Evening star., 1954-08-18
Veterans and
Druftees
BY Moi. Thomos M. Mol

Congress has made it more
profitable for most servicemen to
reenlist. Under new legislation
most Of them will get larger
cash bonuses than they would
have received previously.
The amount of the bonus viii
depend on how long a man has
been in service, how many times
he has reenlisted, his basic pay
at the time he reenlists and the
number Of years for which he re-
enliStS.
The total amount Of reenlist-
ment bonus serviceman may
get during his career is increased
from $1,400 to $4,000.
Under the new system bonuses
begin at an estimated $3.50 for
the average period Of reenlist-
ment. Under the old system the
average was $3.50. Under the old
system, an enlisted msn who had
finished about IA years of service
would have received some $3.50,
while under the new the amount
will average $1,660.
Makes Service Attractive.
The idea behind the new bonus
is to increase the attractiveness
of reenlisting. The Pentagon
feels by doing so the nation
will have better trained military
services and the result will be
a cut in military costs. It costs
a lot more to train a new man
than to continue a man in uni
form even if the old timer is
paid a high reenliStment bonus.
What the new law does Is set
up second system of re-enliSt-
ment bonus payments. The old
system remains in effect because
some servicemen- with more than
20 years service may get BONUSES
under 1t but can't under the new
system. Also, a serviceman who
is nearing 20 years of service
may find it more profitable to
re-enlist under the old system.
II you're in doubt as to which
system would be the best, talk
with your finance officer.
Here's how the new bonus is
computed:
If you re-enliSt for the first
time, take your basic monthly
pay and multiply it by the num-
ber of years of your re-enllst-
ment. That's your bonus. How
ever. If you're in pay grade Ell,
the lowest possible rank. when
you re-enlist you may only re-
ceive two-thirdS of your monthly
basic pay times of the number
of years of your re-enlistment.
Graded by Year.
If you re-enlist for a second
time, take two-thirds Of your
monthly basic pay and multiply
it by your re-enlistment years.
That's your bonus for q second
re-enlistment. No bonus will be
paid to you if you re-enlist in
pay grade Ell or E-2.
If you re-enlist for a third
time, your cash bonus will be
one-third Of your monthly basic
pay multiplied by the number of
years of your re-enlistment No
bonus will be paid to you if
you're in pay grades Ell, E-2 or
! E-3.
If you re-enlist for a fourth
or more times, your bonus will
be one-sixth Of your monthly
basic pay times the number Of
years of your re-enlistment. Yoc
can't receive a bonus if you're
in pay grades Ell or E-2.
Incidentally, If you re-enlist
before you've completed 20 years
of active duty, and your re-en-
listment period will take you
past 20 years, you may only use
that period of your re-enlistment
which would total 20 years ir
figuring your bonus.
For example. if you re-enlis
for four years and have already
served 18 years, you may coun
only two of the re-enlistmen
years toward computing the casf
bonus.
(You may Drite Maj. Mai
in care of The Star about
your seruice-connected prob
lem. Please inclose a stamped,
selt-addressed envelope and 20
! cents In conn.,
(From AP Newsfeaturesl
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