The U.S. Army will soon offer accredited college credits for many of its training programs, according to The Associated Press. A soldier could earn enough credits to retire from the Army with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

The program is called the College of the American Soldier. I believe this will be a great recruiting tool for the Army, and is an incentive for young Americans to join the Army. I only wish I would have known about more programs like this when I decided to go to college.

Now, many of those graduating from high school will have a much easier choice when deciding if they want to serve their country by joining the Army or going to college and receiving a degree. Why not do both at the same time?

Both joining the Army and going to college have certain advantages when planning for your future, but the main disadvantage of joining the Army would be that it is difficult to earn a college degree at the same time as being on active duty.

In February, recruits will now be able to get college credits from the College of the American Soldier by earning a technical certification in areas such as leadership or first aid. This technical certification would be about 17 college credits.

Soldiers can also earn around 45 college credits through the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, where classes are sometimes book-oriented rather than just hands-on. Some of these classes include subjects like communication and literature. You can also join the ROTC to get your desired degree and then go on active duty. There are now many choices when joining the Army and when applying to college. I encourage everyone to look at the pros and cons, and decide what best suits you.

Once this program is approved by colleges and universities, people who thought about joining the Army but were worried about the lost years of potential education can now get both. To me this only seems fair. Much of the training and experiences soldiers receive in the Army are similar if not superior to many of the things students learn when they pursue undergraduate studies. This program, along with the ROTC and USASMA, give incentives for people to partake in one of the most respectable vocations in our world today, serving and protecting your country.

Protecting our country and our freedom is no easy task. The Army recruited more than 80,000 soldiers in the last fiscal year, but there is an ongoing war on terror that we must not forget. It is vital we continue to increase the size of our Army in order to protect our freedom. The AP reports the Army wants to increase the number of the active duty soldiers, reserve and National Guard by 74,000 in the next four years.

This may be difficult because many people are hesitant to join the Army when in times of conflict. However, with this new proposal of the College of the American Soldier, there will be one more reason to join the Army and really “be all you can be.”