The military of the United States, officially known as the United States Armed Forces, is structured into five branches consisting of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Approximately 1,426,713 personnel are currently on active duty in the military, with an additional 1,259,000 personnel in the reserve components.

Today’s military have unprecedented educational opportunities and thousands of our service members and their dependents are actively seeking college educations or professional credentials, such as teaching licensures in the United States and overseas. Policies such as the Servicemen’s Opportunity College (SOC), Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), Vocational Rehabilitation (VA), Spouses/Troops to Teachers (STT/TTT), military scholarships and others have been established to help support military personnel as they continue their education. S tates such as North Carolina and individual colleges and universities such as the University of North Carolina and the NC community colleges have declared themselves as "military friendly.”

Considering the transitory status of most military personnel, the accessibility of distance learning education makes educational growth more

attainable now than ever before. The military service member and his/her dependents have needs, challenges and experiences specific to this culture. They bring a specific language of acronyms, and live in an evanescent environment, which often times leaves them with a college transcript that looks more like a U. S. Passport or patchwork quilt. Every military student and dependent needs an advisor who can provide quality advising based on the appreciation and understanding of the military student and his/her dependents’ culture and special challenges.