Changes coming to retention bonus program - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Changes coming to retention bonus program

Four specialties will be removed from the Critical Skills Retention Bonus program March 13, leaving only a dozen high-priority MOS that qualify career soldiers for service extension incentives of $18,000 to $150,000.

Changes to the Critical Skills Retention Bonus program that take effect Friday will update eligibility criteria that has been in effect since December.

Soldiers affected by the cuts have until March 13 to re-enlist for the higher rates.

Specialties being dropped from the program are 35F intelligence analyst, 35M human intelligence collector, 79R recruiter and 88M motor transport specialist.

The newly revised program will include nine special operations MOSes, and one specialty each in the military intelligence, signal and ordnance career management fields.

Reductions to the program come in the wake of similar cuts to the Enhanced Selective Re-enlistment Bonus program and the Bonus Extension and Retraining, or BEAR, program.

Despite the reductions, the Army’s 2009 retention campaign is running in high gear, with commanders and unit career counselors re-enlisting nearly 36,000 soldiers during the first four months of the fiscal year. The annual goal is 65,500.

The CSRB program has the biggest bonuses of the three incentive programs, and primarily is targeted at senior NCOs who are at or near retirement eligibility.

Soldiers who meet the specialty and service requirements of the March 13 CSRB chart qualify for a bonus if they meet the criteria of Army Regulation 601-280 (Army Re-enlistment Program) without regard to their retention control point.

Additionally, soldiers must have fewer than 23 years of active federal service as of the approval date of the request.

Army policy restricts soldiers to no more than $200,000 in total bonus payments under the CSRB and Selective Re-enlistment Bonus programs during a career.

Soldiers who want to apply for the program should contact their local career counselor.

Applications must be approved by a soldier’s commander (lieutenant colonel or higher), and the Human Resources Command.