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Hefty bonuses offered to attract new lieutenants
By Bryan Mitchell
bmitchell@militar ytimes.com
College grads who join the active-duty Corps or the Reserve after Oct. 1 will be eligible for bigger, broader recruiting bonuses, officials announced in September.
Active-duty second lieutenants entering the service during fiscal 2009 can receive a $4,000 pay ment, while new lieutenants who join the Selected Marine Corps Reserve can now participate in a college-loan payback program worth up to $30,000.
Both offers are part of the Corps’ continued effort to grow the force to 202,000 active-duty Marines by the end of fiscal 2011, a figure officials are on pace to reach at least two years and possibly three years ahead of schedule. Marine Corps Recruiting Command has increased its budget for signing bonuses from $10 million to $82 million since 2004.
The Corps’ new plan offers more options than the Army is currently providing. Recent college grads joining the Army are eligible only for a loan repayment plan.
Many Army captains have the option of attending graduate school on Uncle Sam’s dime — instead of taking a retention bonus that runs up to $35,000 — but loan-repayment options are not as popular, as most lieutenants are commissioned through funded undergraduate programs. Moreover, West Point cadets and Reserve Officer Training Corps students can sign up for a program that lets them attend grad school for free after they complete developmental assignments.
To receive the $4,000 sign-on bonus, Marines must complete Officer Candidate School between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, according to Marine administrative message 518/08. New officers who take the bonus must tack on an additional six months to their initial service obligation.
For Reserve officers with college loans, the Corps will repay 15 percent or $500 — whichever is greater — for each year of completed service, according to MarAdmin 517/08. That equates to a maximum annual payment of $4,500.
The active-duty loan repayment plan differs from the Reserve offer. It pays the service member a maximum of $30,000 in three annual installments, but it has no annual cap.
That means a lieutenant who owes $90,000 could be repaid $30,000 in the first year of service, while another who owes $30,000 would receive $10,000 per year for three years. Ë
A Marine second lieutenant communicates with his troops during a patrol in Ramadi. The Corps is offering bigger bonuses to lure new officers.
By Bryan Mitchell
bmitchell@militar ytimes.com
College grads who join the active-duty Corps or the Reserve after Oct. 1 will be eligible for bigger, broader recruiting bonuses, officials announced in September.
Active-duty second lieutenants entering the service during fiscal 2009 can receive a $4,000 pay ment, while new lieutenants who join the Selected Marine Corps Reserve can now participate in a college-loan payback program worth up to $30,000.
Both offers are part of the Corps’ continued effort to grow the force to 202,000 active-duty Marines by the end of fiscal 2011, a figure officials are on pace to reach at least two years and possibly three years ahead of schedule. Marine Corps Recruiting Command has increased its budget for signing bonuses from $10 million to $82 million since 2004.
The Corps’ new plan offers more options than the Army is currently providing. Recent college grads joining the Army are eligible only for a loan repayment plan.
Many Army captains have the option of attending graduate school on Uncle Sam’s dime — instead of taking a retention bonus that runs up to $35,000 — but loan-repayment options are not as popular, as most lieutenants are commissioned through funded undergraduate programs. Moreover, West Point cadets and Reserve Officer Training Corps students can sign up for a program that lets them attend grad school for free after they complete developmental assignments.
To receive the $4,000 sign-on bonus, Marines must complete Officer Candidate School between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, according to Marine administrative message 518/08. New officers who take the bonus must tack on an additional six months to their initial service obligation.
For Reserve officers with college loans, the Corps will repay 15 percent or $500 — whichever is greater — for each year of completed service, according to MarAdmin 517/08. That equates to a maximum annual payment of $4,500.
The active-duty loan repayment plan differs from the Reserve offer. It pays the service member a maximum of $30,000 in three annual installments, but it has no annual cap.
That means a lieutenant who owes $90,000 could be repaid $30,000 in the first year of service, while another who owes $30,000 would receive $10,000 per year for three years. Ë
A Marine second lieutenant communicates with his troops during a patrol in Ramadi. The Corps is offering bigger bonuses to lure new officers.
49 EDT
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