Photo By Sgt. Scott Wolfe | Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sadler shows off one of the hats Soldiers can receive for...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Scott Wolfe
Multi-National Division – Baghdad
Most Soldiers wait until a new reenlistment bonus policy comes out to see if there are any changes to the monetary amounts and bonus qualifications before deciding whether it is time to make the jump and re-up.
The newest reenlistment policy arrived, Oct. 1, 2008, and many 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers were perhaps waiting to see if the money went up or down. Bonus amounts stayed the same, but a few more critical-skills military occupational specialties were added to the Selective Reenlistment Bonus Policy.
"The SRB program is a retention incentive paid to Soldiers in a military skill designated as critical skills," said Sgt. Maj. Don Salinas, non-commissioned officer in charge of the retention team, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.
It is a tool to help Soldiers with their decisions to stay in the Army, and is designed specifically to help fill the slots that are deemed critical and undermanned.
The objective of the program is to increase the number of reenlistments in critical MOS's that do not have adequate retention levels to man the current force, said Salinas.
Last year, the division's Retention Team met its mission. In fact, the team exceeded the goal by 300 Soldiers and more than $27.5 million was paid to Soldiers in incentives. Not even a month into this fiscal year, the division retention team has already helped Soldiers claim more than $3 million in reenlistment incentives.
But money isn't the only incentive available to a Soldier wanting to stay in the Army and the Ironhorse Division.
Come of the educational benefits Soldiers can be qualified for are based on the particular incentives being offered at specific installations. Salinas said 4th Inf. Div. Soldiers will not lose any of their education incentives regardless of whether they stay on Fort Hood or are transferred to Fort Carson because the two installations reached an agreement to honor the benefits for the Soldiers deployed with the 4th Inf. Div.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Craig, retention NCO for Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Inf. Div., said he believes most Soldiers who come through his office door are already going to sign and they inquire as to what potential benefits are available.
"Most Soldiers have already made up their minds when they talk to me. They might say, 'What am I eligible for?' but that's mainly to keep from missing out on something they didn't know about," he said. "They already have an idea of what they want, but they want to see if there is something they haven't thought that may suit them better."
Craig, who is originally from Independence, Mo., and now lives in Boston, is actually a recruiter participating in a program between the Recruiting and Retention Commands that allows recruiters to deploy with units abroad.
Most retention is done in cycles, with many Soldiers signing soon after arrival in theater for the deployment bonus, said Craig. Then, there is the period when Soldiers wait for changes to the SRB policy to find out if better options are available. These include Soldiers looking for stabilization and choice of duty assignment.
A newer trend is that of Soldiers sitting on the fence before they go on leave about whether to reenlist or not, and then going home to find out that the economy is not a very friendly place, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sadler, a retention NCO with the division retention staff. Salinas and Craig both said they have observed seen this as well.
Craig said that he noticed in the April to May timeframe that he has had a few members of DSTB come back from leave and say that they will sign after all because they spoke with their families about potential job hardships and the stresses of taking care a family with the economy being how it is, and reenlistment simply made more sense.
"It's nice to know that your food is taken care of, your house is taken care of and especially that your health is covered," he said.
It is hard to deal with deployments, but with the civilian sector being the way it is right now, knowing your family is taken care of can be a load of your shoulders and mind, said Craig.
There are also some rather interesting incentives available for Soldiers are reenlistment time. Each battalion and brigade retention team hands out different articles geared toward their particular Soldiers.
An example of this is, for Ironhorse DSTB Soldiers who reenlist, Craig presents them with side-loading computer backpacks – for as long as they remain available of course. The Soldiers are also provided some other choice gifts to choose from.
He has his own outlook on the coffee mugs and T-shirts Soldiers get at their reenlistment ceremonies.
"Everybody likes trinkets is the way I look at it. It's human nature. You give them the money, maybe give them an MOS change, or get them a choice of duty assignment, but everybody likes to have something physical that they can touch," he said.
"They want something to remind them of the occasion. They can't really touch a reenlistment, but they get to live it."
Soldiers interested in finding out more about their reenlistment options can visit their company, battery, or troop career counselor for the latest SRB policy.
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2008 13:42 |
| Story ID: | 25688 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 107 |
| Downloads: | 72 |
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