[Vision2020] Retirees Offered Bonus for Bringing in Recruits

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (June 4, 2006) edition of the Army Times -

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Retirees offered bonus for bringing in recruits

By Jim Tice
Times staff writer

Retired soldiers can now cash in on a $1,000 bonus for bringing in recruits.

The policy change announced June 2 authorizes a lump sum payment of $1,000
to active or reserve retirees who refer applicants to recruiters who then
enlist, complete basic training and advanced individual training in the
Regular Army, National Guard or Army Reserve.

Referrals may not be immediate family members, and the retired soldier may
not be serving in a recruiting or retention assignment, or be serving as an
instructor in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

For this program, "retired" soldiers are defined as active Army retirees and
reserve component retirees, including reserve members, who have transferred
to the Retired Reserve, but who are not yet age 60.

Since the referral program was launched in January for serving soldiers,
program web sites (www.usarec.army.mil/smart and www.1800goguard.com//esar)
have received more than 5 million hits, resulting in 5,000 referrals, 500
contracts and 100 recruits who are in initial entry training.

The first $1,000 bonus check for an active Army soldier will be presented to
Staff Sgt. Consuelo Spears, of Fort Huachuca, Ariz., on June 8. That is the
date the recruit she referred, Pvt. Benjamin Bartolomiej A. Rdes, is
projected to graduate from AIT at Fort Sill, Okla. 

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If the Army feels they can increase their troop strength by fattening
retirees' wallets, I have three words for them: NOT THIS RETIREE.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"I think one of the best ways to support education is to make successful
private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption."

- Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)