SEATTLE -- Military spouses are fighting their own battle right now. It's with the Department of Defense, after the military abruptly froze a program that helped spouses get a higher education.
Julia Aten long dreamed of becoming a social worker, but the frequent moves associated with her husband's nearly two decade military career, the demands of motherhood, and a tight budget always got in the way.
Then last summer, she heard about the My Career Advancement Account, or MyCAA, program which provides military spouses up to $6,000 towards a higher education.
"It's covering portable careers for military spouses, things that we can take with us when we move," said Aten
Aten got the funding and enrolled in classes at UW where she met Lauren Silva, whose husband is serving in Iraq. She told Silva about MyCAA, but days later, the military announced it was overwhelmed with applications and temporarily put the program on hold.
"I got her hopes for something that's not going to happen at this point," said Aten.
Due to the instant outrage, the military backtracked and re-opened funds for Aten and other spouses who were already enrolled, but Silva and thousands of others are currently frozen out.
"The program is offered to military spouses. I'm a military spouse. Why is it cut off for me?" said Silva.
Many lawmakers have the same question.
"I am as angry as they are. This was a program that is so important to families. The Department of Defense now has a responsibility to get this right," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Murray has already written several letters to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, asking why the military didn't reach out to Congress when they realized it was having problems, and demanding the program be re-opened to all military spouses.
