I've debated a while about writing this information on the internet for while, and finally decided I should. It's going to be a bit long even taking as many short cuts as possible, so feel free to just pass on reading it if you don't have the time. As they say, the devil is in the details, so certain details cannot be left out, thus the length. So, here we go.
My oldest son decided about 6 or 7 years ago that he wanted to be a career military officer. He was told to join the JROTC and then matriculate at a military academy or college. So, that is what he did. He won top honors in his JROTC region and carried about a 3.7 GPA in high school. The combination of which got him invitations to several military schools. My wife and I took him to visit some, he went to visit others on his own and the JROTC took him to VMI, their recommendation for him. After a relatively short amount of time he opted for VMI (Virginia Military Institute). Not positive how he wanted to enlist, he worked with several enlistment offices in our region and ended up enlisting in the National Guard. Two hours after receiving his high school diploma he was off to boot camp at Ft. Benning, GA.
All went smoothly according to him and he was excited to have a couple weeks off before heading off to VMI. We spent that time filling out paperwork to insure that the National Guard was going to pay for his tuition at VMI and, in return, he was to serve 6 years upon graduation. No problem. He planned on serving far more than that anyway. All seemed well until we showed up at VMI for his first day.
I'll make it very short, but they have a very regimented program of how they process incoming "Rats" in their main gym. Sitting in the stands we noticed that when our son got to the officials as the line progressed, everything seemed to stop. Then I was paged over the intercom system to come to the gym floor. WTF?? After I walked across the floor, everyone staring at me because my son had stopped all processing, I encountered a colonel Something (can't recall their name, but everyone who is employed there seems to be a colonel). I was told then that the National Guard wasn't going to pay his tuition and I needed to write them a check for some amount like $20k or he couldn't enroll. "Fine", I said, "Let's go". Unfortunately, his mother had arrived at the table by then and my son was pleading with me. Long story short here, if I had to write them a check, we were leaving. Many phone calls later (and about 3 hours of waiting), we were told he could stay but we needed to immediately begin working out the problem. This was on a Saturday.
On Monday, after wasting most of the day, we discovered that the Indiana National Guard was unaware that the U.S. National Guard would no longer pay for out of state tuition for their soldiers. So, being we are from Indiana and VMI is in VA, nothing would be paid. I finally was able to speak to a "Major General" Something, who said he was the head of the Indiana National Guard. He informed me that, even though his recruiter promised tuition would be paid at VMI (no other school was ever discussed), the Indiana National Guard would positively NOT pay for his tuition at VMI but my son was still obligated to serve because he was now enlisted. Literal translation; it's perfectly acceptable for recruiters to make "misstatements" in order to get soldiers to enlist and there is no recourse.
A week later of wasting time speaking with dozens of people who seemed to forget that I am a civilian and they do NOT outrank me and I do not have to reply "Sir, yes sir", I finally discovered the only place to go is to congressmen and senators for any possible resolution. You may NOT sue the military for making false promises to induce enlistment. Fortunately, I reached a congressman (I'll leave their name out for now) who sent a "demand" to both VMI and the Indiana National Guard for an explanation. Two days later my son was honorably discharged from the National Guard and then immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army, who said they'd pay his tuition at VMI. Whew, finally solved. Wrong! VMI insisted that I pay right at $10k a year in fees due that supposedly were not covered by the Army even though my son and I were told that his complete tuition would be covered, room and board would be covered, books would be covered and he'd receive $700 a month stipend but he'd still have to drill with the Army every other week (or something like that). VMI never explained the fees but pulled him out of class until I paid. Between my son and his mother, against my better judgment, I paid them each semester.
Fast forward to the end of his sophomore year. This is where my son really screwed up. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of rules that must be followed by every student at VMI. No problem, my son wanted to go there and he knew the rules. Apparently any rule that has "honor" written after it means that you are expelled if you break that rule. One of those rules was that, as a cadet at VMI, you must leave the county within 45 minutes of signing out from the campus. I can only guess why it's a rule but, regardless, it's a rule. My son and 3 of his friends make the very stupid mistake of attending an all night party at the very end of their sophomore year at a girl's house that was in county. I'm told that everyone is a "snitch" there so, obviously, they got caught. What a stupid decision, opting to go to a party with the real chance of being expelled and losing all rank that may have been achieved in the military! Clearly, he got caught. As a formality, they have a "Honor Court" trial as a simple procedure. You show up, other students make up the court, they proclaim you guilty, throw your belongings into the courtyard and escort you off campus. According to a next door neighbor of a good friend who happens to be on the board of directors of VMI, I'm told that there was absolutely "no chance" he wouldn't be expelled. The rules are drilled into their heads constantly and he made a very, very stupid decision.
