37 USC 308i - Special Pay: Prior Service Enlistment Bonus

(a) Authority and Eligibility Requirements.—(1) A person who is a former enlisted member of an armed force who enlists in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force for a period of three or six years in a critical military skill designated for such a bonus by the Secretary concerned and who meets the requirements of paragraph (2) may be paid a bonus as prescribed in subsection (b).

(2) A bonus may only be paid under this section to a person who meets each of the following requirements:

(A) The person has not more than 16 years of total military service and received an honorable discharge at the conclusion of all prior periods of service.

(B) The person was not released, or is not being released, from active service for the purpose of enlistment in a reserve component.

(C) The person is projected to occupy, or is occupying, a position as a member of the Selected Reserve in a specialty in which the person—

(i) successfully served while a member on active duty and attained a level of qualification while on active duty commensurate with the grade and years of service of the member; or

(ii) has completed training or retraining in the specialty skill that is designated as critically short and attained a level of qualification in the specialty skill that is commensurate with the grade and years of service of the member.

(b) Bonus Amounts; Payment.—(1) The amount of a bonus under this section may not exceed—

(A) $15,000, in the case of a person who enlists for a period of six years;

(B) $7,500, in the case of a person who, having never received a bonus under this section, enlists for a period of three years; and

(C) $6,000, in the case of a person who, having received a bonus under this section for a previous three-year enlistment, reenlists or extends the enlistment for an additional period of three years.

(2) Any bonus payable under this section shall be disbursed in one initial payment of an amount not to exceed one-half of the total amount of the bonus and subsequent periodic partial payments of the balance of the bonus. The Secretary concerned shall prescribe the amount of each partial payment and the schedule for making the partial payments.

(3) A person entitled to a bonus under this section who is called or ordered to active duty shall be paid, during that period of active duty, any amount of the bonus that becomes payable to the member during that period of active duty.

(c) Condition on Eligibility; Limitation on Number of Bonuses.—(1) To be eligible for a second bonus under this section in the amount specified in subsection (b)(1)(C), a person must—

(A) enter into a reenlistment or extension of an enlistment for a period of three years not later than the date on which the enlistment for which the first bonus was paid would expire; and

(B) still satisfy the eligibility requirements under subsection (a).

(2) A person may not be paid more than one six-year bonus or two three-year bonuses under this section.

(d) Repayment.—A person who receives a bonus payment under this section and who, during the period for which the bonus was paid, does not serve satisfactorily in the element of the Selected Reserve with respect to which the bonus was paid shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 303a(e) of this title.

(e) Regulations.—This section shall be administered under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the armed forces under his jurisdiction and by the Secretary of Homeland Security for the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy.

(f) Termination of Authority.—No bonus may be paid under this section to any person for an enlistment after December 31, 2014.

(Added Pub. L. 99–145, title VI, §644(a)(1), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 652; amended Pub. L. 100–26, §8(d)(4), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 285; Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title VI, §626(b), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1104; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VI, §613, Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1446; Pub. L. 102–25, title VII, §702(b)(1), (c), Apr. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 117; Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title VI, §612(d), title XI, §1136, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2421, 2541; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VI, §612(e), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1680; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title VI, §611(e), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2783; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title VI, §611(e), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 359; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title VI, §611(g), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2543; Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title VI, §§611(g), 622, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1785, 1791; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title VI, §611(g), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2038; Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title VI, §§611(g), 623(a), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 650, 653; Pub. L. 106–398, §1 [[div. A], title VI, §621(g)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–151; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title VI, §611(g), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1135; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, §1704(c), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2314; Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title VI, §§611(f), 617, Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2567, 2570; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title VI, §611(f), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1501; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title VI, §§611(f), 618(f), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1947, 1950; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, §§621(e), 633, 687(b)(19), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3294, 3299, 3330; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VI, §611(f), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2247; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VI, §611(f), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 148; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title VI, §611(f), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4484; Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title VI, §611(6), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2352; Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title VI, §611(6), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4236; Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title VI, §611(6), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1449; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title VI, §611(6), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1776; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title VI, §611(6), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 780.)

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Last modified: October 26, 2015