SEOUL, South Korea – World leaders weighed in Monday on the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, with many expressing wary optimism that a new leader in the secretive regime provides an opportunity for a fresh diplomatic start.

23-Year-Old Was Last US Soldier Killed in Iraq

GREENSBORO, N.C. — As the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, friends and family of the first and last American fighters killed in combat were cherishing their memories rather than dwelling on whether the war and their sacrifice was worth it.

DOD extends deadline for colleges to sign new tuition aid pact

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Department of Defense said U.S. colleges that hope to receive tuition assistance funds will have another three months to accept new requirements meant to ensure the protection of servicemembers.

NATO: Raids to go on with Afghan participation

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO will carry out nighttime kill-and-capture raids that target suspected insurgents with increased Afghan partnership, after repeated protests by President Hamid Karzai, the alliance said Monday.

Army Traces Alleged WikiLeaker’s Digital Footprints

FORT MEADE, Md. — When digital-crimes investigator David Shaver combed through two work computers used by an Army private accused of spilling hefty U.S. secrets, he got an eyeful, according to his testimony to a military hearing.

As Flag Is Put Away, America’s Mission In Iraq Symbolically Ends

America’s colors have been cased in Iraq — the flag was just symbolically put away at a ceremony marking the end of a war that lasted nearly nine years.

Defense bill nears passage in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive defense bill is on the brink of final passage after the Obama administration and Congress resolved a fierce struggle over the president’s ability to prosecute terrorist suspects in the civilian justice system.

New Optics May Give Soldiers an Edge in the Dark

Army night vision gurus are working on a new type of weapon sight designed to help infantrymen shoot the enemy faster and more accurately in darkness than ever before.

Corps Denies Hyping Meyer’s MoH Heroics

The Marine Corps on Wednesday rejected a report that it exaggerated the deeds of former Sgt. Dakota Meyer, who earned the country’s most prestigious military honor for his valor in Afghanistan.

Deaths of bomb-sniffing dogs bound for Afghanistan trigger lawsuit

Last year, 14 bomb-sniffing dogs were  tabbed to go to Afghanistan to assist U.S. forces.

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps on Tuesday apologized for mistakenly mailing Purple Heart Christmas tree ornaments to about 1,150 deceased Marines and Sailors.

Senators to DoD: Back off rules for TA schools

Pressure is mounting on the Pentagon to abandon a new tuition assistance oversight scheme that has dozens of top schools threatening to withdraw from the military’s education program for active-duty troops.

As U.S. Departs, Iraq Faces An Uncertain Future

As the last U.S. troops prepare to leave Iraq this month, what kind of country are they leaving behind?

Congress Tries Again to Get Military Sex Assault Laws Right

WASHINGTON — Congress is quietly giving itself a do-over on the military sexual assault law it botched the last time around.

Military Divorce Rates Continue Steady Climb

This year’s overall military divorce rate has increased slightly over last year’s, part of a continued upward trend since 2001, according to Defense Department statistics released Tuesday.

Obama visiting Fort Bragg to mark end of Iraq war

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — President Barack Obama is marking the end of the Iraq war with a tribute to the troops who fought and died in a conflict he opposed from the start.

U.S. plans major shift to advisory role in Afghanistan

KABUL – The top commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday that U.S. forces would begin a major shift next year to an advisory role, in hopes of building up the Afghan army’s fighting skills and gradually extricating American and allied units from a combat role.

Obama plans to cut National Guard force along the border

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will reduce the number of federally paid National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border amid questions about the cost and fading impact of a marquee operation to back up the U.S. Border Patrol, the Houston Chronicle has learned.

With the cost of public and private universities increasing every semester, there is a real question for many potential students if the cost of the degree is worth it.  For many veterans it is foolish not to use the benefits.  The temptation to do it on the cheap or with a limited time investment is a very real and very viable one.  Going online or to community college can save money and knock out easy credits.  But therein lies the problem.

