Navy offers a paid year before serving Recruits can attend college and get a check for 4- to 6-year commitment

By SUSANNA RAY

Herald Writer

The Navy announced a new recruiting program Wednesday that allows people to sign up and then go to school for a year – while getting Navy pay and benefits – before actually having to work.

"Wow, that’s incredible," said Dr. Judy Opp, who is in charge of the Everett Navy College Office.

The Navy just approved the funding for the program Tuesday, said Cmdr. Steve Lowry, spokesman for the nation’s Navy Recruiting Command based in Tennessee. Enthusiasm was running high as the word spread.

"I’ve got a 21-year-old son that I’m going to call tonight and say, ‘You ought to check into this,’" Lowry said.

The program, called the College Assistance/Student Headstart Program, or CASH, will allow qualified applicants to enlist in the Navy and then receive regular paychecks and benefits, such as medical and dental insurance for themselves and their families, for up to a year while they attend college.

The catch is that they have to commit to four to six years with the Navy immediately following that year, and they have to take an algebra course.

CASH will be perfect for students facing a money crunch in their last year of college, Opp said, and it will give "that hunger for learning" to recent high school graduates who aren’t yet sure what they want to do.

Capt. Kim Buike, the commanding officer of Everett Naval Station, agreed.

"If we can get people interested in education early on, then there’s a good chance that they’ll like it and they’ll want to pursue it while they’re on active duty," Buike said. "And we have the programs for them to do that."

Navy sailors can take classes from schools that run extension programs on the base, through Opp’s department, and the Navy even flies teachers out to ships when they’re on deployment to the Persian Gulf or other places.

Encouraging sailors to take advantage of those opportunities has long been a priority for Buike. When told of the new program Wednesday, he said it would help with recruiting new sailors and keeping sailors in the Navy, which has become increasingly difficult in recent years.

"Maybe they’ll say, ‘Hey, the Navy did this for me,’" Buike said. "And that will engender enough loyalty that they’ll forgo the big salaries offered outside the big gate and want to stay around for a while."

For more information, call 1-800-USA-NAVY or visit www.navyjobs.com.

The Navy also announced on Wednesday an increase in enlistment bonuses for the summer. For example, a person entering the nuclear field can receive a $12,000 bonus instead of $8,000. Also, there’s a new bonus available of up to $20,000 to those with college experience.

You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439or send e-mail to

ray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Everett postal workers gather for a portrait to advertise the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County letter carriers prepare for food drive this Saturday

The largest single-day food drive in the country comes at an uncertain time for federal food bank funding.

Everett
Everett considers ordinance to require more apprentice labor

It would require apprentices to work 15% of the total labor hours for construction or renovation on most city projects over $1 million.

Signs hang on the outside of the Early Learning Center on the Everett Community College campus on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett Community College to close Early Learning Center

The center provides early education to more than 70 children. The college had previously planned to close the school in 2021.

Northshore school board selects next superintendent

Justin Irish currently serves as superintendent of Anacortes School District. He’ll begin at Northshore on July 1.

Auston James / Village Theatre
“Jersey Boys” plays at Village Theatre in Everett through May 25.
A&E Calendar for May 15

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Contributed photo from Snohomish County Public Works
Snohomish County Public Works contractor crews have begun their summer 2016 paving work on 13 miles of roadway, primarily in the Monroe and Stanwood areas. This photo is an example of paving work from a previous summer. A new layer of asphalt is put down over the old.
Snohomish County plans to resurface about 76 miles of roads this summer

EVERETT – As part of its annual road maintenance and preservation program,… Continue reading

Apartment fire on Casino Road displaces three residents

Everett Fire Department says a family’s decision to shut a door during their evacuation helped prevent the fire from spreading.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.