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FoxtrotOscar
03-06-19, 01:34 PM
Damn, wish they had this kind of thing back in the day...

Marine officials are reminding squad leaders that there are big bucks for those willing to re-enlist as the service continues its push to professionalize the infantry.

The Marine Corps (http://www.military.com/marine-corps) wants to retain its experienced infantry noncommissioned officers. To get them to stay, officials with Marine Corps Plans, Policies and Operations put out a video message last week highlighting the tens of thousands of dollars in bonus pay (http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/calculator) they can earn by signing up for another term.

Time is running out for corporals and sergeants to get in on the bonuses, which were first announced last summer (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/07/02/marines-can-pocket-90k-new-re-bonuses.html).

There's a $10,000 bonus for those willing to spend another two years at their current duty station. Those who re-enlist for four years can earn up to $25,000. Those squad leaders must serve in infantry battalions for at least 24 months.

And Marines willing to move into the Squad Leader Development Program can pocket as much as $70,000, but it comes with a six-year commitment, at least three of which must be spent in the operating forces.

The move is part of a multipronged approach to restructure the basic Marine rifle squad. As warfare gets more technical, rifle squads are shrinking down to 12 Marines (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/05/04/its-official-top-marine-wants-12-infantry-squad.html) from 13. That includes an assistant squad leader and a systems operator who will help run drones and other high-tech gear infantry Marines now carry.

The Corps is also experimenting with 15-person squads (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/10/10/15-person-marine-rifle-squads-could-be-coming-soon-deployed-units.html), which would leave infantry leaders managing additional personnel.

"This is an effort to professionalize the infantry a little more -- to move in that direction of having a more mature infantry cadre," said a Marine official familiar with the bonus push. "We're offering this money because we want to have the best Marines in the right jobs."

That's not to say today's squad leaders aren't hacking it, the official stressed. But the infantry must hold onto as many experienced NCOs as possible.

The Marine Corps has also seen a "disappointingly low" number of grunts earn the squad-leader military occupational specialty (https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/07/17/squad-leader-shortage-why-the-corps-is-handing-out-big-bucks-for-infantry-ncos/), Marine Corps Times reported last year. As of last summer, 359 Marines had moved into the MOS after it was created in 2014.

There's no limit to how many Marines can earn the fiscal 2019 re-enlistment bonuses, but time is running out to apply, said Maj. Craig Thomas, a Manpower and Reserve Affairs spokesman. The deadline is July 31 and, so far, 119 Marines have taken the bonuses, he said.

All the Marine Corps' 648 squad-leader billets are currently filled, Thomas added. But getting Marines to re-up helps ensure rifle squads are persistently staffed by sergeants who’ve completed Infantry Small Unit Leader Course for the next five to seven years.

"This program is intended to provide those mature, experienced and fully trained second-term sergeants additional options to re-enlist and remain in the operating forces to serve as an infantry squad leader," he said.

The target audience are first-term infantry riflemen, machine gunners, mortarmen, assault Marines, and anti-tank missile gunners. Since each re-enlistment option requires time in the operating forces, the infantry will immediately benefit from the NCOs' experience, said Capt. Karoline Foote, a Marine spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

Like other incentive programs, this one is meant to develop a highly qualified and professional career force, she added.

"The Marine Corps has to compete with outside opportunities to retain our best and brightest," Foote said. "Infantry duty is challenging, and we value the experience and expertise of our young infantry Marines. As a result, we are looking to incentivize these Marines to remain in the operating forces and become squad leaders."

advanced
03-06-19, 02:01 PM
Those are some strong incentives being offered. As a squad leader I never went through any of the courses they have now for NCO or squad leader, my training was all OJT and my ability to keep coming out of really bad places alive. I guess that was more than enough back in the Nam.

Kegler300
03-06-19, 08:21 PM
I received a $2,500 Combat Arms Bonus when I enlisted in '75 … Big money back then.

