The U.S. Army is struggling to lure soldiers into certain critical jobs amid the pandemic continues. For the first time, the Army is offering a maximum enlistment bonus of $50,000 to highly skilled recruits who sign up for six years.
The annual recruiting goal fluctuates as currently serving soldiers decide whether to reenlist or leave. In the last two years, as the pandemic raged, many decided to stay in, lessening the pressure on recruiting to help keep the Army at its full strength of 485,000. Last year’s recruiting goal was 57,500, and Vereen said it will be about the same this year.
Sgt. 1st Class Mary James has been working as a recruiter in Ohio since November 2020, and she said the early months — when COVID-19 was surging and there were no vaccines — were challenging. It’s gotten better, and she said the higher bonuses will help her.“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.
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.
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