CommunityEditor
07-07-2009, 03:38 AM
In 2010, there will be more “less” in the Corps.
Less in terms of re-enlistment bonuses. Less money available to re-up in most specialties. Less time to make career plans and secure another tour.
A comparison of the Corps’ re-up bonus plans for 2009 and 2010 shows at least 29 specialties that had bonuses available to first-term Marines last year don’t have them in 2010. In other fields where big bonuses were the norm last year, re-up payouts are shrinking dramatically. In the infantry community, for example, a first-term 0311 rifleman could have received between $29,000 and $38,500 to re-enlist in 2009. In 2010, first-term riflemen will receive between $7,000 and $9,000.
There is hope, however — and lots of cash for the Marines the Corps needs most.
Big bonuses are available in fields ranging from unmanned aerial vehicle mechanic to fire support man, with up to $90,000 set aside for each Marine who re-enlists as an explosive ordnance disposal technician, satellite communications technician, or one of two intelligence specialists. Overall, at least 28 specialties are eligible for re-enlistment bonuses of at least $50,000, Marine officials said June 24 in Marine administrative message 378/09, which outlines the plan.
To qualify, Marines will have to move quickly, though. They’re offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, and with the Corps already having reached its 202,000 active-duty end-strength goal, there will be fewer spots available in 2010 than at any time since 2007. First-term Marines whose contracts end between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2010, and career Marines whose contracts expire between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2011, are eligible.
First, the bad news
Marines who have been paying attention know the drill: Re-enlistment virtually Corpswide will be tight in 2010, with retention boards reinstituted in fast-filling specialties for the first time in more than two years.
The Corps expects those boards, held by Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs, to sort through re-enlistment packages for specialties that receive more than enough during the July submission period to fill a military occupational specialty for the entire fiscal year. Fifty-one specialties have been designated the most likely to need fast-filling retention boards. They include some of the largest communities in the Corps, such as motor transport and personnel and administration, which comprise more than 20,000 Marines.
Additionally, the Corps will shrink the size and number of re-enlistment “kickers” in 2010. In 2009, sergeants and below could receive an additional $25,000 for agreeing to remain in the operating forces for two more years beyond the date they were scheduled to rotate to a new command. This year, kickers will again be available, but they’ll worth $15,000 and restricted to noncommissioned officers with combat experience.
Kickers in 2010 also will be issued with more demanded in return. The cash will be split among only 800 NCOs who choose one of three distinct paths: the Infantry Battalion NCO Initiative, the Marine Corps Special Forces Operations Command Operator Initiative and the Overseas Reconnaissance Initiative.
Marines seeking the kicker through the traditional grunt tour must agree to re-up for at least four years, serving in the same active-duty battalion for at least two years. The MarSOC kicker is available to Marines who not only sign on for four more years, but who agree to a five-year “critical skills operator tour” with the Corps’ special operations command and successfully complete training. Marines who wash out will be reassigned to a standard battalion, with the Corps keeping the cash, officials said.
The reconnaissance kicker was made available to encourage first-term recon NCOs to re-enlist and serve with one of III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Okinawa, Japan-based recon units, manpower officials said. It is available to Marines who re-enlist for four years and agree to serve at least two of them based out of Japan.
Now, the good news
The 2010 re-enlistment picture isn’t all bad news. Although fewer Marines are needed now, the Corps has opened 13 more MOSs to lateral moves than it did in 2009, with bonuses tied to all of them, manpower officials said.
Additionally, all of the fields that offer the largest re-enlistment bonuses, such as explosives ordnance disposal and intelligence, are lat-move eligible, opening options for Marines looking for cash.
But there are a few catches: To receive a bonus while taking a lateral move, Marines must complete training for their new specialty and be awarded the MOS. Anyone who does not will be reassigned according to the Corps’ needs, with the reassigned receiving no re-up bonus, even if their new field was authorized to receive one. Marines who fail to complete lateral-move MOS training also must re-compete for available boat spaces — the empty slots in a given MOS — meaning there may not be a home for them in the Corps at all.
First-term grunts also are authorized to re-enlist in an infantry specialty other than their own and are eligible to receive bonuses associated with their new field. For example, a 0311 rifleman sergeant could opt to become a light-armored vehicle crewman or an anti-tank missileman, taking the $22,500 bonuses set aside for those specialties rather than the $9,000 bonus he would have received had he re-upped as a 0311 grunt.
First-termers and Marines who have re-enlisted once previously in the financial management (34XX), legal services (44XX) and music (55XX) communities are also eligible to re-up in any of those three communities, taking lateral-move bonuses in the process. That means a lance corporal legal services specialist could opt to become finance technician, becoming eligible for a $10,500 bonus rather than taking the $3,500 for which he would have been eligible.
