Army increases bonuses for recruits to a maximum of $50K as COVID takes toll

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army, for the first time, is offering a maximum enlistment bonus of $50,000 to highly skilled recruits who join for six years, The Associated Press has learned, as the service struggles to lure soldiers into certain critical jobs amid the continuing pandemic.

Two years of the pandemic has made it more difficult to recruit in schools and at public events, and the competition for quality workers has intensified as young people weigh their options. To entice recruits, those who sign up for a six-year enlistment in one of several high-demand career fields can get bonuses that total as much as $50,000. Given the high standards, it will be difficult for many to qualify for the top bonus.

“Money isn’t always the first thing that they talk about, but it does come into play,” said James, who’s been in the Army for 15 years. “It will be exciting to see what the return is on that. You know, I think it does put us in one of the top tier levels of competitive businesses.” According to Vereen, the total amount of bonuses available hasn’t been set. But the money has decreased every year since a peak of more than $485 million in 2018, after the Army failed to meet its annual recruiting goal. In the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30, the Army spent more than $233 million on bonuses, with about 16,500 recruits getting an average enlistment bonus of more than $14,000.

James said her goal is to get 20 qualified candidates a week to take initial enlistment steps, and last week she made 75% of that. She had more success around the holidays, but it’s more difficult now.

Lots of STEM recruitment lost out on during the pandemic. The NSCAI has clear goals via the Digital Service Academy and National Reserve Digital Corps. The army no longer needs as many unskilled humans as automation picks up. Take a peek at the NSCAI. ;)

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