By Alexa Christina Smith (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Staff Sargent Brandon Anderson, 27, and Sr. Airman Zachary Johnson, 22, each take 12 hours of classes over four days while working over-time at Dover Air Force Base every week.

They work hard to find the time to do their homework.

“It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life – do school and a full-time job,” Anderson says.

Regardless of whether they take classes on or off base, military students struggle to balance school and work.

For many, the military may seem another way to pay for college. Depending on the number of years a person spends in service, a student could have all of his or her expenses paid.

Anderson and Johnson, who take Wesley College classes on the Dover Air Force Base, plan on staying in the military until they have their degrees.

“That’s my ultimate goal – to go into criminal justice and be a state trooper somewhere, it doesn’t matter where,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been serving for three years and is now a crew chief, repairing aircrafts.

“We don’t pay for anything,” Anderson said. “The military pays for (school expenses).”

Anderson is also a crew chief and has been serving for eight years.

Other Air Force personnel receive tuition assistance, such as Sr. Airman Demetrius Trisvan, a member of the Air Force Reserve who works as an Internet technician at Dover Air Force Base.

Trisvan takes classes on Wesley College’s campus.

“I still had to pay for my books myself,” he said.

Even if the government pays, that doesn’t make college easier.

“It’s hectic,” Trisvan said.

Despite this, Tracey Lundblad, Wesley College’s administrative coordinator at Dover Air Force Base, said airmen applying to take classes have gone up significantly.

“Seventeen is usually around the number of files I get from students applying over six months,” she said, “I’ve gotten 17 new files in the past few weeks.”

She associates this increase to a new government initiative, which often ties promotions into education.

Although there is significantly more military personnel applying to take classes through Wesley College this does not mean that all of these students will finish their schooling through Wesley Lundblad said.