MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. -- Marines eligible to re-enlist in fiscal year 2011 may notice a steep decrease in their bonus options from last year due to the Corps cutting the retention budget by more than half.
While the FY-2010 budget for re-enlistment bonuses exceeded $340 million, the Corps is only allocating $150 million in 2011. This is, in part, due to the Corps scaling back its force from 205,000 Marines.
"Retention isn't a big concern for the Marine Corps right now," said Sgt. Abraham Barcenas, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron career planner here. "We're downsizing, so the Corps doesn't have to try as hard to keep so many Marines." However, a smaller budget doesn't mean fewer bonuses.
In fact, there are approximately as many military occupational specialties that rate bonuses this year as last year.
"The Marine Corps is opening up [1,500] more boatspaces than last year, and that means more Marines will get bonuses this year," said Sgt. Jose Lopez-Gonzalez, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 career planner here. "So, they're offering smaller bonuses for most MOSs to compensate for that."
Bonuses for 2010 were anticipated to plunge after the Corps met its goal to grow the force to 202,000 Marines in the middle of FY-2009, and that didn't change for 2011.
"Most MOSs took pretty big drops," said Barcenas. "Even (explosive ordnance disposal), a high-paying MOS, dropped by about $46,000. I think most bonuses are going to continue to decrease and eventually go away altogether. Those high-demand MOSs, like intel, will probably keep having bonuses, but I think the rest of them are going to disappear."
The bonuses, listed in Marine Administrative Message 341/10, released June 18, came on the heels of the FY-2011 enlisted retention guidelines, which also highlighted the Corps' increased selectiveness for future retention now that the ranks are filled.
In Yuma, many MOSs were affected by the drop in bonuses.
For example, bonuses for AV-8B Harrier mechanics dropped more than 79 percent from FY-2010 to FY-2011 for first-term Marines. Some jobs like military policemen, which had bonuses for first-termers as high as $9,000, now have nothing.
Senior Marines will also receive slimmer incentives this year. Bonuses for Harrier electrical systems technicians with six to 10 years of service dove by more than 86 percent. Harrier communications and radar systems technicians with the same time in service dropped by more than 50 percent.
Fortunately for Marines with 10-14 years of service, last year's drop to 32 jobs with bonuses did not continue. Marines with more than 14 years of service will see the same ineligibility for bonuses as last year.
Despite the decrease in the Corps' monetary incentives, Marines still have other options to sweeten their re-enlistments. Marines can still receive special duty assignments, such as recruiting duty or drill instructor duty, duty station preferences and 60 additional composite score points to help with promotions. Others may rate exclusive school seats, including the basic airborne course, more widely known as "jump school," and the FBI's high-risk personnel course.
Marines can receive these incentives along with re-enlistment bonuses, said Barcenas.
"First-term Marines should take advantage of the duty station preference," said Barcenas. "After your first re-enlistment, you don't get that incentive anymore."
For a complete list of FY-2011 bonuses, see MarAdmin 341/10.