MyCAA shut-down

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jarad A. Denton
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  My Career Advancement Accounts, a program which offered up to $6,000 to spouses pursuing education goals, was shut-down without warning Feb. 17.

The shutdown came as a shock to many spouses who relied on MyCAA as their primary means of tuition assistance.

"I'm certainly not happy about it," said Michelle McMahon, wife of Staff Sgt. Patrick McMahon, 28th Security Forces Squadron, NCO-in charge of the visitor control center. "I assumed I was going to get the full $6,000."

Department of Defense officials issued a statement on the MyCAA website assuring spouses the shutdown will be temporary while they conduct a review of the entire program.

"We're reviewing it from top to bottom to ensure the program is meeting the intent established in legislation," said Maj. April Cunningham, spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.


According to MyCAA, all tuition assistance approved prior to Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. will be paid out to educational institutions. Spouses are encouraged to continually check with the MyCAA website for any updates on the status of the program. The site can be reached from www.militaryonesource.com.

Despite funds approved prior to Feb. 16 still being available many spouses are worried how they will finance their education.

"I held up my end of the bargain with my grades," said Mrs. McMahon. "It just doesn't seem fair to have such a great resource pulled out from under us without warning."

MyCAA worked by initially approving spouses for $6,000 in tuition assistance. However, spouses had to reapply for the benefits to cover the cost of each individual class they took. As long as a spouse maintained a "C" average, the program would cover the cost of their education, up to $6,000.

According to the MyCAA website, "effective immediately, the MyCAA program is temporarily halting operations. We are reviewing all procedures, financial assistance documents and the overall program. This pause will not affect approved Financial Assistance documents. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please check back for updates."


As spouses on base are looking for other means to finance their education, the Airman and Family Readiness Center is continuing to encourage spouses to explore multiple options when looking to meet their education and professional goals.

"We have a wealth of information on other options available to spouses," said Sue Machetta, AFRC community readiness consultant. "I don't want people to get discouraged by this."

Mrs. Machetta said the AFRC is committed to providing spouses and families the best resources available to assist them in reaching their goals.

"This program may be temporarily closed to spouses," said Ellie Taliaferro, wife of Col. Jeffrey Taliaferro, 28th Bomb Wing commander. "However, I don't want our spouses to think this is the end of the road for them; there are so many other programs available that can help them."

For more information on programs available to spouses and families, contact the AFRC at (605) 385-4663. The Ellsworth Officers' Spouses' Club also has scholarships available for the spouses of all Airmen, with a filing deadline of Feb. 27.