thedrifter
01-16-07, 08:48 AM
No boatspace limits
A bigger Corps means it’s easier to stay Marine, stay in your MOS
By John Hoellwarth - Staff writer
Posted : January 22, 2007
When Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Bush administration wants the Corps of the future to be 202,000 leathernecks strong, he made it a lot easier for would-be career Marines to stay green.
The plan is to lock in the Corps’ end strength at 180,000 — it’s really 175,000 with the last 5,000 paid through emergency wartime supplemental money — then add 5,000 Marines a year until end strength hits 202,000. When it’s all done, the Corps will have the highest number of Marines in its ranks since the Vietnam War.
The same week Gates made his announcement, Corps retention officials detailed the first step toward gaining end strength. And for career Marines, it’s huge.
Effective immediately, boatspaces as you know them are gone. No more being told that you can’t re-enlist in your military occupational specialty because the inn is full. If you want to re-enlist in your job field, and you’re qualified, you can. At least for now, the days of lat-moving into another job so you could stay in the Corps are over.
The Marine Corps quietly lifted its boatspace requirements across the board Dec. 28, reopening every MOS that was previously closed for re-enlistment.
The Corps now has space for every qualified Marine who wants to re-enlist, but there’s no telling how long the free-for-all will last, according to retention specialist Maj. Trevor Hall.
Congress hasn’t yet approved funding for the plus-up in end strength. But in order to meet President Bush’s goal of a bigger Corps — which dovetails with Commandant Gen. James Conway’s goal of doubling Marines’ time at home between deployments from seven to 14 months — “obviously, we need more Marines,” Hall said.
But the Corps’ ability to train, equip and pay more Marines will ultimately depend on how much money Congress approves for its budget.
While Marine officials have detailed what they plan to do on the retention side of the house, it was unclear at press time what was happening on the recruiting side.
Maj. Wes Hayes, spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command, would not comment on recruiting plans and referred queries to Marine Corps headquarters.
Hall said that on the retention end of the spectrum, abolishing boatspaces is the Corps’ way of “revving the engine” in anticipation of whatever might happen next.
Elimination of the restrictions is a “short-term measure,” he said. “If the decision is made to continue on at this size, we might have to clamp down,” he warned.
But at least for now, conditions are ideal for re-enlistment. Mandatory lateral moves are a nonissue because each MOS is authorized to retain an unlimited number of its Marines.
Re-enlistment incentives are at an all-time high, including up to $60,000 for some Marines and the use of half multiples to expand bonuses to nearly all job specialties. Retention officials have also expanded the pool of Marines eligible for bonuses to include those who have been off active duty for as long as four years.
But just because the re-enlistment door is wide open, it doesn’t mean Marines should wait to make the decision to sign up for four more. Duty station preferences are being handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.
It’s unclear how long the money for Selective Re-enlistment Bonuses will last, which is another reason to hurry. The Marine Corps was given $55 million this fiscal year to spend on SRBs, up $2 million from last year. But that’s only the baseline budget for re-enlistment incentives: The Corps has been replenishing that pot of money midway through each year with a piece of the supplemental wartime funding it gets from Congress.
By the time the Corps met its re-enlistment goal last August, it had spent just shy of $90 million on lump-sum payments to Marines who re-upped, nearly twice the $53 million it was allotted at the start of that fiscal year.
Career force planner Maj. Michael Morgan said there is no telling how much additional money will be allotted for re-enlistment bonuses midway through this year because Congress will ultimately decide how much supplemental funding the program receives.
What is clear is that the initial $55 million is not going to cut it. The Corps has approved more than 4,700 first-term re-enlistments this fiscal year, 77 percent of the 6,096 goal the Corps set for itself before boatspaces went away. And around 2,000 career Marines have signed up for a third, fourth or fifth tour so far this year, putting the Corps slightly ahead of where it was last year at this time, Hall said.
With all these contracts signed, the Corps has obligated itself to pay out around $23 million more in retention incentives than the baseline budget reflects, Morgan said.
That’s up from roughly $10 million over the baseline budget this time last year, Morgan said, adding that “as of right now, we are not denying people re-enlistment bonuses.”
Defense Department regulations require the Corps to send a message 30 days prior to shutting down re-enlistment bonuses, Morgan said, which happens every year when either the retention goal is met or the money runs out.
But in the current window of opportunity, the elimination of boatspaces means that, temporarily, there is no magic number that declares the retention mission accomplished, and uncertainty over how much supplemental funding will be approved translates into uncertainty over when to declare the cookie jar empty.
Nick of time
All is not lost for those who tried to re-enlist between Oct. 1 and Dec. 28 — back in the days of boatspaces — and were told there was no more room for them.
Cpl. Ismael Barrera submitted his re-enlistment package on time for one of the fastest-filling job fields in the Corps: admin. He was denied re-enlistment in the field at the start of the fiscal year due to boatspace restrictions and what he assumes had something to do with his request to re-enlist for three years instead of four.
