MyCAA Back on Track 'Very Soon'

A recently suspended tuition assistance program for military spouses could be reinstated within days, according to the Pentagon.

All funding of Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, or MyCAA, was suddenly halted Feb. 16 when the program became overwhelmed by demand and the Pentagon decided to give it a top-to-bottom review.

"I don't have an exact day but I can tell you it will be very soon," said Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. April Cunningham. "It could be in the upcoming days or weeks, but more [likely] days."

MyCAA pays up to $6,000 of a military spouse's tuition for an education program leading to a skill or profession likely to provide job opportunities in most locations where service members are stationed. These include the construction trades, education, financial services, health services, information technology and real estate.

The MyCAA suspension caught thousands by surprise and spurred more than 60 members of Congress to write Defense Secretary Robert Gates, demanding an explanation. Suspending it "without notice is not the way to support those who sacrifice so much to make our military what it is today," the lawmakers wrote.

A DoD spokesman said at the time that Gates would respond to the congressman but not issue any public statement.

Learn all about Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts at Military.com's MyCAA page

The Pentagon, which began MyCAA one year ago, said it decided to take a look at the program after seeing "an unprecedented six-fold spike" in enrollments in January. More than 136,000 military spouses have applied for the program, and there are currently about 98,000 taking courses or approved for tuition assistance, officials said.

The suspension was announced on MilitaryOneSource's Web site, which handles the program for the Defense Department. MilitaryOneSource also was not aware of the halt until it was posted, and workers there scrambled to redirect military spouses into other financial assistance programs.

Once the suspension was announced, all financial aid applications were put on hold, including those of students part way through a program, according to Cunningham. Those eligible for financial assistance under MyCAA are spouses of active-duty service members and activated members of the National Guard and Reserve components on Title 10 orders.