How deployment interferes with college education and occupation

Deployment for student and faculty soldiers can disrupt progression toward graduation and other goals

Since the dawn of voluntary military service, education has been an incentive for recruits to enlist. Military institutions in the United States generally provide for a soldiers education after they sign a contract. However, college student and faculty soldiers in military units such as the National Guard or U.S. Army Reserves face the possibility of deployment that can affect their education.

Students and faculty that are currently enlisted in an active-service branch have the possibility of being deployed at any time during a time of war. Usually universities are cooperative with a deployment and students typically do not fail out of their classes. However, multiple deployments during college can prevent them from moving forward toward their degree.

“Gabe” Sevigny, a veteran of the National Guard, has had his college career interfered with multiple times since joining in 2003.

“I started school in 2003 and was deployed the next year, so I had to drop out,” Sevigny says, “it wasn’t until [2010], when I got out, that I was ever able to return to school.”

Sevigny has been a student of several universities during his early years in the guard, but had to keep dropping out due to his National Guard commitments.

The War on Terrorism has certainly increased the number of National Guard and Army Reserve personnel that have been deployed abroad. The military is a good way for people to go to college if they can’t afford it, which is why many people like Sevigny end up being deployed during their academic careers.

The issues that college student veterans have are depending on their experiences during their deployment, says Christina Kulp. Kulp is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and has had her tenure process interrupted by deployments to Iraq.

“My tenure has been pushed back three times because of [Army Reserve] stuff,” said Kulp. “It’s also difficult for me to come back and pick up the work where I left off.”

Sevigny, president of the Student Veterans Association (SVA) at the University of Oklahoma says many veterans do not take advantage of their benefits post-deployment because their interruptions in education make them lose interest in it.

“Many people get out of the [military] and just go out and find a job, rather than trying to continue their education where they left off… That’s something I hope to change [as president of the SVA],” Sevigny said.

Organizations such as SVA can help student veterans deal with unique issues that regular college students don’t face. Post-deployment issues due to trauma can prevent student veterans from performing to their potential academically. SVA and other organizations can help student veterans cope and seek friendship they may have a difficult time finding in the classroom.

“I want there to be a place for veterans to come if they are feeling the pressure to just relax and have people they can relate with,” Sevigny said.

As more veterans return from war seeking an education there will likely be more organizations such as the SVA to help soldiers make the transition to being a student.

(VIDEO: Matt Dyer, 2:12)

"Gabe" Sevigny and Christina Kulp talk about their experiences in the military and how it has affected their educational and occupational lives.