Marines in for the Long Haul in Southern Afghanistan
Seven days into a major offensive in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the Marines settling in for a long, hot summer. In a briefing this morning by phone from Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, told reporters, “We stay where we stay, hold where we hold.” In other words, this will not be a brief sweep to clear the area of the Taliban: The Marines seek a more permanent foothold in Helmand, and they need to demonstrate their willingness to stay on in areas where the Taliban have operated freely in the past.
Fewer Marines will be eligible for re-enlistment bonus in 2010
Hundreds of jobs in the Marine Corps have been cut from the fiscal year 2010 selective re-enlistment bonus list, due to better-than-expected retention, according to the message sent to Marines last week.
The Corps recently reached its end strength goals of 202,000 personnel two years early — a milestone that could mean more stringent requirements for those trying to stay in the Marines, according to the Corps Web site.
The Marine Corps op-tempo hasn’t been this high in a generation, at least. They’re carrying the weight of the renewed effort in Southern Afghanistan, a hot, dirty, thankless job in a vile place. And they’re eating it up like biscuits and gravy. Can’t re-up fast enough.
You gotta love ‘em.
It’s a shame to see the Marines punished monetarily for being too loyal to their service. The Navy re-enlistment bonuses are way down also. My daughters rating hung on to a small bonus in the last cut, but who knows what will happen in five years. I know if she had to make that choice right now she’d extend without a thought.
Once again, I have to say how blessed our country is to have young people willing to put it all on the line for us. Go Marines!
I love all of them. Marines. Navy. Air Force. Army. Coast Guard. Indeed Idaho, we are blessed beyond all reason and measure – far more than we deserve.
Small thread jack. My son, who is 5 days short of 16, is leaving Saturday morning to attend a Civil Air Patrol National Encampment called SUPTFC, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Familiarization Course. Basically he and 29 of his new best friends will get to see what a week of Air Force Basic Flight Training is like. If he wasn’t already sold on the Military in general and Air Force Pilot specifically, this would definitely send him over the edge. I don’t know how he can get any more enthusiastic, but I believe I’m about to find out. Two more years of high School and my youngest will be gone.
Well, as for that “Can’t re-up fast enough.” text, I was kinda thinking it might have something to do with the economy, unemployment rates,…
I might be wrong. Have been before.
As Capt. Lex has stated in previous posts, the Service’s base their enlistment/retention programs on being as efficient and cost-effective as possible. Marines are being ‘punished’? Not really. The needs of the Service come first.
This is just a manpower shaping move, that’s all. The last three years, the Marines needed to retain everyone they could to get to the new end strength of 202K. Now they are there, and they need to move Marines to the MOSs where they are needed. Several high paying MOSs are open for lateral moves. A popular one is for grunt NCOs to become CI/HUMINT folks. Bonus there, for lateral moves, is $90K for an E5. Straight Intel marines, MOS or lateral move, get $63K for a four year ship over (E5, E4 is $57.5K). My son’s MOS, 2621 is $28.5 to $36K.
Better explaination here. Actual MARADMIN is here. All in how you spin it.
Also, an interesting kicker in there — if you have elementary knowledge (2/2 score), of one of the high demand languages (which gives you a secondary linguist MOS), you can get the linguist SRB — $50 to $63K.
Give the Marines what they want, you get what you want. Now to get the Lcpl studying Dari!
Scott, The language study at DLI in Monterey is intense but it’s a great place to be for the 60 some weeks it takes to learn one of the strategic languages. And nobodys shooting at them. Maybe the Lcpl could end up there for a while? My daughter knows some Marines and Army types who’ve been overseas and are now learning a language.
He will be spending many hours in a hide site paired up with a linguist. That, and the MC bought an enterprise license for Rosetta Stone. I told him to work on it when he’s deployed, and learn whatever language the linguist speaks. That should get him to a 2/2, and get the secondary MOS.
The kids that enlist for DLI, and complete it, get a $25K enlistment bonus – but they need to be able to hold an SCI clearance. The Lcpl was in boot camp, getting his SCI interview, and the kid in front, with a linguist contract, got tossed when he admitted to smoking dope > 10 times. Sayonara, $25K. Got re-MOS’ed to a MOS with a bonus, but since he didn’t enter on that, he wouldn’t get it, even though those in the school with him would. There is something to admire in the unflinching application of USMC policies.
The Navy gave my daughter about half the enlistment bonus you’re talking about, but then she probably won’t be in harms way quite as much as a Marine (fingers crossed.) She still has over a year until she’s out of her A-School and working. She was high enough on the ASVAB to do anything enlisted in the Navy, but after scoring high on the DLAB she found her calling.
I had to look up SCI. My daughter has never spoken about that, but she did get Top Secret. Lots of family and friends have been coming up to me the last few months and saying, “Hey, some guy from the government came and asked me about your daughter.” I think she was very releaved when they told her it went through, even though we couldn’t think of anything she’d ever done that would preclude her from getting it.
She loves Monterey and so far hasn’t found any reason not to make a career of the Navy. Did I mention I’m a proud Dad?
Yea, my son had the same deal with “any MOS you want”. He listened to the old man, who told him the clearance alone would guarantee him employment for life. Also got him a $6K bonus. Once he got on the radio recon track, he was hooked. He’s in “A” school with all four services in P’cola. Off to Camp Pen in two weeks for his permanent duty station.
I told him that he is on track to walk back and forth, across the line dividing spec ops and intel, for twenty years, and have a blast doing it. It will never be boring.