Soldiers may earn $1,000 recruiting referral bonus

[Hannibal]

January 18, 2006

ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, Jan. 18, 2005) – Soldiers can now earn $1,000 for referring their acquaintances to Army recruiters should those referrals result in enlistment.

The referral bonus was authorized by the recently signed National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA also provides authorization to increase enlistment bonuses for new regular-Army recruits from $20,000 to $40,000 and increases reserve-component enlistment bonuses from $10,000 to $20,000.

“We thank Congress for their recent legislation to provide bonuses such as these, said Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck, deputy chief of staff, Army G1 (Personnel). “We feel very confident that we will be able to reach our recruiting goal of 80,000 for this year.”

Recruiting goal met last 7 months

“I believe the new authorities provided by Congress, such as the $1,000 per referral bonus, will help continue the positive trend of meeting our recruiting objects for the last seven months in a row,” said Secretary of the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey following a Pentagon press briefing Jan. 18.

Under the referral pilot program, eligible members of both the Army’s regular and reserve components may receive the $1,000 bonus per recruit. Referrals under the program will be made via the Sergeant Major of the Army Recruiting Team, or SMART referral process.

Soldiers may receive the bonus for referring anyone, except a member of their immediate family. Immediate family member is defined as spouse, parent (including step-parent), child (natural, adopted, or step-child), brother, or sister.

No conflicts of interest

Those not eligible to receive a referral bonus include Soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army Accessions Command, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Cadet Command, U.S. Army Reserve Command – Retention and Transition Division, National Guard State Recruiting Commands and any other member of the Army serving in a recruiting or retention assignment.

Anyone is also ineligible for the bonus if their duties could be perceived as creating a conflict of interest, as determined by the secretary of the Army.

Soldiers identified above will be ineligible to receive a referral bonus for three months following a reassignment outside their recruiting and retention duties, officials said, adding this includes Soldiers who have participated in the Hometown Recruiter Assistance Program, Special Recruiter Assistance Program) and Additional Duty Special Work in recruiting or retention duties.

Bonus paid after AIT completed

The bonus will be paid in a lump sum to the referring Soldier once the qualified applicant completes Basic and Advanced Individual Training, known as AIT. There are no retroactive provisions to this pilot program, officials said. They said payments will be made directly to the referring Soldier’s military pay account within 45 days after the person that was referred completes AIT.

The referring Soldier must either submit the referral through the SMART link or through the U.S. Army Recruiting Command 1-800 line dedicated to this program (see below for both). To receive a bonus, the sponsor (person making the referral) must provide the name of the applicant as a referral using this process, prior to the applicant conducting an appointment with an Army recruiter.

"Soldiers have always provided a vital role in the recruiting process,” said Jeff Spara of Army headquarters personnel office. “This program is an excellent way to recognize their contributions."

The NDAA 2006 also increases the maximum enlistment contract from 6 to 8 years and raises the age limit for enlistment from 35 years to 40 years.

For more information on the $1,000 referral bonus, go to https://www.usarec.army.mil/smart/ or call 1-800-223-3735, ext. 6-0473.

For more information on what Secretary Harvey said at the news conference, see Better Body Armor Meets Changing Threat, Army Official Says and Unit Rebalance Will Make Guard More Effective, Army Secretary Says

(Editor’s note: Alphonso Green and John Reese contributed to this article.)

[SwampTanker]

National Guard now has a $2,000 referral program. Havn't completed the program so not quite sure how it works for the referrer.