Congressman Nye would like to hear from any spouses affected by the halt to the MyCAA program.  He can be reached at (757) 326-6201.  Blue Star Families is also collecting the stories of individual spouses to pass on to the Congressman and other elected officials.  To have your story heard, email Vivian at vgreentree@bluestarfam.org.

Never underestimate the military spouse.

That's just one thing I took away from a roundtable of military spouses led by Representative Glenn Nye (D-Va) of the House Armed Services Committee.  Rep. Nye organized the roundtable after Blue Star Families brought the abrupt halt of the MyCAA program to his attention earlier this week.

On February 16, 2010, the Department of Defense called a halt to the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, which provided qualifying military spouses with up to $6000 for degree programs, licenses or certifications leading to portable careers.  The program has been wildly popular.  Since March 2009, more than 136,000 military spouses have applied and 98,000 are now enrolled in courses or have been approved for the program.

Users of the MyCAA program were never officially notified by the DoD, in fact they still haven't been. Rather, most military spouses found out through the DoD press releases posted on social media forums like Facebook.  When the DoD initially halted the program, a press release stated that the program was being reevaluated and that military spouses already "approved" for the program would not be affected.  But spouses with "approved" MyCAA accounts found they were unable to access those funds and were told to seek alternative sources for funding. 

In response to a letter from Congressman Nye, Tommy T. Thomas, the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy, stated that the halt was a planned review and noted that the program has faced a sharp increase in applicants.  The latest statement from Thomas still insists that the DoD will honor those military spouses "with approved financial account documents."  According to spouses at the Nye roundtable, however, this has not been the case.  Many of the 30 or so spouses present shared stories that involved "approval" for MyCAA funds and even partial payment.  But spouses are now being dropped from college courses or told to pay for classes out of their own pockets on very little notice.

Vivian Greentree of Blue Star Families opened up the MyCAA discussion, pointing out that military spouses earn less than their civilian counterparts and are unemployed at three times the rate of civilian spouses, even after accounting for education levels, because of frequent moves.  Military spouses are also likely to be a major part of their service member's decision regarding remaining in the military.  Because 75% of service members are married by the time they've been in the military for 10 years, when a military spouse can't stay employed, it becomes a major retention issue for the military.  The MyCAA program was an excellent way to help keep military spouses employed because it was specifically designed to help military spouses move into portable career fields.

The military spouses at Glenn Nye's office were almost universal in their anger at the way the MyCAA halt has been handled by the DoD, with incomplete information, no notification and no apologies for interrupted lives.  Spouses spoke of being told by DoD officials and Military One Source MyCAA career counselors that "one semester isn't a big thing."  They expressed frustration at being asked to put educational and career plans on hold and even, in some cases, being forced to pay for classes that MyCAA had already approved for payment.

Rep. Nye told the room that he is pulling together a coalition of Congressional representatives to tackle the issue and get answers, promising to keep us informed and to put other work on hold to ensure that military spouses get some answers, and some help, as soon as possible.

Congressman Nye would like to hear from any spouses affected by the halt to the MyCAA program.  He can be reached at (757) 326-6201.  Blue Star Families is also collecting the stories of individual spouses to pass on to the Congressman and other elected officials.  To have your story heard, email Vivian at vgreentree@bluestarfam.org.

I was so proud to be a military spouse this afternoon!  Our sister (and brother) spouses were respectful and well informed but determined to have their stories heard and to make others understand just how the shutdown of this much needed program has affected the lives of military spouses.

There will be media coverage of today's roundtable, so keep checking back.  We'll post links as they become available.

Virginian Pilot: Nye wants explanation for halted tuition-assistance program

BSF member Chris Cowan is in this segment from Channel 13 News in Norfolk:

If you look quickly, you can see BSF members Vivian Greentree and Stephanie Himel-Nelson in this coverage from Channel 3 in Norfolk:

Channel 3

The latest FAQs for the MyCAA program can be found on Military.com.  For up to the minute information on the MyCAA halt, become a fan of the Blue Star Families and MyCAA Facebook pages.