Less than a week after the Army released its latest selective retention bonuses, the service has sweetened the deal with more money across the board.
Every soldier who is eligible for a bonus as of May 24 is having their pay tier bumped up, according to the Army's retention operations office.
For example, as of the May 10 bonus update, a regular infantry sergeant was eligible for between $2,600 and $7,800 — plus the $13,000 kicker for those with ETS dates in fiscal year 2017.
Now, that amount has been bumped up to between $3,700 and $11,200.
The Army has been making regular changes to retention bonuses all year, in an effort to keep 9,000 more soldiers than it had planned for this fiscal year.
Big bucks for extending contracts has given way to more opportunities and incentives to re-enlist, senior Army counselor Sgt. Maj. Mark Thompson told Army Times on May 9.
If you have an ETS date through the end of September, check with your career counselor about your options to extend or re-enlist, Thompson said.
Complete details on every bonus are available in the
message released Monday.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
