Next year military officials may start offering bigger recruiting and retention bonuses. The news comes in response to subpar recruiting efforts for the military and rising inflation costs seen throughout the nation.
Lawmakers have not yet stated exactly how much the bonuses will be, but they have confirmed that it will be included in the $45 billion in additional military spending they are requesting in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s draft of the annual defense authorization bill.
The provision would give military commanders the authority to raise recruiting and retention bonuses as they see fit. However, it would not mandate the changes.
2022 has been one of the most challenging recruiting years for the military in decades. The larger bonuses are being looked at as an option to fix that issue.
More via Military Times:
Military officials have told Congress they are already maximizing available incentives in an attempt to keep up personnel numbers. They have publicly dubbed 2022 as “the most challenging recruiting year” for the military in decades.
Earlier in 2022, in testimony before the committee, leaders from the Navy, Marine Corps and Space Corps said they expected to reach recruiting goals by the end of fiscal 2022 on Oct. 1, but just barely. Army and Air Force officials said they may miss targets by a few hundred recruits.
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gil Cisneros Jr. told senators that the post-pandemic labor market — where private companies are competing for a smaller pool of job candidates — has been the biggest challenge for military recruiting and retention.
Multiple branches of the military have already made efforts in 2022 to increase enlistment numbers by offering various bonuses. Army recruits can receive bonuses up to $50,000 for enlisting, and in April the Navy announced they would give $25,000 to any new active-duty enlistees.
It’s clear the armed forces are facing a serious problem with their military recruiting statistics. Hopefully these new efforts will help curb things.