re-enlistment bonous lately USN

[Frank46]

There has been a TV ad regarding re-enlistment bonus's for re-enlisting in the U.S.N.. one figure I heard was 40K but there were even higher bonus's listed some of them 100K. Seems due all the deployments our navy is starting to run out of qualified sailors. back in '67 being an E3 I was offered $5600 to re-enlist for four years. This happened about three times. Had a cranky CPO who didn't believe about promotions and preferred to have a bunch of non rated sailors rather than an excess of rated petty officers. To say the CPO was old school was putting it mildly. Anyway I finally take the tests for PO3 & PO2 machinest mate rating. at the time you took a written test and what was an oral test before a board of rated petty officers. After the tests you just go back to work and about 9-10 months later they post the results. After I separated from active duty I get a letter from one of my buddies who was still serving on my ship. I felt I had done well on the test but since my enlistment was due before I would find out how well I did so just forgot about it. Imagine my suprise that upon reading the letter I had made MM3 in the first increment which is awarded to those who made the highest marks. Those in the next increment didn't make as high marks than the first. Think they had four increments for ratings. If you didn't make any of the four increments then you had to crack the books and learn your rating much better. So if I had stuck around for six months like they wanted I would have sewn on my third class crow. Back when the manpower crisis almost no one was re-enlisting all they wanted was to go home. All of the engineering departments had their ratings marked as critical due to manpower shortages. I stood 6on and 6off for most of a year until I got out. Always had the light off watch in the engineroom and thrustblock. Takes at least a year to train a good watcstander more if they are for the lubeoil pumpman,generator room watch, dearating feed tank waych and for the thrustblock which has two kingsbury thrust bearings. One for ahead and the other for astern plus keeping close eye on the oil level and temprature of the oil. When I was in steam was king except for the few neuclear ships just starting out. Frank

 

[deadin]

I re-enlisted for 6 years in June 1962 as an PO3. I seem to remember that my "bonus" was around $900.

 

[CH4]

My buddy’s boy has been in for 2 years aboard a carrier in the Navy’s nuke propulsion program. He recently made E-5 and was given $80k to extend.

 

[canoeguy]

In my first tour in the Navy (1979-1983), I was stationed at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, working as a jet mechanic on F-4 Phantoms. Great place to be stationed, great jet to work on. I loved it, couldn't get enough of it, wound up doing 22 years....

At that time I worked with a guy who hated the Navy, hated being a jet mechanic, complained bitterly every day about the Navy, couldn't wait to complete his enlistment and get out. He was offered an enlistment bonus as an AD (Jet Mechanic) of $1200 for a six year re-enlistment, and he took it! I often wonder if he was able to make it through that enlistment.

I was offered an re-enlisting bonus of $4500 in 1987, I took it with a quickness as I had already decided to stay until retirement. Been retired now for 17 years, the Navy still loves me once a month with a retirement check.

 

[hoosierone]

A few of the tech guys in my outfit made Sp/5 just before their three years were up. They all got out. One guy made Sp/6, rare at the time, had an Okinawan girlfriend he wanted to marry and he re-upped for six. I think they gave him a deal to stay on Okinawa. The rest of us were flabbergasted as we all had enough of the Army.

 

[41 fan]

When I was in the Navy (69 to 73), the reup bonus' were variable depending on rate. Radiomen were offered $10,000 to ship over. I think the bonus for a Yoeman was $1200. Dean

 

[Rustyt1953]

I was never offered one.

 

[rustythread]

They offered me another stripe and a scenic tour of the jungle. I thanked them and mustered out in January, 1967.

 

[H Richard]

When I got out in 63 (from USAF) no bonus was even mentioned, as my career field was "Critical, but Surplus". In other words they felt they had enough Jet engine mechanics, and trainee's in the pipeline they didn't care if they lost a bunch. There were about 20 in my shop up for discharge/re-enlistment around that same time.

