Calling all first-term 11Bs: If you're in your window to re-up, you have two weeks to make a decision before your $2,000-plus bonus vanishes.

The Army is tweaking its selective retention bonuses for the third time this year as it works to retain 9,000 more soldiers than planned, officials told Army Times on Tuesday.

The new bonus scheme takes effect on May 24, giving soldiers exactly two weeks to take advantage of the current plan — or two weeks to wait until their job becomes eligible.

"One of the big things with this is we've got 22 MOSs that are coming off the bonus message, for force-shaping," said senior Army counselor Sgt. Maj. Mark Thompson.

To balance that, 35 other military occupational specialties were added. The biggest hit, in terms of number of soldiers, comes to the infantry, or 11B, Thompson said. 

Soldiers should check in with their career counselors to see all their options, he added.

Earlier this year, E-1 through E-4 infantrymen without any additional skills or qualifications were eligible for between $2,100 and $6,500, depending on their re-enlistment term.

Now, the Army is shifting incentives to higher ranking 11Bs, dropping the skill level 1 bonus and shifting it to a smaller bonus for sergeants first class.

There are caveats, however. Infantrymen with certain special skills, as well as those serving in airborne or Ranger units, are still eligible for bonuses at multiple ranks.

And, Thompson added, any soldier with a fiscal year 2017 separation date who signs up for Airborne School or Ranger selection, completes it and get assigned to one of those units, will be eligible for the re-enlistment bonus offered in their new assignment.

"We need more airborne-qualified soldiers to go to airborne positions in Special Operations Command and the Ranger regiment," Thompson said. "But it really does depend on their grade."

The changes are part of the Army's evolving strategy to get its active duty end strength up to 476,000 by the end of September — that's 16,000 more than what was planned for this year before then-President Obama signed the latest National Defense Authorization Act on Christmas Eve.

To meet its end strength goal, the Army split the difference to retain 9,000 enlisted and 1,000 officers while recruiting 6,000 more new soldiers.

This year kicked off with huge bonuses to extend contracts, but, as time went on, the focus shifted to re-enlistments.

Currently, the plan is a "little off-glide," said Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey. The total mission is at 71 percent, which is lower than what officials had hoped for, with about three and a half months to go, Thompson added.

Bonus shake-up

Dozens of specialties are affected by the change going into effect in two weeks.

For instance, E-5 firefighters are no longer eligible for a bonus, and neither are E-7 information technology specialists with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

On the other hand, junior enlisted multiple launch rocket system crewman have jumped from no bonus to as much as $7,000.

Also within the changes, laid out in a Wednesday MILPER message, are new bonus amounts for those still able to take advantage of one.

Though money levels have changed, there is another possible perk: Up to three extra years at your current duty station.

"And that’s a result of asking through the chain of command," Dailey said. "We actually asked. We said, 'What is it that would keep you on the team?' And they said, ‘Well, if I got to stay where I am.’"

Soldiers are eligible for up to 18 months of stabilization with a three-year re-enlistment, adding another year for every six months on the contract, up to six years and 36 months.

In the short term, that might mess with manning levels at each installation, Dailey said, but Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has signed off on the plan.

"We’ll retain a couple more soldiers at an installation, but as long as we meet the Army’s inventory, that’s more important for us right now," Dailey said.

Elsewhere, soldiers with an FY17 ETS date can still get a $5,000 bonus if they extend their contracts for a year, or $7,500 for two years.

The $13,000 kicker for SRB-eligible re-enlistments is also still in place.

For more details, read the full MILPER message

here

.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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