One of the few areas where both liberal and conservative thinkers in this country agree is that the veteran community is made up of remarkable people.  In the military, one wouldn’t try to do as little as possible for the unit and still expect to be promoted.  Well, that thinking applies here.  Some classes, arts and literature for the scientific and mathematic (and vice versa), may seem like a giant waste of time.  I am sure it seems like just as much of a waste of time as filling sandbags or any of the other tiny, almost zen-like lessons the military tries to teach its soldiers.  College is just like the military in that you can do the bare minimum standard and stay in, or you can push yourself, take risks and reap benefits you never knew existed.

This is a personal opinion, but I also think the on-ground college experience cannot be beat.  There is a level of access to your professors that one wouldn’t have online.  Numerous times I have walked and talked with professors, having concepts explained to me and tailored to my individual ability to learn and work out problems.  The peers are varied and diverse: older and younger, affluent and broke, focused or drifting, and a host of other qualities that were simultaneously both present and absent in the military experience.  That is, they were there, but their importance often dwindled when we would remember where we were.  Also, these students benefit from the presence of veterans.  Many are more likely to ask questions than presume they know the answer to them.

There is no guarantee that even if every veteran went to college and graduated with a degree that he or she would be guaranteed a job.  More students are majoring in Drama than in Engineering.  Myself, I started in computer science, but instead changed my focus to English.  However, even those students majoring in the “wrong” things will emerge from their experience smarter than if they hadn’t gone.  Even those who are highly critical of college perfected their critical thinking skills in those same college classes.  All education isn’t equal.  Neither are students.  What is constant, though, is that just like in the military, you will get out of your education what you put into it.  Why not go all-in?

The Pasadena News reported that improvements to the bill now include on-the-job training, vocational, apprenticeship training and correspondence schools, which promote veterans benefits by teaching former service members new trades without having to attend college for two to four years to earn a degree.

JD Taliaferro, CPD director of applied technologies at SJC told the news source, “At San Jacinto College, we are striving to create accelerated and customized educational pathways that recognize and credit service member training, provide an individualized bridge curriculum that equips veterans with the credentials that regional employers are telling us are vital for their employees, produce stackable credentials which are portable from company to company, and target jobs in industries that are stable and growing.”

Along with the GI Bill improvements that promote better access to educational and job training opportunities for our nation’s veterans is the incentive by the Obama administration for companies to include more employment opportunities for veterans. According to CNN Money, the Senate has on its agenda for this week consideration of a bill that would aid former military personnel who are unemployed to find jobs through the year 2013.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is promoting new ways to help veterans find jobs in a tough economy while pressing Congress to approve tax credits for businesses to hire former members of the military.

World assesses threat from Al-Qaida’s North Africa branch

NIAMEY, Niger – In January 2009, Yaou Mahaman, a Tuareg tour guide from Niger, was coming off a lucrative week. His three car convoy carrying four European adventurists sped along the Sahara’s Mali-Niger border. Suddenly, the first one veered off and pulled a U-turn. The back two, not quick enough to respond, fell into an ambush.

U.S. General Fired For Criticizing Karzai

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has fired a senior officer from his job as the No. 2 general in charge of training for making inappropriate public remarks about Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government.

Senate officials acknowledge error that inflated GI Bill money to for-profit schools

WASHINGTON — Senate officials admitted they erred in publicly released calculations that for-profit colleges doubled or tripled their GI Bill funding intake last year, saying the actual increases were much more modest.

Suicide Bombers Kill Worshippers In Afghanistan

Two suicide bombers targeted worshippers on a key Muslim festival in northern Afghanistan, killing seven, including two local police commanders, officials said Sunday.

Attacking the Drug Trade with the Super Cobra

HICKORY, N.C. — Flying a Super Cobra attack helicopter into combat zones to support his fellow U.S. Marines is Maj. Scott Benfield’s specialty.

‘Darkhorse’ Battalion And The Afghan War

LAURA SULLIVAN, host: All week, we’ve been reporting on one Marine unit. They’re called Darkhorse. And they had a horrific deployment to Afghanistan about a year ago. They lost 25 Marines and many, many more were wounded.