thedrifter
11-03-06, 06:07 AM
Marines offer $5,000 bonus for joining Select Reserve
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, November 3, 2006
ARLINGTON, Va. — Marines leaving active duty may be eligible for a $5,000 bonus to join the Select Marine Corps Reserve, officials said.
Under the Enlisted Affiliation Bonus program, Marines can get the money if they sign up for a 36-month commitment in the Select Reserve within 120 days of leaving active duty, officials said.
The bonus program is intended to match Marines in certain Military Occupational Specialties with units where they are needed, said Lt. Col. Francis Piccoli, a spokesman for Reserve Affairs.
Because Reserve units are so dispersed, a reservist’s local unit may not need Marines in that particular reservist’s MOS, Piccoli explained.
The bonus program is designed to steer reservists into units that are understaffed in certain MOSs, he said.
Eligible Marines must be in one of the specialties outlined in MARADMIN (Marine Administrative Announcement) 523/06.
Marines in MOSs not listed in the MARADMIN still can qualify for the bonus if they retrain for one of the specialties in need, said Gunnery Sgt. Jason Bell, who oversees the program.
The Marine Corps increased the bonus from $50 a month for up to four years to a lump sum payment of $5,000 to provide more of an incentive for Marines to go into the Select Reserve instead of the Individual Ready Reserve, Bell said.
Bell said the reason for the increase was not that the incentive was attracting fewer Marines than the Select Reserve had hoped, but Piccoli conceded that the old bonus program was a “very underutilized incentive.”
For more information, go to: www.usmc.mil.
Ellie
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, November 3, 2006
ARLINGTON, Va. — Marines leaving active duty may be eligible for a $5,000 bonus to join the Select Marine Corps Reserve, officials said.
Under the Enlisted Affiliation Bonus program, Marines can get the money if they sign up for a 36-month commitment in the Select Reserve within 120 days of leaving active duty, officials said.
The bonus program is intended to match Marines in certain Military Occupational Specialties with units where they are needed, said Lt. Col. Francis Piccoli, a spokesman for Reserve Affairs.
Because Reserve units are so dispersed, a reservist’s local unit may not need Marines in that particular reservist’s MOS, Piccoli explained.
The bonus program is designed to steer reservists into units that are understaffed in certain MOSs, he said.
Eligible Marines must be in one of the specialties outlined in MARADMIN (Marine Administrative Announcement) 523/06.
Marines in MOSs not listed in the MARADMIN still can qualify for the bonus if they retrain for one of the specialties in need, said Gunnery Sgt. Jason Bell, who oversees the program.
The Marine Corps increased the bonus from $50 a month for up to four years to a lump sum payment of $5,000 to provide more of an incentive for Marines to go into the Select Reserve instead of the Individual Ready Reserve, Bell said.
Bell said the reason for the increase was not that the incentive was attracting fewer Marines than the Select Reserve had hoped, but Piccoli conceded that the old bonus program was a “very underutilized incentive.”
For more information, go to: www.usmc.mil.
Ellie