American Army to offer up to $50,000 bonuses to new recruits

The United States Army is offering bonuses of up to $50,000 for new recruits, the highest bonus amount ever offered by the Army.

The bonuses are an attempt to “entice folks to consider the army,” says Brig. Gen. John Cushing in a statement, and will hopefully help fill openings at US Army training bases.

“We’ve taken a look at the critical (military occupational specialties) we need to fill in order to maintain the training bases, and that is where we place a lot of our emphasis,” said Cushing.

Bonuses start at $1000 and cap at $40,000, but certain recruits also qualify for a “quick-ship” bonus of $9000 bonus if they are willing to report to boot camp within 90 days of signing up. The sooner the individual reports to boot camp, the higher the bonus amount.

The Army is hopeful the enlistment incentives will help soften the blow the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on recruitment.

“We are still living the implications of 2020 and the onset of COVID, when the school systems basically shut down,” said Vereen. “We lost a full class of young men and women that we didn’t have contact with, face-to-face,” said Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen.