Prometheus 6

Roldan said based on his aptitude test scores, his job specialization-cannon crew, an on-the-battlefield position right behind the infantry line-and what he knows of friends that have enlisted, he was expecting about a $5,000-signing bonus. Because he agreed to ship out for training within 30 days and enlist for three years, he said he received an extra $20,000 on top of that money, making the offer one that was too good to pass up.

"There's not many 18-year-olds walking around with $25,000 in their pocket," he said proudly.

Army offers $20,000 'quick-ship' bonus to attract recruits
By Karoun Demirjian
Tribune staff reporter
8:15 PM CDT, August 3, 2007

Struggling to fill the ranks in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army is now trying a new incentive: offering new and returning enlistees up to $20,000 "Q.S." bonuses in exchange for a promise to ship out quickly to basic training within 30 days of signing on the dotted line.

The bonus—"Q.S." for "quick-ship"—has already had some success in the 10 days since the army started offering it.

With less than two months to go until the end of the federal fiscal year, the army is scrambling to make recruiting goals of 80,000 new active soldiers in basic training before September 30.

One of the new quick shippers, Howard Cable, 20, and his soon-to-be brother-in-law, John Tutorow, 21, walked into the Army Recruiting Battalion in South Bend, Ind., just as the new program got underway.

"I was a student, and it was just getting way too expensive," said Cable, who would have been starting his junior year at Calvin Christian College in Grand Rapids, Mich. in the fall. "I had a job, but it wasn't really what I wanted."

Cable learned that he could transfer his credits into the army, that the army would help him and Tutorow pay for college after they finished their terms in the military, and that they would receive a healthy new signing bonus: $20,000 each.

That was early last week. On Monday, Tutorow and Cable signed contracts and agreed to ship out for nine weeks of basic training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, starting on Tuesday.

"It was a bit of a hurry," Cable admitted. "But I didn't want to go back to college, so I could go right away…the money didn't make that much difference to me. It really made a difference for him though," he said, referring to Tutorow, who got married Sunday, but decided to ship out little more than a week later to take advantage of the offer.

Under the "quick-ship" program, a new recruit can be on the ground, in a combat situation in as little as three to four months, depending on what additional training is required for a soldier's particular job specialization. Normally, the timeline is longer, as recruits are given up to a year from the date of signing their military contract to report to basic training. It covers recruits who enlist for at least two years of active duty and report quickly to basic training. In fact, aspiring recruits willing to sign up for at least four years and report quickly can get as much as $40,000 in installments over the time of their service.