“I really didn’t want to get out of the Corps because I couldn’t see myself doing anything other than being a Marine, and I didn’t want to do another job because I’d learned so much being deployed. It seemed like a waste to start doing something else,” he said. “The only thing I wanted more than to stay Marine was to stay in my field.”
Barrera resubmitted his package in December at the urging of his career retention specialist and, by the time it came under review, boatspace restrictions were no more. His package was approved, “and I re-enlisted pretty much the same day,” he said.
He didn’t rate a bonus — the 0121 field historically needs little coaxing to meet retention goals — but he did manage to score orders to the inspector-instructor staff in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where his wife has been waiting for him to make a career decision since his return from Iraq last year.
Barrera said he was excited to tell his wife that not only was he coming home, but he was also staying Marine and staying in the job field he loves.
Other options
But the Corps’ new retention policy didn’t save everyone in the nick of time. Some Marines have already accepted lateral moves as a condition of staying Marine this fiscal year, and others have decided to get out instead of learning a new specialty, though the Corps doesn’t keep numbers on reasons Marines stay or go, Hall said.
Marines who have applied for a lat-move because of boatspace restrictions can pull their package and resubmit for retention in their MOS as long as they haven’t signed a contract and raised their right hand yet. Those who have, though, are locked into their new job despite the subsequent changes in the policy that put them there.
“The thought of denying a Marine re-enlistment in their MOS because of boatspace restrictions only to find out we could have retained them is heartbreaking,” Hall said. “Nevertheless, there is always the issue of a certain line in the sand.”
And though Marines who executed lat-moves before the boatspace limitations were lifted can’t go back, Marines who decided to get out instead can.
Anyone who left active duty recently can now re-up in his MOS for the full bonus as long as he returns within 90 days of leaving.
If a Marine has been off active duty for longer than 90 days but less than a year, he can return for 80 percent of his MOS’s re-enlistment bonus. Even Marines who have been out up to four years can claim 60 percent for putting their cammies back on. The Broken Service Selective Re-enlistment Bonus policy was announced Dec. 30 in MarAdmin 632/06, two days after the Corps did away with boatspaces.
The Corps granted 758 lateral moves last fiscal year, Hall said, but it doesn’t keep track of how many Marines requested lat-moves because they wanted to and how many requested them because they had to.
Hall said he doesn’t know how many more Marines will re-enlist now that the policies have changed, though he expects the numbers to eclipse last year’s totals.
In fiscal 2006, the Corps approved around 600 broken service re-enlistments from a pool of Marines that was one-fourth the size of the one the Corps is working with now. It also approved nearly 2,000 fewer active-duty re-enlistment requests than it received when boatspace limitations were still in effect.
Ellie
A bigger Corps means it’s easier to stay Marine, stay in your MOS
By John Hoellwarth - Staff writer
Posted : January 22, 2007
When Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Bush administration wants the Corps of the future to be 202,000 leathernecks strong, he made it a lot easier for would-be career Marines to stay green.
The plan is to lock in the Corps’ end strength at 180,000 — it’s really 175,000 with the last 5,000 paid through emergency wartime supplemental money — then add 5,000 Marines a year until end strength hits 202,000. When it’s all done, the Corps will have the highest number of Marines in its ranks since the Vietnam War.
The same week Gates made his announcement, Corps retention officials detailed the first step toward gaining end strength. And for career Marines, it’s huge.
Effective immediately, boatspaces as you know them are gone. No more being told that you can’t re-enlist in your military occupational specialty because the inn is full. If you want to re-enlist in your job field, and you’re qualified, you can. At least for now, the days of lat-moving into another job so you could stay in the Corps are over.
The Marine Corps quietly lifted its boatspace requirements across the board Dec. 28, reopening every MOS that was previously closed for re-enlistment.
The Corps now has space for every qualified Marine who wants to re-enlist, but there’s no telling how long the free-for-all will last, according to retention specialist Maj. Trevor Hall.
Congress hasn’t yet approved funding for the plus-up in end strength. But in order to meet President Bush’s goal of a bigger Corps — which dovetails with Commandant Gen. James Conway’s goal of doubling Marines’ time at home between deployments from seven to 14 months — “obviously, we need more Marines,” Hall said.
But the Corps’ ability to train, equip and pay more Marines will ultimately depend on how much money Congress approves for its budget.
While Marine officials have detailed what they plan to do on the retention side of the house, it was unclear at press time what was happening on the recruiting side.
Maj. Wes Hayes, spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command, would not comment on recruiting plans and referred queries to Marine Corps headquarters.
Hall said that on the retention end of the spectrum, abolishing boatspaces is the Corps’ way of “revving the engine” in anticipation of whatever might happen next.
Elimination of the restrictions is a “short-term measure,” he said. “If the decision is made to continue on at this size, we might have to clamp down,” he warned.
But at least for now, conditions are ideal for re-enlistment. Mandatory lateral moves are a nonissue because each MOS is authorized to retain an unlimited number of its Marines.
Re-enlistment incentives are at an all-time high, including up to $60,000 for some Marines and the use of half multiples to expand bonuses to nearly all job specialties. Retention officials have also expanded the pool of Marines eligible for bonuses to include those who have been off active duty for as long as four years.