Sorry it's so long, but this just now brings me to my major problem. His trial was to happen on 31 August 2009. Classes started 1 September 2009. The trial was to be on a Monday before classes started on Tuesday. For still unknown reasons, the student "Honor Court" delayed the trial. That left my son and his 3 friends there with nothing to do. VMI called me and my wife over and over telling us that if we don't immediately pay roughly $4000 in these mystery fees they charge me, no trial will be needed and they will expel him for non-payment of tuition. My wife paid them via credit card on the phone along with a 3% additional fee for using a credit card. Every day either my son or another of the 'accused' students asked as to when they would have their trial. They did this via email and I have copies of the correspondences. The replies from the student in charge of the trial were extremely rude and threatening to put it mildly. He told them that they do NOT ask him any questions! He TELLS them what to do. The trial occurred 16 September 2009 and lasted less than 1/2 an hour. Of course, all were guilty and all were expelled and escorted off campus.
Now the real problem. VMI refuses to refund the $4000 they demanded from me because they say it's their "policy" that once a student was is there for 15 days, that semester's tuition is considered earned. Hmm, you now see why the mysterious delay of 15 days happened before they had the trial. I explained that to another colonel Something there and they basically told me "tough shit", your son shouldn't have screwed up because they instill honor as a top priority. WTF?? Then why are they stealing $4k from me in a very, very dishonorably fashion? No reply and I'm told that the final word is no refund! While I'm fuming about having $4,000 stolen from me, my son drops another bomb on me. He's gone to IU, applied, been accepted, and is transferring there next semester and will be in their ROTC program. Oh, the 'bomb'; VMI now says they want another $3500 or they won't release his transcript, no exceptions. Holy shit, what kind of immoral, dishonorable criminals run that place???
I have all of this documented. My attorneys and VMI's attorneys know VMI will drag this out for over a year before it can come to trial. Due to being enlisted, my son will be in Iraq by summer because he is no longer a full time student. VMI literally tells me to "pay up" or my son will be on the front line in Iraq because he's been busted down to a PFC! I really don't know what to do. VMI has already stolen, yes, stolen, $4000 from me and now with no explanation as to why, they are trying to extort another $3500 from me. And, to think, this is all over an "honor" issue!! I feel badly, but the bottom line is I'm not going to allow them to extort more money from me. In reality, they've gotten me for $20,000 in extortion money so far. All expenses were to be covered but they've extorted $4000 from me each semester for some bullshit fees, so after his first two years there and the one semester his junior year he didn't attend, that totals $20,000 they've gotten from me that wasn't owed. The $3500 extortion for his transcript is the straw that has broken the camel's back.
I'm trying to contact the governor of VA, the Atty General of VA, and all Senators and Congressmen from VA about this issue since that seems to be my only recourse. Unfortunately, they are all on 'holiday' and will look into the issue next year. VMI knows quite well that 'next year' is too late. And to think, I thought VMI was a great school who really touts "honor"! They are the worst group of thieves I've ever encountered! What to do??
My oldest son decided about 6 or 7 years ago that he wanted to be a career military officer. He was told to join the JROTC and then matriculate at a military academy or college. So, that is what he did. He won top honors in his JROTC region and carried about a 3.7 GPA in high school. The combination of which got him invitations to several military schools. My wife and I took him to visit some, he went to visit others on his own and the JROTC took him to VMI, their recommendation for him. After a relatively short amount of time he opted for VMI (Virginia Military Institute). Not positive how he wanted to enlist, he worked with several enlistment offices in our region and ended up enlisting in the National Guard. Two hours after receiving his high school diploma he was off to boot camp at Ft. Benning, GA.
All went smoothly according to him and he was excited to have a couple weeks off before heading off to VMI. We spent that time filling out paperwork to insure that the National Guard was going to pay for his tuition at VMI and, in return, he was to serve 6 years upon graduation. No problem. He planned on serving far more than that anyway. All seemed well until we showed up at VMI for his first day.
I'll make it very short, but they have a very regimented program of how they process incoming "Rats" in their main gym. Sitting in the stands we noticed that when our son got to the officials as the line progressed, everything seemed to stop. Then I was paged over the intercom system to come to the gym floor. WTF?? After I walked across the floor, everyone staring at me because my son had stopped all processing, I encountered a colonel Something (can't recall their name, but everyone who is employed there seems to be a colonel). I was told then that the National Guard wasn't going to pay his tuition and I needed to write them a check for some amount like $20k or he couldn't enroll. "Fine", I said, "Let's go". Unfortunately, his mother had arrived at the table by then and my son was pleading with me. Long story short here, if I had to write them a check, we were leaving. Many phone calls later (and about 3 hours of waiting), we were told he could stay but we needed to immediately begin working out the problem. This was on a Saturday.
On Monday, after wasting most of the day, we discovered that the Indiana National Guard was unaware that the U.S. National Guard would no longer pay for out of state tuition for their soldiers. So, being we are from Indiana and VMI is in VA, nothing would be paid. I finally was able to speak to a "Major General" Something, who said he was the head of the Indiana National Guard. He informed me that, even though his recruiter promised tuition would be paid at VMI (no other school was ever discussed), the Indiana National Guard would positively NOT pay for his tuition at VMI but my son was still obligated to serve because he was now enlisted. Literal translation; it's perfectly acceptable for recruiters to make "misstatements" in order to get soldiers to enlist and there is no recourse.
