COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Tuition assistance -- it's just one of many promises made to enlisted service members, but now it has become a casualty of sequestration.
Those serving now say getting their degree is as necessary as the other training they receive. That training is also being affected by budget cuts.
Some parents say it's ironic that a state like Colorado would give tuition assistance for students not even citizens of this country, yet resources to educate those defending our country are being cut.
The decision to end some educational benefits for those serving in the Army, National Guard, and the Air Force aren't sitting well with Jennifer Gambill.
"That tuition money is very, very important," said Gambill. "I don't want him to have to put [his education] on hold. I don't want him to have to have loans where he has to pay them back."
Gambill's son has been working two jobs, in addition to his time as a National Guardsman, just to pay his tuition.
"Once he finished school and gets his bachelor's degree, that's what he's working on, he will go in as an officer," said Gambill.
He wasn't using the assistance because of his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, and worries what the situation will be when he returns next year.
"He loves what he does, I just want him to be able to do what he wants to do," said Gambill.
To put it in perspective, right now at Ft. Jackson they have about 1,100 active duty, guard and reserve soldiers enrolled in tuition assistance. The program provides $250-per credit hour up to $4,500. It's not the only military cut. The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness points to reductions in training that will lead to diminished readiness. It's the last thing Gambill wants to hear before her son's deployment to Afghanistan.
"He doesn't hunt or anything like that, so the training that he gets from the military will be what he has to go on to go over there, and I'm just hoping and praying that the cuts don't affect that because I don't want my child or any other person to go over there not fully trained," said Gambill.
Gambill says she has a message for those in Washington. "Quit fighting and arguing over stupid stuff and think about the people you're supposed to represent," she said.
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