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Marines See More Green With New Reenlistment Bonus Incentive

Cpl. Warren Peace, Marine Corps News

June 22, 2007

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP FUJI -- The Marine Corps will offer reenlistment bonuses to more enlisted Marines beginning June 24, Marine Corps officials announced recently.

The bonuses range f rom $10,000 to $80,000, according to Master Sgt. David Cummiskey, the staff noncommissioned officer- in-charge of Marine Corps Base Career Retention Specialist Office.

Officials decided to amplify the spending in the Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program and Broken Reenlistment Program for fiscal year 2008 in an effort to increase the Marine Corps’ end strength from 180,000 to 202,000 by 2011, according to Marine Administrative Message 349/07 released June 7.

The new program will replace the fiscal year 2007 SRB and the $10,000 End Strength Incentive, according to the message.

The Military.com Bonus Center

Each military occupational specialty will have a specific flat-rate bonus, abandoning the current and often confusing system of multipliers, said Cummiskey, who participated in the annual Enlisted Retention Task Force Conference, where the idea was initially discussed.

“We thought an easy-to-understand flat figure would be visually more appealing than seeing a multiplier of one, two, three, four or five,” Cummiskey said.

Currently, only Marines falling in zones A, B and C receive a bonus. Zone A is a Marine with 17 months to 6 years of active military service, B is 6-10 years and C is 10-14 years.

With the new plan, the Corps created zones D and E, covering Marines with 14-18 years and 18- 20 years of active military service respectively.

The bonuses are aimed at many Marines who are attracted by job offers in the civilian sector.

“I can walk out of the Marine Corps right now and make $240,000 per year,” said Master Sgt. Michael Burghardt, an explosive ordnance technician, who would receive $80,000 if he reenlists on or after June 24. “We don’t do it for the money. But, it makes you feel like you are appreciated when they show they want to keep you around.”

A first for the Marine Corps is the additional $6,000 added to bonuses for Marines with a rank of sergeant or below who agree to remain in an operational force for an additional 12 months, according to Cummiskey.

Marines should contact their career retention specialist for more information.

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