rank	Number of Years	Two Years of Base Pay	Rank	Two Years of Base Pay	Difference	Difference Running Total
E6	12	$98,748.00	O1E	$121,399.20	$22,651.20	$22,651.20
E6	14	$100,447.20	O2E	$150,040.80	$49,593.60	$72,244.80
E7	16	$117,482.40	O3E	$182,808.00	$65,325.60	$137,570.40
E7	18	$120,938.40	O3E	$188,136.00	$67,197.60	$204,768.00
E8	20	$136,951.20	O4	$205,752.00	$68,800.80	$273,568.80

Expand your opportunities

No matter where you are in your career, continuing your education and earning your degree can expand your opportunities.  I can’t stress this enough:  if you work hard, put in the time, and earn your degree, but don’t get selected to become an Officer…YOU STILL HAVE A DEGREE!  You can still continue to apply for a commission. In fact, having a degree increases the number of different opportunities you have and the overall likelihood that you’ll be selected.  If you decide you want to stay in the Navy, but no longer want to pursue the Officer career path, guess what!?!  That degree is going to help you get promoted to the next rank.  And, if you decide you’re done with military, that degree is going to help you get hired doing something you love. 

Final Thoughts

• You can get your degree (or degrees) for free while serving in the military.
• The process of earning your degree can set you apart from your peers and help you establish sustained superior performance.
• Taking college courses increases your opportunities for promotion.
• Earning your degree increases the number of avenues you have to a commission.
• Using your GI Bill while on Active Duty makes financial sense if your goal is to retire as an Officer.
• You can’t go wrong by earning your education while on Active Duty.

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