But just because the re-enlistment door is wide open, it doesn’t mean Marines should wait to make the decision to sign up for four more. Duty station preferences are being handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.
It’s unclear how long the money for Selective Re-enlistment Bonuses will last, which is another reason to hurry. The Marine Corps was given $55 million this fiscal year to spend on SRBs, up $2 million from last year. But that’s only the baseline budget for re-enlistment incentives: The Corps has been replenishing that pot of money midway through each year with a piece of the supplemental wartime funding it gets from Congress.
By the time the Corps met its re-enlistment goal last August, it had spent just shy of $90 million on lump-sum payments to Marines who re-upped, nearly twice the $53 million it was allotted at the start of that fiscal year.
Career force planner Maj. Michael Morgan said there is no telling how much additional money will be allotted for re-enlistment bonuses midway through this year because Congress will ultimately decide how much supplemental funding the program receives.
What is clear is that the initial $55 million is not going to cut it. The Corps has approved more than 4,700 first-term re-enlistments this fiscal year, 77 percent of the 6,096 goal the Corps set for itself before boatspaces went away. And around 2,000 career Marines have signed up for a third, fourth or fifth tour so far this year, putting the Corps slightly ahead of where it was last year at this time, Hall said.
With all these contracts signed, the Corps has obligated itself to pay out around $23 million more in retention incentives than the baseline budget reflects, Morgan said.
That’s up from roughly $10 million over the baseline budget this time last year, Morgan said, adding that “as of right now, we are not denying people re-enlistment bonuses.”
Defense Department regulations require the Corps to send a message 30 days prior to shutting down re-enlistment bonuses, Morgan said, which happens every year when either the retention goal is met or the money runs out.
But in the current window of opportunity, the elimination of boatspaces means that, temporarily, there is no magic number that declares the retention mission accomplished, and uncertainty over how much supplemental funding will be approved translates into uncertainty over when to declare the cookie jar empty.
Nick of time
All is not lost for those who tried to re-enlist between Oct. 1 and Dec. 28 — back in the days of boatspaces — and were told there was no more room for them.
Cpl. Ismael Barrera submitted his re-enlistment package on time for one of the fastest-filling job fields in the Corps: admin. He was denied re-enlistment in the field at the start of the fiscal year due to boatspace restrictions and what he assumes had something to do with his request to re-enlist for three years instead of four.
“I really didn’t want to get out of the Corps because I couldn’t see myself doing anything other than being a Marine, and I didn’t want to do another job because I’d learned so much being deployed. It seemed like a waste to start doing something else,” he said. “The only thing I wanted more than to stay Marine was to stay in my field.”
Barrera resubmitted his package in December at the urging of his career retention specialist and, by the time it came under review, boatspace restrictions were no more. His package was approved, “and I re-enlisted pretty much the same day,” he said.
He didn’t rate a bonus — the 0121 field historically needs little coaxing to meet retention goals — but he did manage to score orders to the inspector-instructor staff in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where his wife has been waiting for him to make a career decision since his return from Iraq last year.
Barrera said he was excited to tell his wife that not only was he coming home, but he was also staying Marine and staying in the job field he loves.
Other options
But the Corps’ new retention policy didn’t save everyone in the nick of time. Some Marines have already accepted lateral moves as a condition of staying Marine this fiscal year, and others have decided to get out instead of learning a new specialty, though the Corps doesn’t keep numbers on reasons Marines stay or go, Hall said.
Marines who have applied for a lat-move because of boatspace restrictions can pull their package and resubmit for retention in their MOS as long as they haven’t signed a contract and raised their right hand yet. Those who have, though, are locked into their new job despite the subsequent changes in the policy that put them there.
“The thought of denying a Marine re-enlistment in their MOS because of boatspace restrictions only to find out we could have retained them is heartbreaking,” Hall said. “Nevertheless, there is always the issue of a certain line in the sand.”
And though Marines who executed lat-moves before the boatspace limitations were lifted can’t go back, Marines who decided to get out instead can.
Anyone who left active duty recently can now re-up in his MOS for the full bonus as long as he returns within 90 days of leaving.
If a Marine has been off active duty for longer than 90 days but less than a year, he can return for 80 percent of his MOS’s re-enlistment bonus. Even Marines who have been out up to four years can claim 60 percent for putting their cammies back on. The Broken Service Selective Re-enlistment Bonus policy was announced Dec. 30 in MarAdmin 632/06, two days after the Corps did away with boatspaces.
The Corps granted 758 lateral moves last fiscal year, Hall said, but it doesn’t keep track of how many Marines requested lat-moves because they wanted to and how many requested them because they had to.
Hall said he doesn’t know how many more Marines will re-enlist now that the policies have changed, though he expects the numbers to eclipse last year’s totals.
In fiscal 2006, the Corps approved around 600 broken service re-enlistments from a pool of Marines that was one-fourth the size of the one the Corps is working with now. It also approved nearly 2,000 fewer active-duty re-enlistment requests than it received when boatspace limitations were still in effect.
Ellie