COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Personnel Crunch
Army "Quick-Ship" Bonus: Alternative to a Dead-End Job
Ian Gurvitz, The Huffington Post
August 27, 2007
In an effort to bolster military ranks in time of war, the army has
instituted a new $20,000 "quick-ship" bonus to get recruits to
enlist and ship out immediately. In just three weeks the army had
enlisted 3,814 recruits using the bonus. James Hosek, a defense
manpower expert at the Rand Corp., said that though the quick-ship
bonus is a "very smart move" by the Army, it could attract people
who are less motivated to be in the service.
As with all contracts, it is advisable to consult an attorney before
signing, however in the interest of clarity, the fine points are
paraphrased as follows:
A) While termed "quick-ship, " it is not quick pay. The enlistee will
received $10,000 upon completing basic training and advanced
individual training, with the remaining $10,000 paid out in even
annual sums over the course of their initial active duty enlistment,
based on the formula of one year=12 months. (Note: the term of
service is extendable solely at the discretion of the army as it
deems necessary.)
B) The remaining portion is reducible if the enlistee does not
complete service. If said enlistee is killed in action, the
remainder of the bonus is reduced by the number of months unserved,
as the enlistee did not complete the contracted portion of service,
as a result of death.
C) If enlistee is injured: the 10K is reduced per a formula based
on "body part lost" (hereafter designated "BPL") and terms of
service (hereafter designated "TOS"). The BPL formula breaks down as
follows: the enlistee is designated as essentially a human body
comprised of five major working parts: two arms, two legs, and one
head. If an arm or leg is lost, diminishing enlistee by 1/5,
enlistee will forfeit 20 percent of the outstanding bonus,
collecting only 80 percent, further reduced by the amount of TOS
unserved, based on the aforementioned BPL. Two BPL: 60 percent,
three BPL 40 percent, etc... However, in the eventuality of BPL, the
army will provide the appropriate prosthesis (prostheses) , thus
returning the enlistee in essentially the identical working
condition as received.
D) Fingers and toes will be considered minor body parts (MBP), and
designated as 1/10th of the above-mentioned 1/5th BP, however their
loss would not necessarily render the enlistee incapable of resuming
service. It would be at enlistee's discretion to continue service,
therefore collecting the remaining portion of the bonus (less the
per-digit percentage MBPL). If, however, enlistee decides not to
continue service, the remaining portion will be reduced by the
aforementioned formulae.
E) Further MBP designations include loss of eye (1/2 of a major
working part; see also "ear," "nostril," and "testicle"), therefore
the enlistee will only forfeit 10 percent of the outstanding bonus.
However, if both eyes are lost (hereafter designated
as "blindness") , or both ears are lost (hereafter designated
as "deafness") the entire remaining portion will be forfeited as
that will render the enlistee incapable of completing the contracted
service. Should both testicles be lost, the remaining portion will
be passed on to enlistee's children.
F) If, however, the head is lost, the entire remaining portion of
the bonus will be forfeited, as enlistee will no longer be fit to
complete the contracted portion of service.
G) The money is taxable.
Hosek added: "There's a risk of bringing people in with lesser
attachment or commitment to the Army, adding money will, for some
people, sweeten the deal enough to persuade them to enter."
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