Scholarships for Military Children program begins Published Nov. 5, 2007 FORT LEE, Va. (AFPN) -- DeCA's 2008 Scholarships for Military Children program kicked off Nov. 1. Applications, available at commissaries worldwide and online through a link at www.commissaries.com and directly at www.militaryscholar.org, must be turned in to a commissary by close of business on Feb. 20, 2008. Applicants must submit an essay arguing for or against the following statement: "Every able-bodied citizen should be required to serve a two-year period of time in the military. Why or why not?" The program is open to unmarried children under the age of 21 (23 if enrolled in school) of active duty, Reserve, Guard and retired personnel. Eligibility will be determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current ID card. Applicants must be planning to attend, or already attending, an accredited college or university full-time in the fall term of 2008, or enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program. The program has awarded 3,532 scholarships totaling more than $5.5 million dollars to children of military families since it began in 2001. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page