June 12, 2007:
The U.S. Marines are feeling the
strain of being ordered to increase its personnel strength 12 percent over the
four years, while also supplying troops for a war. To accomplish all this, it
needs more NCOs, and as a result, there are currently fifty percent more
promotions from E-5 (sergeant, or squad leader) to E-6 (staff sergeant, or platoon sergeant), and nearly as many more for E-6 to E-7 (Gunnery sergeant). The increase in NCO positions means that the NCO schools have to
deal with another 5,000 students in the near future.
All this is opening up more promotion opportunities
for corporals (E-4) and creating shortages for units headed overseas. To deal
with that, the marines are offering a $6,000 bonus for marines, with less than
a year left in their current enlistment, to re-enlist for another year and
complete another seven month tour in Iraq. If a marine just needs a few more
months of active service to finish a seven month Iraqi tour, they are being
offered $3,000 to sign up for as many additional months as it will take. This
sort of thing has worked before, and will probably work again. The marines would
like to keep people in longer, in order to reach the new, 202,000 strength by
2011. But many marines, like their army counterparts, only want to do one four
year enlistment, then go off and take advantage of the GI Bill college tuition
benefits.