Senator Chuck Hagel Supports G-I Bill Changes

Discussions on the G-I bill continues on Capitol Hill. One of the points of concern is a half point tax hike on those who make more than a half million dollars a year to help cover education benefits. There is concern that the addition would hurt retention numbers. Nebraska U-S Senator Chuck Hagel our soldiers deserve this benefit. Hagel says that our veterans today are spending far longer in combat than any of our other veterans including those who served in World War II. He says we are rotating forward the benefits they are not getting to make them on an even play field with education costs today. Hagel argues that this will not hurt retention rates. He says the latest figures by the Defense Department shows that 75-percent of first term enlistees in the U-S Army leave after their first term. For the Marines, that is 70-percent and about 50-percent for Air Force and Navy troops. Hagel says they are not re-enlisting because these solders are spending too much time deployed and we are busting our fore structure.