Make your move now: Strike while list is hot - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Make your move now: Strike while list is hot

FORT KNOX, Ky. — The Army has published a list of hot jobs in combat and combat support specialties, including military intelligence, signal, fires, ordnance, public affairs and special operations military occupational specialties.

Changing jobs can benefit soldiers in several ways. The hot list brings bonuses for re-enlistment and retraining — ranging from $1,300 to $40,000.

Moving to an understrength MOS will likely bring faster promotions.

The downside is that changing jobs is likely to lead to a permanent change of station.

What’s more, the Army has stopped growing, and billets are sure to tighten up as more people stay in the Army to avoid a stagnant civilian job market.

The message: Act fast because these opportunities won’t last forever.

“Soldiers who want to change jobs can work with career counselors at the battalion and brigade level, but they also can conduct their own research,” said Sgt. Maj. Arleen Horne of HRC’s enlisted retention and reclassification branch.

Some MOSs are so short-handed, or have such priority, that the Army will allow soldiers in some balanced, and even understrength, specialties to apply for a job change. The list of understrength and overstrength jobs — the in and out calls — was updated Dec. 1.

The Dec. 1 list shows that Ranger-qualified soldiers in the ranks of staff sergeant and below may request reclassification into the 11B (infantryman) specialty without regard to the strength of their current MOS.

That’s also true for soldiers who wish to join Special Forces, become divers, prime power production specialists, CID special agents, counterintelligence agents, psychological operations specialists, civil affairs specialists, recruiters or explosive ordnance disposal specialists.

Horne said soldiers who are interested in reclassifying should look a level above their current rank.

“For example, a promotable specialist should look at the calls for sergeant,” she said.

Soldiers also should look at promotion prospects when considering reclassification.

“Specialists and sergeants can do that by looking at the monthly cutoff scores for sergeant and staff sergeant,” she said.

While promotions and career prospects should be a major consideration for soldiers contemplating a job change, other factors also should be considered.

Horne said newly reclassified soldiers frequently are reassigned, and soldiers should be aware of where assignment priorities are for the new MOS.

“Soldiers can request a specific assignment location when they reclassify, but approval will be based on Army requirements and readiness considerations,” Horne said.

For a much-expanded list of priority specialties, soldiers contemplating a job change also should check out the new Selective Re-enlistment Bonus rates that were released in early December.

Soldiers also should check out reclassification “in/out” calls that were updated on Dec. 1, according to service personnel officials.

The “in/out” calls reflect a specialty’s strength status, either understrength, overstrength or balanced, and show by grade which MOSs are open and closed to reclassification. The calls drive re-enlistment options as well as reclassifications.

When soldiers look at an MOS for possible transfer, they should ask themselves two questions: Is the specialty open to reclassification, and is there training available.

Most soldiers who reclassify must attend training in their new MOS, typically the advanced individual training course for that specialty.

Soldiers also should review the latest Selective Re-enlistment Bonus announcements to determine what specialties are eligible for a lump-sum bonus.

Under Army policy, not everyone qualifies for a job transfer. Soldiers who are within the eligibility window for re-enlistment only can change their MOS through re-enlistment. They are not eligible to request a voluntary reclassification.

The re-enlistment window for fiscal 2011 is limited to soldiers whose enlistments expire on Sept. 30, 2012, or earlier.

The SRB program was updated Dec. 3, and new rates are in effect for the regular “tiered” bonus program and the Bonus Extension and Retraining program.

Under BEAR, soldiers retrain, reclassify and receive a bonus for their new MOS.

Payment rates in tiered and BEAR programs range from $1,300 to $40,000, depending on length of service extension, and the new specialty’s priority.

For example, a sergeant in a Tier 1 specialty who re-enlists for five years will receive a bonus of $3,900, while a Tier 10 sergeant will receive $35,600 for a five-year re-enlistment.

After soldiers have researched a possible MOS change, they should contact their local retention NCO or career counselor.

These retention officials have access to the RETAIN system, which can be used to identify priority MOSs, application criteria and available training seats.

Career counselors have that capability wherever they are in the world.

They do not need to contact the Human Resources Command to research reclassification opportunities, according to personnel officials.