Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families

THANK YOU!

 

Quinlan-Hammond Hall of Honor

The new home for The Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families

 

USM Military Students Welcome You to Our Campus!

 

 

 

Last Updated on 7/29/2024

Military Benefits

For more information, click on the link to complete the appropriate document -

MiSsissippi National Guard Form	Benefits Intake Form (Veterans and Dependents)	Benefits Intake Form (Active Duty, national guard and Reserve)
Federal Tuition Assistance Form	Non-Resident Tuition Exception Form	Joint Services Transcript Form

 

The University of Southern Mississippi is covering the gap between Federal Tuition Assistance and remaining course tuition for TA-approved hours. Whether fully online or on-campus, Military Students who qualify for Federal Tuition Assistance can have the remainder of their TA-approved hours covered through our TA Gap Funding Program.

 

What People Are Saying

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“At Ease at USM”

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• Who are you? James Foster

What is your background? I was born in Biloxi, MS and grew up all over the state. I graduated from Oak Grove High School in 1999, while there I was very involved in band and ended up with a scholarship to JCJC where I attended a year before deciding to get a technical certificate instead. I got my lineman certification through MGCCC and went to work until 9/11 happened. Soon after I enlisted in the Air Force as Security Forces where I stayed until Dec 2017. While in the Air Force I was stationed in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Guam, and Portugal, I also did 3 tours in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. One reason I loved my job in the Air Force was the travel, I have visited 13 different countries and countless small islands in the South Pacific. After getting out I wanted to work with my hands, so I went to Welding school at Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville, FL. Shortly after graduating I went to work welding until February 2020 when corona virus shut down most of the country. I decided to use my GI Bill to get a degree, growing up around USM and going to baseball games and band concerts here, USM was the obvious choice for me. I am currently a senior working on my Information Technology degree with a focus on Cybersecurity and Networking.

a. Where do you call home? Purvis, Mississippi

b.  What branch did you join? United States Air Force

c.   When were you in the Military? Dec 2003-Dec 2017

d.   How long did you stay in the Military? 14 years

e.   What did you do in the Military? I was a 3P051B Security Forces which does law enforcement and security for bases and later transitioned to a Combat Arms Instructor teaching small arms to Air Force members.

f.    What is your proudest moment? One of my proudest moments was as a member of the 36th CRG responding to Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 in the Philippines to help evacuate over 6,000 people and bringing in supplies and water for those affected by the typhoon and subsequent flooding.

g.   What are some of your hobbies? I am an IT major and enjoy working on and building computers. I also do a lot of PC gaming in my spare time. I also grew up hunting and fishing so when I can I get outside to do that.

h.   How do you deal with stress? I am lucky that with my military career I was constantly in stressful situations so for me it is all about focusing on the situation and working through the stress.