Bigstevemac
03-06-19, 08:29 PM
bonus baby, they should up it to 50 grand today..with todays lame society, these men joining the corps are carrying alot more of societys weight

SGT7477
03-10-19, 07:08 PM
I received a $2,500 Combat Arms Bonus when I enlisted in '75 … Big money back then.
Never had that in 73, SFMF.

advanced
03-10-19, 08:53 PM
All I got back in 67 as an 0311 was "Every Day's a Holiday, and every Meal's a Feast." And then they put me in Hell where they tried to kill me every day, and if that didn't work they also tried to starve me. But I found out something important in life, I'm hard as hell to kill. Just saying. Survivor of the 5th Marines, 1968.

Mongoose
03-11-19, 05:30 AM
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=33182&stc=1Our Bonus was getting Home alive......

gkmoz
03-11-19, 08:47 AM
All I got back in 67 as an 0311 was "Every Day's a Holiday, and every Meal's a Feast." And then they put me in Hell where they tried to kill me every day, and if that didn't work they also tried to starve me. But I found out something important in life, I'm hard as hell to kill. Just saying. Survivor of the 5th Marines, 1968.





Do you know when the 5th mardiv came back to the US as a unit?

advanced
03-11-19, 09:54 AM
Not sure gkmoz, I was with the 5th Regiment, 1st Mardiv. It was just the 1st and 3rd Divisions in the Nam.

Maybe Billy can help, I think he being in the 26th Marines I believe they were 5th Mardiv TAD to the 3red Mardiv, with the 3/26 (Billy's Battalion) assigned to the 1st Mardiv as our reserve Battalion.

USMC 2571
03-11-19, 10:14 AM
When I was getting out, end of 1967, they were offering 10k bonuses for our MOS, choice of duty station, and next highest pay grade, a tremendous package in those days----used to be called Variable Reenlistment Bonuses.


but I thought people were beating down the doors to get into the Corps these days and for the past several years---had no idea they are having trouble retaining people.

gkmoz
03-11-19, 10:19 AM
Here is the reason I ask? I was in staging in march of 69 and I was "blue tagged" to Camp Del Mar with the 5th mardiv, I was told that the unit had just come back from Nam and my mos 1833 wasn't needed ? I ended up at Pendleton for the rest of my active duty.
Do not remember all the details, so many before me and so many after me !

advanced
03-11-19, 11:59 AM
Like I said, to my knowledge only the 26th Marine Regiment, including all of their Battalions, went to Nam from the 5th Mardiv. At least I believe that's what Billy told me some time ago. He was with the 3/26 Marines and they operated in my AO out in the Arizona, Dodge City, No Go Island, Happy Valley, Ashaw Valley, etc. including Operation Meade River with us in Dodge City. He and Jack saved my life at the Hook (early Dec 68) during Meade River.

I came home the middle of Feb 69, I believe the 26th was still there when I left. By the way, you didn't miss anything by staying in the states except a more than hard time.

oldtop
03-11-19, 01:40 PM
I went to 2/28 when I came back to the world in January, 68... when the TET offensive started, we were all put on stand-by to go back to the Nam... at that time, 2/28 was mostly VN returnees that were short-timers, with a few boots fresh out of school thrown in for good measure... when the unit was finally deployed, anyone with less that 90 days to do was left at Pendleton as 2/28, the ones going to Nam were merged with 27th Marines and sent directly to the battle for Hue City...

HST
03-12-19, 03:18 PM
Haven't been here in a while but I saw your post. We must have crossed paths in 68. I came back from Nam in Nov.67, was with the Fox 2/27 FAC Team When 2/27 got sent to Nam they told us E-5 and above had to go below could stay if they didn't have a year back. I was an E-4 and had my share of Nam after Prarie, Hickory, Cimmiron and especially Buffalo, so a bunch of us went to 2/28 at Matio I was with the FAC Team there too but we didn't do much FACing except to FAC around..... I was bumming around with a career Cpl named Tarrant that I knew from 3/4 in Nam he'd been in for something like 13 years then He loved to hunt fish and drink and knew all of the places on Pendleton to do all three...I wondered if you knew him he was up and down the ranks a few times. Good Marine when he was sober, a fun Marine when he was drunk which was a lot

USMC 2571
03-12-19, 03:33 PM
Tony, welcome back!!!!!

advanced
03-12-19, 08:42 PM
Good to see you here Tony.

