An updated menu of Selective Retention Bonuses and reclassification opportunities, as defined in "in/out" calls, becomes available May 20, replacing bonus and job-switch data released earlier this year.
[Scroll to the bottom for complete charts]
Bonuses are paid lump-sum, and range from $500 to $72,000 for most soldiers, depending on rank, military occupational specialty and length of re-enlistment.
Special Forces sergeants first class in Career Management field 18 who will have six to 10 years of service on the day of re-enlistment in the Zone B category for their MOS can qualify for an additional $10,000, for a bonus total of not more than $90,000.
Under federal law and Army policy, soldiers can receive more than one SRB during their career, but the combined payments cannot exceed $200,000.
The current re-enlistment window of opportunity includes Regular Army soldiers whose expiration term of service, or ETS, occurs in fiscal 2015 and 2016.
A soldier's individual re-enlistment window opens 12 months from their ETS, and continues through 90 days before their ETS.
The new SRB rates are complemented by an update to the in/out calls program, which is a career planning tool soldiers can use to determine which military occupational specialties are open or closed to reclassification.
Soldiers who are in the re-enlistment window only are allowed to change their primary MOS through re-enlistment.They are not eligible to request a voluntary reclassification.
A change in law two years ago allows the Army to pay a Selective Retention Bonus to soldiers who reclassify in conjunction with re-enlistment.
As a result, the Army has eliminated the Bonus Extension and Retraining, or BEAR program.
To qualify for an SRB, soldiers must meet the rank and specialty requirements identified in the payment chart. Additionally they must have at least 17 months of continuous active duty, but no more than 14 years of active federal service.
Re-up minded soldiers with questions about bonuses and reclassification opportunities should contact their local career counselor, who has access to an automated retention management system called RETAIN.
