Did you get a bonus for enlistment, reenlistment, commissioning and did that bonus actually change your decision to join/stay?

2015-11-22T09:32:14-05:00

Yesterday we discussed the SMA's comment that non-deployable Soldiers are our #1 problem in the Army. I'd like to believe part of the problem is the quality of enlistments we bring in. Maybe our enlistment / reenlistment incentives should be tied to having high quality marks (high AQFT, PT scores...deployable).

So the discussion here is, did you get a bonus (or some incentive like Student Loan Repayment)? Did the bonus actually change your behavior or was it icing on the cake? How does a bonus stack up to a benefit you already get like the G.I. Bill or Tricare (Tricare Reserve Select)? What amount of cash actually changes your decision (10K for 3 years of service?)?

If you could write a bonus to target the kind of Soldier you wanted in your ranks what would it look like?

All of that is shaping questions, really I just want to get the community's thoughts on incentives in general.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Nov 22 at 2015 9:33 AM

2015-11-22T09:33:49-05:00

I did get a bonus when I reenlisted. I was single at the time but once I got married and we had kids even the bonus was not enough to compensate me.

Response by PO1 Cameron Rhyne made Nov 24 at 2015 1:50 AM

2015-11-24T01:50:29-05:00

Got a Bonus when I enlisted, got a much bigger bonus when I re-uped and turned down a similarity large re-enlistment bonus when I got out this year. For the field I was in(Navy Nuclear Power), it is/was one of the few reasons the Navy even has enough operators to keep our subs/carriers operational, and we're still badly undermanned.

The problem being that we got so little time off/crappy work-life balance that even the money offered wasn't enough to make us want to stay in. The ones who do stay in are either the ones who really can't afford to be out of work for any length of time(and presumably have no savings) or really love the Navy(or the Nuclear Navy).

I personally still have all my bonus money and then some from when I re-enlisted 7 years ago, because I never really had time to spend it(and by the time I did, I knew I was gonna EOS), which is now being invested into a down payment for a house and saving for retirement.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 26 at 2015 6:12 PM

2015-11-26T18:12:08-05:00

I got a bonus when I commissioned but it didn't affect my choice either way and it was pulling teeth to get it.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2022 10:23 AM

2022-10-13T10:23:28-04:00

I re-enlisted for a 25k bonus, it was never paid, I tell everyone. If you want better soldiers, you also have to be better. The California National guard,, even at the very top, likes to screw over soldiers, its not even a military organization anymore, it's a corrupt bearucracy, and likewise it attracts corrupt people to join its ranks. My advice, include accountability in the bonus addendum with a payment deadline expiring the contract. Example: 25k bonus for a six year enlistment, to be paid in the next 180 days, if payment is not recieved, then the soldier is no longer required to stay in. That's what would've kept me in. Also, streamline the enlistment process, the hard chargers you want are not the kind of people who like massive stacks of paperwork, your are driving off your best candidates with all the paperwork. Also, benefits such as gi bill and tricare need to be more accessible, I'm still waiting on my back injury claim. The public knows all this, and that's why you aren't getting the best recruits.