One of the significant benefits the higher education community provides to the nation and our military families is educating the Next Great Generation of engaged citizens and leaders—service members, veterans, and their family members. This educational mission has become more prominent in recent years with the passage of the current iteration of the GI Bill. More than 1.5 million military-affiliated individuals used some form of educational benefit to enroll in postsecondary education annually in 2014. Three key issues surfaced during the initial phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF): institutional policies allowing service members and family members access to, withdrawal from, and readmission into the educational environment without educational or financial repercussions; financial support mechanisms and strategies to fill initial education benefit funding gaps; and transition programs and supports for military service as well as civilian support communities for veterans whose terms of enlistment were satisfied. Over the past decade, education associations and veteran service organizations have developed an evidence-based body of knowledge and practice centered on educational issues related to military-connected student populations. As educators develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing educational challenge in future military conflicts, they would do well to focus on the lessons learned during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

1. 1.

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2. 2.

   Data compiled from Voluntary Education Fact Sheets found athttp://www.dantes.doded.mil/service-members/resourceslinks.html#sthash.KN7U8GpJ.dpbs.

3. 3.

   http://www.air.org/project/addressing-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-among-veterans-learning-what-works.

4. 4.

   http://iswd.msstate.edu/current-students/programs/veterans/.

5. 5.

   Fayetteville State University has partnered with the US Army and the US Navy to increase the number of Social Workers within the military. To learn more about the FSU-Army MSW Program at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, or the MSC Navy Social Work program, refer tohttp://www.uncfsu.edu/sw.

6. 6.

   http://troopstoteachers.net/AbouttheProgram/Overview.aspx.

7. 7.

   http://vets.syr.edu/education/ebv/.

8. 8.

   http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/readmission.html.

9. 9.

   Downloaded 11/16/15 fromhttp://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/handouts_forms.asp.Education and Training. Post 9/11 GI Bill: Transferability (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,2015, p. 1).

10. 10.

    http://veterans.osu.edu/future-students/choosing-ohio-state/ohio-gi-promise/.

11. 11.

    http://www.mnscu.edu/college-search/public/military.

12. 12.

    http://www.mhec.org/multi-state-collaborative-on-military-credit.

13. 13.

    http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Veterans-Jam-2010.aspx.

14. 14.

    Press Release U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), No. 632–10 July 20, 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Military and Veterans Partnerships, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC, USA

   Kathryn McMurtry Snead Ed.D

2. National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), Washington, DC, USA

   Lesley McBain Ph.D.

Corresponding author

Correspondence toKathryn McMurtry Snead Ed.D.

Editors and Affiliations

1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Military Family Research Institute College of Health and Human Sciences Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

   Linda Hughes-Kirchubel

2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Military Family Research Institute, College of Health and Human Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

   Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth

3. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

   David S. Riggs

Additional Reader Resources

• Educators and interested citizens may find the following resources and publications useful in understanding of the educational challenges, promising practices, innovative solutions, and potential development opportunities related to military-affiliated student populations.

• American Council on Education’s Toolkit for veteran friendly institution. Retrieved fromhttps://vetfriendlytoolkit.acenet.edu/Pages/default.aspx.

• Helping veterans succeed: A handbook for higher education administrators. American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

• From soldier to student: Easing the transition of service members on campus. Cook, B., and Kim, Y.

• From soldier to student II: Assessing institutional services for veterans. McBain, Kim, Cook, and Snead.

• Student Veterans of America’s The Million Record Project. Retrieved fromhttp://studentveterans.org/index.php/aboutus/what-we-do/million-records-project.

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