A week later of wasting time speaking with dozens of people who seemed to forget that I am a civilian and they do NOT outrank me and I do not have to reply "Sir, yes sir", I finally discovered the only place to go is to congressmen and senators for any possible resolution. You may NOT sue the military for making false promises to induce enlistment. Fortunately, I reached a congressman (I'll leave their name out for now) who sent a "demand" to both VMI and the Indiana National Guard for an explanation. Two days later my son was honorably discharged from the National Guard and then immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army, who said they'd pay his tuition at VMI. Whew, finally solved. Wrong! VMI insisted that I pay right at $10k a year in fees due that supposedly were not covered by the Army even though my son and I were told that his complete tuition would be covered, room and board would be covered, books would be covered and he'd receive $700 a month stipend but he'd still have to drill with the Army every other week (or something like that). VMI never explained the fees but pulled him out of class until I paid. Between my son and his mother, against my better judgment, I paid them each semester.
Fast forward to the end of his sophomore year. This is where my son really screwed up. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of rules that must be followed by every student at VMI. No problem, my son wanted to go there and he knew the rules. Apparently any rule that has "honor" written after it means that you are expelled if you break that rule. One of those rules was that, as a cadet at VMI, you must leave the county within 45 minutes of signing out from the campus. I can only guess why it's a rule but, regardless, it's a rule. My son and 3 of his friends make the very stupid mistake of attending an all night party at the very end of their sophomore year at a girl's house that was in county. I'm told that everyone is a "snitch" there so, obviously, they got caught. What a stupid decision, opting to go to a party with the real chance of being expelled and losing all rank that may have been achieved in the military! Clearly, he got caught. As a formality, they have a "Honor Court" trial as a simple procedure. You show up, other students make up the court, they proclaim you guilty, throw your belongings into the courtyard and escort you off campus. According to a next door neighbor of a good friend who happens to be on the board of directors of VMI, I'm told that there was absolutely "no chance" he wouldn't be expelled. The rules are drilled into their heads constantly and he made a very, very stupid decision.
Sorry it's so long, but this just now brings me to my major problem. His trial was to happen on 31 August 2009. Classes started 1 September 2009. The trial was to be on a Monday before classes started on Tuesday. For still unknown reasons, the student "Honor Court" delayed the trial. That left my son and his 3 friends there with nothing to do. VMI called me and my wife over and over telling us that if we don't immediately pay roughly $4000 in these mystery fees they charge me, no trial will be needed and they will expel him for non-payment of tuition. My wife paid them via credit card on the phone along with a 3% additional fee for using a credit card. Every day either my son or another of the 'accused' students asked as to when they would have their trial. They did this via email and I have copies of the correspondences. The replies from the student in charge of the trial were extremely rude and threatening to put it mildly. He told them that they do NOT ask him any questions! He TELLS them what to do. The trial occurred 16 September 2009 and lasted less than 1/2 an hour. Of course, all were guilty and all were expelled and escorted off campus.
Now the real problem. VMI refuses to refund the $4000 they demanded from me because they say it's their "policy" that once a student was is there for 15 days, that semester's tuition is considered earned. Hmm, you now see why the mysterious delay of 15 days happened before they had the trial. I explained that to another colonel Something there and they basically told me "tough shit", your son shouldn't have screwed up because they instill honor as a top priority. WTF?? Then why are they stealing $4k from me in a very, very dishonorably fashion? No reply and I'm told that the final word is no refund! While I'm fuming about having $4,000 stolen from me, my son drops another bomb on me. He's gone to IU, applied, been accepted, and is transferring there next semester and will be in their ROTC program. Oh, the 'bomb'; VMI now says they want another $3500 or they won't release his transcript, no exceptions. Holy shit, what kind of immoral, dishonorable criminals run that place???
I have all of this documented. My attorneys and VMI's attorneys know VMI will drag this out for over a year before it can come to trial. Due to being enlisted, my son will be in Iraq by summer because he is no longer a full time student. VMI literally tells me to "pay up" or my son will be on the front line in Iraq because he's been busted down to a PFC! I really don't know what to do. VMI has already stolen, yes, stolen, $4000 from me and now with no explanation as to why, they are trying to extort another $3500 from me. And, to think, this is all over an "honor" issue!! I feel badly, but the bottom line is I'm not going to allow them to extort more money from me. In reality, they've gotten me for $20,000 in extortion money so far. All expenses were to be covered but they've extorted $4000 from me each semester for some bullshit fees, so after his first two years there and the one semester his junior year he didn't attend, that totals $20,000 they've gotten from me that wasn't owed. The $3500 extortion for his transcript is the straw that has broken the camel's back.
I'm trying to contact the governor of VA, the Atty General of VA, and all Senators and Congressmen from VA about this issue since that seems to be my only recourse. Unfortunately, they are all on 'holiday' and will look into the issue next year. VMI knows quite well that 'next year' is too late. And to think, I thought VMI was a great school who really touts "honor"! They are the worst group of thieves I've ever encountered! What to do??