(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – The United States Navy will provide a combined total of up to $115,000 in enlistment payments and loan repayments to every recruit or veteran who decides to enter active service to tackle its recruitment crisis.
Rear Admiral Lex Walker, the head of the US Navy Recruiting Command, has announced the maximum enlistment bonus at present stands at $50,000, while the maximum loan repayment is $65,000.
“They are not mutually exclusive, so if a future sailor maximizes both, that adds up to a life-altering $115,000 and the opportunity to serve in the world’s finest Navy,” Adm. Walker declared in a statement, as cited by The Washington Times.
To qualify for either or both of the bonuses, recruits of the US Navy or returning veterans must be able to ship out by the end of September.
Members of some of the other US military services could also qualify for the recruitment and the respective payments.
“If you are a sailor, Marine, airman, soldier, [Space Force] guardian, or Coast Guardsman who recently separated, this is an opportunity without precedent,” stated the head of the Navy Recruiting Command.
“And if you have student loan debt, you could be eligible for the Loan Repayment Program if you ship in any month of any fiscal year while the program remains active,” he added.
US Navy veterans who reenlist will not be sent to boot camp but will go to Recruit Training Command Great Lakes near Chicago for processing.
Veterans of other services who wish to enlist in the Navy will have to complete a three-week naval orientation course to be taught sailor-specific responsibilities, which include ship handling and firefighting.
Earlier this month, the Navy’s top recruitment officer complained that only 23% of young adults in the United States show physical, mental, and moral qualifications to serve without waivers.
“We look at it as the toughest recruiting environment that we’ve had in decades,” Rear Adm. Lex Walker said.
“Companies are also offering great pay, they’re offering sign-on bonuses, help with college. They’re offering many of the same benefits the Navy has historically used to recruit,” he noted, adding that the US Navy has moved to increase its money slated for recruitment bonuses by $100 million.
Navy offers up to $115,000 in recruitment bonuseshttps://t.co/97aUxAB2Bo pic.twitter.com/4pyhBOSAdv
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) August 17, 2022
