Joe Stephenson, an Army recruiter and education services specialist based in Mission Viejo, sees recruits focused on a college education once they leave the service, and sometimes while they’re in.

“We have a memorandum of understanding with several colleges and they come on campus, so (a recruit) can be in college while on active duty,” Stephenson says. “Those credits go toward a degree, and the military training can also be evaluated to see if it can be used toward undergrad work, like picking up PE (physical education) or leadership training.”

A four-year program in the Army, which includes four years active and four years reserve duty, qualifies one for the Montgomery GI Bill, which pays $36,000 in benefits once the employee leaves the service. “If you go into a critical MOS (military occupation specialty) you can get a ‘kicker’ of up to $34,000 to the GI Bill benefit,” says Stephenson, raising the total up to $70,000.

Related while-in-service perks include free educational testing for the SAT and pay raises of up to $150/month for learning a “critical” language like Arabic.

Part of the bargain is serving in wartime. “Who’s going to pay you $14,000 a year, pay for life insurance, pay for room and board — you know how expensive it is that most teenagers still live with their parents — pay for training, offer broad experience, going to various countries,” Stephenson asks. “There’s pluses and minuses and obviously the minus is wartime.”

— Richard Acello