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I have been a High School teacher for nearly 12 years. Before 9/11, I would have 10-15 kids a year expressing interest in entering the military. The school year of 9/11, 22 of my students were eagerly trading in their college plans for military service. Now, I'm lucky if more than 4-5 students a year plan on that route. That's a very discouraging drop!

Most are turning away from that option because they don't want to fight in a war they don't believe in. I've had more than a few say that they would love to serve, but not under the current administration. Several of my students this year say they are waiting to see what happens in the election and what the next president brings to the table. Since those students will probably start on other paths, the likelihood that they will reconsider the military option again is pretty slim.

They aren't basing their decision on the GI bill. But the reality is, most don't want to be lifers anyway. They want to serve their country for a time, get the training they can get, then get out so they can build a life and a family without the risk of being sent overseas for months or years at a time. Isn't that the basis of our military anyway? To force people to become lifers because you aren't giving them other options is NOT making a strong military. Those who fight without heart are not the best fighters.

Lifers choose to be lifers because they have a deep commitment to continuing their service. They aren't swayed by the alternative of a GI bill. But the alternative should be there. Those who choose to serve for a set number of years and then join the private sector are among the best and brightest our country has. They have dedicated a part of their lives to protecting our freedoms and deserve the best training for improving our society in the private sector as well. We owe them that much. My guess is, for the vast majority of high school students who consider the military as a stepping stone to a better life, it would be an incentive to entering the service. Someone here quoted a statistic of 16% increase. That's pretty significant.

We need to fund the GI bill, but if McCain's fear is that we would loose lifers as a result, perhaps he could focus his energies on giving our high school students a military they WANT to sign up for. No one likes to fight an unpopular war.

With more our America's fighting forces are privatized anyway, it is all pointless.
Blackwater is fighting the city of San Diego to expand their training ground property as of this posting.
Little Eric Prince, head of Blackwater, and son of a millionaire daddy, a guy who likes to play mercenary, has billions in government contracts.
Too bad the government can't cough up money for the poor maimed and disfigured troops already languishing in VA hospitals and elsewhere.
Privatizing is Bush/Cheney speak for funneling money to their fellow war profitting cronies.Grunts are on their own.

I see McCain thinks he will get the military vote (LOL). Maybe the officers but I doubt few enlisted will vote for him seeing how much he supports them with his stance on the GI bill. And to think I was supporting him---

Seeing we canot afford this unpopular war and we are having to borrow money to pursue it maybe we need to bring back the draft and pay the soldiers $150.00 a month for their first two years. If they decide to re-enlist then give them a new GI bill (which keeps up with inflation) and the current pay scale. I know that makes to much sense or requires all elements of society to fight in this war. We as a nation have the mentality thats its OK for someone else's child to go to War but not mine. Senator McCain was a officer as was his father so he never had to try to go to college using the GI bill. I doubt to many young people who's parents live in Johns Island or the Moorings are enlisting as Privates in the Army or Marines. They don't need the GI bill and are probally attending school at Harvard or Yale with the tax breaks President Bush implemented and Senator McCain wants to make permament while the national debt continues to rise and the dollar sink with no politican either party addressing how we plan to pay off the national debt in my lifetime. For us to leave this to future generations is very selfish on our part. We are now the biggest debtor nation on earth and it continues to grow. I'm glad I don't have those people in Washington running my household budget.

Seeing how Senator McCain was not a enlited man he did not have to use the GI bill. He probally attended the Naval Academy which they get paid while attending and his father was a Admiral in the Navy so money was not a problem for his family. I cannot see how Senator McCain is for amnesty for illegal invaders as is Senator Kennedy and President Bush and oppose this increase in benefits to these brave man and women fighting in a unpopular war. Its a sad day for America when illegals get better benefits than alot of honorably discharged veterans by sneaking accross our borders. Its a sad day for America when we have all these homeless vets and Senators McCain's stance cannot help troop morale. I've spent over 20 years in the Army and feel sorry that they did not prusue the "Powell Doctrine" in this war. If Senator McCain is against increasing the GI bill and still wants to win this war bring back the draft with no exemptions and lets win this thing quickly. We defeated both Japan & Germany quicker than this mess with the country continuig to sink deeper in debt and he's talking about more tax cuts as the dollar continues to lose value. Something sounds very wrong, wish we had Mitt Romney running to fix this mess.

Welcome Ikewolf---
I agree with John on this one---time enough to get this GI bill thru at a later date maybe ly when we aren't bogged down in Iraq and paying for that.
Obama never served in the military nor has been on the Armed Services committee ( like Hillary) so what does he know but what he's been told to say by someone else. He'll be a hellava puppet though cause he can sure talk up a storm and get people believin--in just about anything.

It was not fair for Sen. Obama to use this and try to turn it into who respects our troops more but I guess that's just politics.

McCain said he recognized Americans have grown tired of the war and the mistakes made, "but we cannot react to those mistakes by embracing a course of action that will be an even greater mistake, a mistake of colossal historical proportions."

All I have to say is -What happens if Sen. McCain is right? I do not know if he is but what if he is?

This topic has produced a lot of crazy talk, as if Jim Webb was a liberal commie. He saw a lot more combat and service to his country than most people, and is a best selling author, Navy Secretary and so on. As he says, "the Republican Party left me.

I sympathize. Been there..

I think this is a worthwhile bill, we owe it, and seeing as there are so few people in the military these days, it won't be a budget buster.

But in the true Republican MBA philosophy that the workers are the true enemy, the Right is attacking this idea.

And i am becoming more disappointed in McCain. He should be all over this bill, but the Republican money bags have him by the ball sack.

What if they gave an election and nobody came?

Dear Isaac,

If you have a chance you can read my blog, on redblue, in reference to the no show of Sen.McCain for the Senate vote on the GI bill.

Go to: http://redblueamerica.com/blog/2008-05-2...

Welcome to the blog.
Best.

The G.I. bill as it exists has not kept up with the inflation of college education.

By adding a mechanism (5%-7% increase annually?) to benefits to make sure they don't decrease in real dollars would be a wise solution.

If McCain doesn't want to add to the benefits, at least make sure they are not effectively cut by inflation.

America’s fighting men and women deserve the highest level of support available. But why should we wait until after anything? Why can’t we offer spouses and children tuition opportunities while part of the family remains on active duty? Why can’t we raise the pay of non-commissioned-officers to the level of civilian professional in the field of medicine or law. If we truly want the best of the best there should be no benefit to good for our true American heroes’.
The real deal is that the radical left to include Mr. Webb and of course Mr. Obama wants desperately to destroy the American military. These people don’t care about soldiers or their families and Mr. Webb’s GI bill isn’t a construct of assistance for anybody, it’s meant to lure away as many professional soldiers as possible. Barrack has eagerly expounded on his bleak and tragically naive vision of our military and its role in national security and foreign policy. Barrack will humble our country and knell to the one world government that is the United Nations, meekly requesting international military help for any possible security issues that may arise for the new Socialist America.