thedrifter
03-11-09, 12:12 PM
Military Reenlistments Rise,
Posted: Mar 11, 2009 7:44 AM
Historically, during tough economic times, military reenlistments hit record numbers.
In today's economic climate, several branches of the military are seeing twice as many people reenlisting.
At the Marine Corps, retention is close to an all-time high reaching 60 percent. But this has forced the Corps to make some adjustments.
"We've gotten to the point now, because retention has been so successful that we are actually, in order for Marines to stay, they are actually being forced to change jobs," said 1st Sgt. Jason Boldenow, U.S. Marine Corps.
Boldenow says the majority of these first time reenlistments come from people with families.
"If you have a wife and a couple of children, a car payment and a house payment. You don't have a job on the outside, so to speak, back in the civilian sector, then clearly we can assume that their is a spouse in the background affecting that decision to remain," he said.
The Air Force has seen a spike in reenlistments because of new retention efforts. They have doubled reenlistment bonuses and are now offering these bonuses to more career fields.
"They are trying to keep certain career fields fully manned. And this is one way for them to make sure they have enough people," said Pam Gove, Cannon Air Force Base chief career development.
Career fields, like transportation and logistics, are among the groups that are receiving bonuses for the first time.
There is no statistical evidence in either branch that links today's slumping economy to this rise in reenlistments.
Ellie
Posted: Mar 11, 2009 7:44 AM
Historically, during tough economic times, military reenlistments hit record numbers.
In today's economic climate, several branches of the military are seeing twice as many people reenlisting.
At the Marine Corps, retention is close to an all-time high reaching 60 percent. But this has forced the Corps to make some adjustments.
"We've gotten to the point now, because retention has been so successful that we are actually, in order for Marines to stay, they are actually being forced to change jobs," said 1st Sgt. Jason Boldenow, U.S. Marine Corps.
Boldenow says the majority of these first time reenlistments come from people with families.
"If you have a wife and a couple of children, a car payment and a house payment. You don't have a job on the outside, so to speak, back in the civilian sector, then clearly we can assume that their is a spouse in the background affecting that decision to remain," he said.
The Air Force has seen a spike in reenlistments because of new retention efforts. They have doubled reenlistment bonuses and are now offering these bonuses to more career fields.
"They are trying to keep certain career fields fully manned. And this is one way for them to make sure they have enough people," said Pam Gove, Cannon Air Force Base chief career development.
Career fields, like transportation and logistics, are among the groups that are receiving bonuses for the first time.
There is no statistical evidence in either branch that links today's slumping economy to this rise in reenlistments.
Ellie