The Corps also has opened options to entice a variety of aviation mechanics and technicians to re-enlist to work on the MV-22 Osprey and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. For example, a sergeant CH-46 helicopter crew chief could go from receiving no re-enlistment bonus in his MOS to a $67,500 bonus by deciding to re-up and lead an Osprey crew.
Marines who already hold a secondary military occupational specialty as a military interpreter or translator may also re-up regardless of their primary MOS and receive $50,000 to $63,000, based on their rank.
To be eligible, an individual must score at least a “2/2” on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale, meaning they have “limited working proficiency” in two of its three categories: reading, speaking and listening. Sixteen languages with strong ties to the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan — think Arabic, Somali and Pashtu — are eligible for the bonus, with the money coming from boat spaces set aside for Middle East cryptologic linguists.
Against this backdrop, the Corps made another announcement June 24: No prior service Marines will be allowed to re-enlist until Jan. 10, and bonuses for “broken service” Marines will be suspended throughout fiscal 2010.
The decision allows the Corps to maintain as many current Marines as possible, when leaving former Marines looking to re-enlist waiting until a point in the year where options are limited. Marine officials say they reserve the right to reinstitute bonuses for broken service Marines if the needs of the Corps dictate it, but the prospects don’t look good.
Big moneymakers
First-term Marines in these fields stand to receive the biggest re-enlistment bonuses in 2010, according to Marine administrative message 378/09:
The top 5
0211: Counterintelligence/human intelligence specialist — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
0261: Geographic intelligence specialist — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
2336: Explosive ordnance disposal technician — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
2834: Satellite communications technician — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
0861: Fire support man— Bonuses from $61,000 to $76,500
The next tier
6176: Tiltrotor crew chief, MV-22 — Bonuses from $53,500 to $67,500
6214: Unmanned aerial vehicle mechanic — Bonuses from $53,500 to $67,500
6314: UAV avionics technician — Bonuses from $53,500 to $67,500
0231: Intelligence specialist — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
0241: Imagery analysis specialist — Bonuses from $57,500 to $63,000 (corporals and up)
0321: Reconnaissance man — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
2671: Middle East cryptologic linguist — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
2673: Asia-Pacific cryptologic linguist — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
5939: Aviation communication systems technician — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/07/marine_bonuses_070609w/
Less in terms of re-enlistment bonuses. Less money available to re-up in most specialties. Less time to make career plans and secure another tour.
A comparison of the Corps’ re-up bonus plans for 2009 and 2010 shows at least 29 specialties that had bonuses available to first-term Marines last year don’t have them in 2010. In other fields where big bonuses were the norm last year, re-up payouts are shrinking dramatically. In the infantry community, for example, a first-term 0311 rifleman could have received between $29,000 and $38,500 to re-enlist in 2009. In 2010, first-term riflemen will receive between $7,000 and $9,000.
There is hope, however — and lots of cash for the Marines the Corps needs most.
Big bonuses are available in fields ranging from unmanned aerial vehicle mechanic to fire support man, with up to $90,000 set aside for each Marine who re-enlists as an explosive ordnance disposal technician, satellite communications technician, or one of two intelligence specialists. Overall, at least 28 specialties are eligible for re-enlistment bonuses of at least $50,000, Marine officials said June 24 in Marine administrative message 378/09, which outlines the plan.
To qualify, Marines will have to move quickly, though. They’re offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, and with the Corps already having reached its 202,000 active-duty end-strength goal, there will be fewer spots available in 2010 than at any time since 2007. First-term Marines whose contracts end between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2010, and career Marines whose contracts expire between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2011, are eligible.
First, the bad news
Marines who have been paying attention know the drill: Re-enlistment virtually Corpswide will be tight in 2010, with retention boards reinstituted in fast-filling specialties for the first time in more than two years.
The Corps expects those boards, held by Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs, to sort through re-enlistment packages for specialties that receive more than enough during the July submission period to fill a military occupational specialty for the entire fiscal year. Fifty-one specialties have been designated the most likely to need fast-filling retention boards. They include some of the largest communities in the Corps, such as motor transport and personnel and administration, which comprise more than 20,000 Marines.
Additionally, the Corps will shrink the size and number of re-enlistment “kickers” in 2010. In 2009, sergeants and below could receive an additional $25,000 for agreeing to remain in the operating forces for two more years beyond the date they were scheduled to rotate to a new command. This year, kickers will again be available, but they’ll worth $15,000 and restricted to noncommissioned officers with combat experience.
