Miscalculation forces National Guard to temporarily cut re-enlistment bonuses

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U.S. military changes recruiting strategy amid shortages

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A miscalculation has forced the National Guard to temporarily halt offering re-enlistment bonuses for troops signing new contracts.

“Effective immediately, the issuance of reenlistment bonuses is suspended,” reads an internal memo to service members, according to a report from Military.com.

The sudden change in policy was forced by a miscalculation of the amount of funds the National Guard would need to pay out the bonuses, a National Guard spokesperson told Fox News Digital, adding that the hope was to have the incentives available again in April.

THOUSANDS OF NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS HAVE NOT RECEIVED PROMISED ENLISTMENT BONUSES

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the National Guard to assist in laying wire at the U.S. border with Mexico. (Greg Abbott/ Twitter)

“The popularity of the Army National Guard re-enlistment bonus has exceeded our original budgetary projections,” the spokesperson said. “This requires a pause to assess fiscal resources that will determine when we can resume offering new bonuses with the issuance of new re-enlistment contracts. It is the Army National Guard’s intent to resume issuances of bonus incentives with reenlistment contracts in April, pending the findings of this assessment.”

However, the spokesperson also made clear that the pause will not prevent service members from receiving a bonus, noting that service members with existing contracts that contain bonuses will not see interruptions to their payments and that those interested in extending their service can delay any decisions until the bonus program is available again.

“We anticipate the impacted population to be relatively small,” the spokesperson said.

The suspension of re-enlistment bonuses comes as the Army National Guard has continued to struggle with recruitment and retention, with the report noting that the service component missed its retention goals of 1,000 troops last year. 

The District of Columbia National Guard and U.S. Park Police advance through the white roses in front of the AFL-CIO headquarters, with St. Johns Church behind them, as they move demonstrators back after they gathered to protest the death of George Floyd near the White House in Washington, June 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NEW MILITARY BONUS PROGRAM HAUNTED BY OLD RECRUITING SCANDAL THAT GAVE SOLDIERS FALSE CRIMINAL RECORDS

That number stands in stark contrast to the active duty Army, which has been meeting retention goals with ease in recent years despite battling massive shortfalls in attracting new recruits. That crisis has extended to every branch but the Marine Corps, which was able to meet its recruiting goals last year.

“Our first obligation to the Army and to Congress is for us to meet our end strength mission,” Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, the director of the Army National Guard, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “We are joined with Army leaders to determine courses of action and resourcing solutions that will work to expand the recruitment market and further incentivize our soldiers to continue their service.”

Texas Army National Guard soldiers convene by the border. (Texas Military Department )

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The temporary halt in bonuses is not the first time the National Guard has faced trouble with the incentives in recent months, coming after October reports that the service component was behind on paying bonuses for nearly 13,000 troops. Close to 4,000 of those service members have served their entire term and left the service without ever having received their bonus, which can be as high as $20,000 for signing a contract for part-time service.

Nevertheless, the National Guard expressed confidence that the temporary halt will not impact recruiting or retention, telling Fox News Digital that the service has accomplished “100% of both the recruiting and retention missions” for the current fiscal year.