Air Force suspending tuition assistance

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - The U.S. Air Force has joined other military branches in suspending tuition assistance that thousands of active-duty airmen rely on to pay for college classes.

The decision comes amid mandatory spending cuts that went into effect at the beginning of this month.

130 airmen at Westover Air Reserve Base will be directly impacted by the suspension of tuition assistance. This is just another impact of the 85 billion dollars in federal spending cuts.

For some students at Holyoke Community College , tuition assistance was the reason why they were able to go to school. Thomas Depalo told 22News, “I don't qualify for all the financial aid programs, so if I didn't have it I wouldn't be able to come to school.”

Now, tuition assistance isn't the only form of educational assistance but for those who rely on it, it is a vital one.

Now Cheryl McLaughlin will have to find a new way to pay for school. “I am eligible for GI Bill but I can save that for my son as a scholarship, so I wanted to preserve that benefit and use tuition assistance.”

Like Cheryl there are options such as the GI Bill, the College Level Examination Program and scholarships and grants, but not everyone will qualify. “However, tuition assistance is the best option for our airmen who are pursuing their education part time versus GI Bill,” said Kelly Hosey, Westover Operations Officer. Tuition Assistance is the program that benefits them the most.”

Some members think this cut may cut people's interest in enlisting in active duty all together. “I think people will be less enticed to join active duty as opposed to National Guard because now their benefits are outweighing active duty benefits,” according to James Deats, HCC student.

On top of the tuition assistance cuts, many airmen at Westover and Barnes Air National Guard Base are anticipating furloughs for the remainder of the year.