By Sgt. Jennifer J. Eidson22nd Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentFORWARD OPERATION BASE DANGER, TIKRIT, Iraq --While Task Force Liberty Soldiers begin their year-long mission in Iraq, many might not be thinking about reenlisting, but with the new options available to them, some may soon reconsider. As the Army continues to fight the Global War on Terrorism, leaders are working to develop options like the new Selective Reenlistment and Location Selective Reenlistment Bonus programs to keep highly-trained and qualified Soldiers in the Army's ranks.Unlike the previous bonus incentives, the new program allows deployed National Guard Soldiers to reenlist up to a year before they are scheduled to get out of the Army, as well as qualify them to receive a tax-free bonus of up to $15,000, said Sgt. 1st Class David H. Owen, retention noncommissioned officer for Headquarters and Headquarter Company, 42nd Infantry Division."We have two options, the first option we have is $15,000 for a six-year enlistment, the second option is a three-year enlistment for $7,500 and at the end of that reenlistment if they want to reenlist there is an option for another $6,000," Owen said about the National Guard reenlistment program. "The old standard was you could only reenlist 90 days out for a bonus, or six months out if you were non-bonus eligible." Owen said he believes the program is giving Soldiers in theater who are thinking about getting out another reason to stay in the Army. "Some people who are sitting on the fence ... are now reenlisting for the money," Owen said. For Active Guard and Reserve Soldiers, who work full time for the division, this new program provides them with an incentive that the old one did not, he said."If you are deployed and you are a technician or a state AGR Soldier, which means you are full time for the state, you can reenlist for the bonus now," Owen said.Sgt. Michael Walczak, a personnel service sergeant for HHC, said he reenlisted Feb. 19, for a lump sum bonus of $15,000. Walczak is a New York Army National Guard Soldier who also works full time as a technician for the division's armory. One job prerequisite as a technician is that he serves as a National Guard Soldier, but before the new reenlistment program, Soldiers in his position were not allowed to receive a bonus. "Usually technicians in AGR are not eligible for bonuses, and this is one time when we are, so I took advantage of that opportunity," Walczak said. "I do it full-time so I would have reenlisted even if there wasn't a bonus. I have to hold my National Guard status to hold my full-time job at the armory, so I would have reenlisted any way, but it was nice to get the bonus."National Guard Soldiers are not the only ones affected by this new policy change, active duty and Reserve Soldiers can also reenlist outside of the normal 90-day window for a lump sum bonus.The program is a great opportunity for the Soldiers, who would not normally qualify for a bonus while in the United States, to receive a tax-free bonus on their current deployment, said Sgt. 1st Class Jorge Garcia, career counselor for Task Force Dragon, Camp Victory, Iraq.Garcia said not every Soldier will qualify for the $15,000 bonus. The Soldiers will be classified based on their pay grade and time in service. First-term Soldiers who have served between 17 months and six years fall into zone A and will be given 1.5 times their monthly base pay multiplied by the number of years they reenlist, whereas Soldiers who have served between six and 10 years fall into the zone B and will qualify for their base pay multiplied by the number of years they reenlist for. Owen said Soldiers interested in finding out more about their reenlistment options should contact their unit reenlistment NCO. Soldiers from 42nd ID can contact Owen or retention NCO Sgt. 1st Class Joseph J. Mitchell at DSN: 536-0203/0202, or through e-mail at david.h.owen@us.army.mil or joseph.j.mitchell@us.army.mil.(Some information in this story was gathered from an article written by Sgt. David Foley, Task Force Dragon Public Affairs Office.)
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2005 10:33 |
| Story ID: | 1216 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 18 |
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