The U.S. Army announced Aug. 27 that effective Sept. 9 soldiers willing to reenlist in the Army’s “most in-demand” careers can receive up to $81,000 in lump-sum bonuses.
The bonuses, which are targeted at critically needed fields such as cyber, intelligence, and Special Forces, are “based on critical skills and selective retention.”
Sgt. Maj. Mark Thompson, the senior Army career counselor, explained that “reenlistment bonuses are reviewed continuously, and encourage long-term retention of Soldiers going into or staying in critical skills.”
The Army said that its various initiatives to improve retention rates have been successful and that the service branch is experiencing “historically high retention rates,” with 82 percent of eligible soldiers reenlisting in FY2019.
However, there are still fields where manpower is lacking, which is the driving force behind the latest reenlistment bonus.
“Investing in soldiers with critical skills – such as cyber, intelligence, Special Forces, etc. – helps meet the retention needed to strengthen the Army’s ability to size, shape, and stabilize its force,” Thompson said.
The payouts are categorized into tiers, from one to 10, with the latter – which includes cyber – receiving the largest bonuses.