Mongoose
03-13-19, 06:18 AM
Here is the reason I ask? I was in staging in march of 69 and I was "blue tagged" to Camp Del Mar with the 5th mardiv, I was told that the unit had just come back from Nam and my mos 1833 wasn't needed ? I ended up at Pendleton for the rest of my active duty.
Do not remember all the details, so many before me and so many after me !

The 5th. Div. didn't actively deploy to Nam. When the war started to pick up, the 3/26 of the 5th Div. was activated and was sent to Nam under the operational control of the 3rd. Div. After several months, we we're moved to the OP control of the 1st.Div....where we was designated Support Battalion for the whole 1st. Div. Which meant we took part in every operation that came down. Later the 27th and 28th Marines were made up and sent to Nam. They didn't last long, because they were put together in a hurry because LBJ wanted more Marines in Nam. They were only about half Grunts, the rest was cooks, supply, ordinance or anything that could carry a weapon. After a couple of months they werebroken up. Some went to other units, some went back home. I left in May of 69. I don't think that 26th Marines left until 1970.

Mongoose
03-13-19, 06:25 AM
Here is the reason I ask? I was in staging in march of 69 and I was "blue tagged" to Camp Del Mar with the 5th mardiv, I was told that the unit had just come back from Nam and my mos 1833 wasn't needed ? I ended up at Pendleton for the rest of my active duty.
Do not remember all the details, so many before me and so many after me


!I left Nam while we were on Operation Oklahoma Hills in May of 69. The 3/26 a short time later was sent to the Nam-O bridge to pull security. So they were definitely there way past March.

Mongoose
03-13-19, 06:29 AM
Tony, you bring back old memories, Brother. Glad to see you are still hanging in there. Make it a habit to visit us more often....every day in fact.

oldtop
03-13-19, 09:57 AM
Tony, if the FAC team was part of H&S Company, Comm Plt, 2/28, 5th MAR DIV, then we were in the same unit... I'm really terrible at remembering names, but there were a lot of guys in the Comm Plt that knew how to party, for sure... I remember one Cpl that had the clap about 6 or 7 times, kept getting it from the same woman, CO told him if he got it one more time, it would mean brig time, (he'd already had 90 day restriction to base, and been fined and busted), he came down with it again, and was waiting for the weekend to see a private doctor instead of going to sick bay.... TET was on, and we went into stand-by and lockdown... our hero's clap got so bad that one morning he pulled a urinal out of the wall trying to go.... funny as hell, but a real mess.... good to see you back, Tony, don't be a stranger...

HST
03-15-19, 05:54 PM
Thanks Dave, I still stop in once in a while but a lot has happened to me...mainly went through some DNA tests and found a whole new family that I never knew I had...long happy story and not a scam. My wife of 48 years is a certified DAR member and family researcher and I'm sure you know that these DAR people don't buy bull**** records and DNA don't lie. I see you must have moved to my state...if I remember you have someone here like near St. Louis...if you're in the House Springs neighborhood give us a shout

HST
03-15-19, 06:14 PM
Top we must have been in then same building...I was in the brick building close to the scrubs just down the road from the comm building...do you remember the two crazies both wiremen one was really short and squat but really strong. They used to go on liberty and forget to came back. I was Cpl of the guard more than once when they came in late but I always let them pass, some time later I got those passes back when I was getting my skinny ass kicked by some sailors in a bar in San Clentemanti (sp) and he picked up a guy who had to go 200 and threw him over the pool table them he picked up his end of the pool table and slammed it down needless to say we walked out together