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thedrifter
09-02-05, 06:53 PM
September 02, 2005
Re-enlistment bonuses rise
By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer

There is big money for Marines this re-enlistment season as the Corps unveils an unprecedented $74 million program to entice Marines to stay green.

Despite the fact that many Marines are staying green anyway, the Corps is preparing to spend millions to make sure they can keep the momentum going.

The fiscal 2006 Selective Re-enlistment Bonus (SRB) program is completely revamped.

For starters, officials raised the bonus ceilings for all Marines, from $30,000 to $40,000 for Zone A Marines, and from $35,000 to $45,000 for Marines in Zones B and C.

[Marines with 17 months to six years of service fall into Zone A; Marines with six to 10 years of service fall into Zone B and Marines with 10 to 14 years of service fall into Zone C.]

That means more Marines will receive their full bonus and not lose out because of artificially low caps that had not been tinkered with in years.

But wait, there’s more.

The Corps has also increased the number of bonus levels for each job eligible for a bonus payment.

In addition to the multiples, 1 through 5, the Corps has used for sometime, manpower officials introduced “half-multiples” of 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5. Now there are 10 bonus levels instead of five.

Under the old system for establishing the amount of each bonus, officials determined the “propensity” of a Marine to re-enlist, said Maj. Jerry R. Morgan, the Corps’ enlisted career force planner at Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va. Depending on what that number was, the Corps would effectively round down to the next lowest multiple.

Now, officials can offer a half-multiple to a Marine who might not have gotten a bonus at all — such as a combat service support chief (0491) in Zone C. Now, he’s eligible for a half-multiple that could yield such a Marine, if he is a gunnery sergeant with 14 years of service, $6,498.

That’s money that the gunny wouldn’t have gotten before because the Corps would have dropped that bonus off the list altogether.

Officials are also offering more bonuses to a wider swath of the Corps. Last year, the Corps awarded bonuses to about 3,300 people. This year, about 4,500 Marines will get cash.

And the bonuses will be greater for those eligible. Infantrymen, for example, will see their average multiples increase by one point, from an average of 3 last year to a 4 this time round.

It’s all part of the Corps’ effort to ensure they give enough reasons to Marines to stay in the Corps, officials said.

As deployments continue and the road ahead is uncertain, officials decided the best course of action is to reward Marines for their service.

“It’s unclear what’s going to happen because of the high operational tempo,” Morgan said. “We want to be prepared for anything that might come up.”

Ellie

Sgted
09-02-05, 08:10 PM
Highest bonus I recieved for each of my 2 - 3 year renlistments during my tour (65 - 71) was $3500.00. Extending my tour in Vietnam earned me a $2000.00 bonus (as I remember) and 33 days "basket" leave.
Probably would be equal to those noted in the above article given inflation.

Bonuses for renlistments and extentions were a motivator.

Ed.