 

[speedyquad]

My daughter was sworn in in early October. She will go to basic 3 weeks after she graduates highschool in June. She was going to be a corpsman but she don't have her drivers license so that was no longer possible, so she's going to be a yoeman. Her signing bonus, which she gets when she completes basic is $3000. It was higher for the corpsman rate. I don't remember what the re-up bonus is for yoeman($10 grand sticks in my mind, but don't think it was actually that much), but a corpsman, according to her recruiter, was around $50,000. I'm not sure how accurate he was to be honest.

 

[amazingflapjack]

They offered me 10G's to re-up for an MOS I had never worked. This reinforced a strong conviction that I already held: they didn't know what they were doing.

 

[1morethan8]

I was in the Navy from '68-'72 as a Aircraft Structures Mechanic. . I had went to "A" school and had worked 18 months in IMA(Glynco NAS). My last station was Barber's Point Hawaii in VR-21 in calendar inspection. I was in the Navy for 4 years and no sea duty!
They said if I reenlisted that they would send me back to school, they needed mechanics for a new plane coming out, the F-14 Tomcat. In the Navy I went from E-1 to E-5 in 23 months. I think my VRB was around 10K or so?
I told them to keep the money, I was going back home to Tennessee!

 

[Frank46]

As I may have mentioned, machineists mates, boiler tenders, and a few other engineering ratings were deemed critical due extremely low retention rates. Guys would do their enlistments then boogie on home. They could not support a full watch schedule so some of us would start out standing 4x4 watches then it went to 6x6 and finally 6x6 and you didn't have to turn to on the off time. We had one guy who had the mechanical appitude if a monkey. So they made him permanent compartment cleaner. And he wasn't even good at that. So one more man off the watch list.If anyone doubts the amount of the enlistment bonis you have too remember that we were in a combat zone so maybe they had offered more money because where we were. Regarding the $5600 renlistment bonus. We were in a combat zone at that time and distincely remember the $5600 dollar amount. i have a buddy with whom I served at the same time. His number was slightly lower but he requested three duty stations. Naples Italy, and the other two I forget. He got stuck with the 120 day extension when the Arab-Israeli war started up.Often wondered what would have happened if I decided to stay in. Nothing going at home, no girlfriend, Mom and Pop were in good health. Probably would have requested another carrier heading out to the Pacific for their westpac cruise. We had one guy who did just that. Frank

 

[STCM(SW)]

I was never offered a bonus for any reenlistment and had to take a test from E3 to E9!

 

[Targets Guy]

My dad enlisted in the Navy on 4/25/43. He was discharged as an E-6 on 10/27/45. His final pay was $129.32 which included $19.46 travel pay from Minneapolis, MN to Des Moines, IA.

 

[dockmurgw]

My wife does retention for the Guard. She used to give out $10k bonuses like candy bars, but is now warning people before they take it...there are strings attached. They can limit movement and opportunities for promotion. That $10k is long gone when they discover that move they made broke the contract and have to pay it back, and that's a lot of years of drill pay sacrificed to pay it off. When it comes to gift horses, always look it in the mouth...and read the fine print.

 

[Jeff423]

When I was in the Navy (69 to 73), the reup bonus' were variable depending on rate. Radiomen were offered $10,000 to ship over. I think the bonus for a Yoeman was $1200. Dean

I can confirm that. I was offered $10K as an E5 AT (Aviation Electronics) in '73.

 

[Backlighting]

A few of the tech guys in my outfit made Sp/5 just before their three years were up. They all got out. One guy made Sp/6, rare at the time, had an Okinawan girlfriend he wanted to marry and he re-upped for six. I think they gave him a deal to stay on Okinawa. The rest of us were flabbergasted as we all had enough of the Army.

Similar to my situation in '69. I was an SP-5 stationed in Japan and with the war in high gear I decided to get out. As many at that time said, "F.T.A".

 

[Muley Gil]

I was aboard the USS Semmes, DDG-18, as a midshipman during the summer of 1973. A reenlistment ceremony for a sonarman (IIRC) took place and he received a $10,000 bonus for a six year enlistment. He had this funny look on his face, as in "What the Heck have I done?"

 

[S&WsRsweet]

I talked to a recruiter about this bonus stuff he said they would be willing to give me 50 bucks not to join the USN ,something bout me being to smart for my own good or their own good something like that anyway.