Kickers in 2010 also will be issued with more demanded in return. The cash will be split among only 800 NCOs who choose one of three distinct paths: the Infantry Battalion NCO Initiative, the Marine Corps Special Forces Operations Command Operator Initiative and the Overseas Reconnaissance Initiative.
Marines seeking the kicker through the traditional grunt tour must agree to re-up for at least four years, serving in the same active-duty battalion for at least two years. The MarSOC kicker is available to Marines who not only sign on for four more years, but who agree to a five-year “critical skills operator tour” with the Corps’ special operations command and successfully complete training. Marines who wash out will be reassigned to a standard battalion, with the Corps keeping the cash, officials said.
The reconnaissance kicker was made available to encourage first-term recon NCOs to re-enlist and serve with one of III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Okinawa, Japan-based recon units, manpower officials said. It is available to Marines who re-enlist for four years and agree to serve at least two of them based out of Japan.
Now, the good news
The 2010 re-enlistment picture isn’t all bad news. Although fewer Marines are needed now, the Corps has opened 13 more MOSs to lateral moves than it did in 2009, with bonuses tied to all of them, manpower officials said.
Additionally, all of the fields that offer the largest re-enlistment bonuses, such as explosives ordnance disposal and intelligence, are lat-move eligible, opening options for Marines looking for cash.
But there are a few catches: To receive a bonus while taking a lateral move, Marines must complete training for their new specialty and be awarded the MOS. Anyone who does not will be reassigned according to the Corps’ needs, with the reassigned receiving no re-up bonus, even if their new field was authorized to receive one. Marines who fail to complete lateral-move MOS training also must re-compete for available boat spaces — the empty slots in a given MOS — meaning there may not be a home for them in the Corps at all.
First-term grunts also are authorized to re-enlist in an infantry specialty other than their own and are eligible to receive bonuses associated with their new field. For example, a 0311 rifleman sergeant could opt to become a light-armored vehicle crewman or an anti-tank missileman, taking the $22,500 bonuses set aside for those specialties rather than the $9,000 bonus he would have received had he re-upped as a 0311 grunt.
First-termers and Marines who have re-enlisted once previously in the financial management (34XX), legal services (44XX) and music (55XX) communities are also eligible to re-up in any of those three communities, taking lateral-move bonuses in the process. That means a lance corporal legal services specialist could opt to become finance technician, becoming eligible for a $10,500 bonus rather than taking the $3,500 for which he would have been eligible.
The Corps also has opened options to entice a variety of aviation mechanics and technicians to re-enlist to work on the MV-22 Osprey and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. For example, a sergeant CH-46 helicopter crew chief could go from receiving no re-enlistment bonus in his MOS to a $67,500 bonus by deciding to re-up and lead an Osprey crew.
Marines who already hold a secondary military occupational specialty as a military interpreter or translator may also re-up regardless of their primary MOS and receive $50,000 to $63,000, based on their rank.
To be eligible, an individual must score at least a “2/2” on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale, meaning they have “limited working proficiency” in two of its three categories: reading, speaking and listening. Sixteen languages with strong ties to the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan — think Arabic, Somali and Pashtu — are eligible for the bonus, with the money coming from boat spaces set aside for Middle East cryptologic linguists.
Against this backdrop, the Corps made another announcement June 24: No prior service Marines will be allowed to re-enlist until Jan. 10, and bonuses for “broken service” Marines will be suspended throughout fiscal 2010.
The decision allows the Corps to maintain as many current Marines as possible, when leaving former Marines looking to re-enlist waiting until a point in the year where options are limited. Marine officials say they reserve the right to reinstitute bonuses for broken service Marines if the needs of the Corps dictate it, but the prospects don’t look good.
Big moneymakers
First-term Marines in these fields stand to receive the biggest re-enlistment bonuses in 2010, according to Marine administrative message 378/09:
The top 5
0211: Counterintelligence/human intelligence specialist — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
0261: Geographic intelligence specialist — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
2336: Explosive ordnance disposal technician — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
2834: Satellite communications technician — Bonuses from $71,500 to $90,000
0861: Fire support man— Bonuses from $61,000 to $76,500
The next tier
6176: Tiltrotor crew chief, MV-22 — Bonuses from $53,500 to $67,500
6214: Unmanned aerial vehicle mechanic — Bonuses from $53,500 to $67,500
6314: UAV avionics technician — Bonuses from $53,500 to $67,500
0231: Intelligence specialist — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
0241: Imagery analysis specialist — Bonuses from $57,500 to $63,000 (corporals and up)
0321: Reconnaissance man — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
2671: Middle East cryptologic linguist — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
2673: Asia-Pacific cryptologic linguist — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
5939: Aviation communication systems technician — Bonuses from $50,000 to $63,000
Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/07/marine_bonuses_070609w/