Are prior service eligible for bonuses?
Emma Jordan
Published Apr 02, 2026
A qualifying Prior Service Soldier can receive a bonus amount of up to $20,000 for enlisting into designated skill positions. To determine your eligibility, ask your recruiter for more details.
What is the prior service enlistment bonus?
Prior Service Enlistment Bonus: Formerly serving members of an armed force who agree to serve in the Army Reserve in a specified job skill for a three or six year term of service may be eligible for a bonus up to $15,000.
Can I lose my enlistment bonus?
Failure to meet the technical standards for your career field, or failure to meet other standards may make you ineligible to receive your bonus payment. Example: If you have a $40,000 bonus, you would expect to receive a $20,000 lump sum upon completion of training (or when your reenlistment actually begins).
Do prior service go through basic again?
What About Basic Training? The Navy requires that basic training is literally a case-by-case basis, and if someone’s joining the Air Force with prior service, most soldiers will attend a familiarization course, although some of the soldiers will have to go through basic training again anyway.
Do you have to go to MEPS again if you switch branches?
It’s never too late to make a change prior to departing for basic training. You have the option to switch branches up until your final swearing prior to your departure to basic training.
What is the age limit for Army prior service?
In general, the Defense Department restricts enlistment to those 35 and younger. Prior enlisted service members can subtract their previous years of service from their age in order to extend eligibility.
Which MOS have bonuses?
ACTIVE DUTY ENLISTMENT BONUS
- infantryman (11x)
- Fire Control Specialist (13J)
- Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS/HMARS) Crewmember (13M)
- Air and Missile Defense (AMD) Crewmember (14P)
- special forces candidate (18x)
- HUMAN INTELLIGENCE COLLECTOR (35M)
- CRYPTOLOGIC LINGUIST (35P)
- Psychological Operations Specialist (37F)
Do you lose rank if you switch branches?
You might be allowed to retain your rank or you might be dropped a few ranks. If you’re going through a program like Blue to Green you might even be able to move up from Enlisted ranks to Warrant Officer ranks. Regardless if you drop your rank or not, you still keep your “time in service”.
Is the ASVAB outdated?
But, to answer the question, your ASVAB score expiration is two years after you take the test if you don’t enlist and, if you do enlist, your ASVAB score doesn’t expire. However, you’re not necessarily stuck with that initial score if you’re active military.
Can you switch military branches after contract?
Typically, the move from one branch to another requires one to complete their enlistment contract. Then you have to get out of the military, and then visit a recruiter to join the different service, as a prior-service recruit.
Do you have to go through boot camp again if you switch branches?
Unless you’re enlisting into the USMC, you do not have to redo Basic Training. You may have to go through a course to introduce you to the differences between your old service and the new. All Marines go through Boot Camp!
Can you lose your enlistment bonus?
You will have to fill out your application again, and go back to MEPS. You will not have to take the ASVAB again, but you will have to take what’s called an inspect physical. They just check your weight/height and see if anything changed.
What’s the worst MOS in the Army?
Related Article – Army MOS List: A List of all 159 Jobs in the Army
- #5. Culinary Specialist (MOS 92G)
- #4. Shower, Laundry & Clothing Repair Specialist (MOS 92S)
- #3. Quartermaster & Chemical Equipment Repair (MOS 91J)
- #2. Mortuary Affairs Specialist (MOS 92M)
- #1. Water Treatment Specialist (MOS 92W)
Is the payment of bonuses guaranteed every year?
It follows therefore that the payment of such bonuses is seldom guaranteed, and employees would be foolish to rely on the payment of these discretionary bonuses simply because the bonus was paid last year or over the past 3 years and so on.
When is an employee not entitled to a discretionary bonus?
In an employment contract, employers are entitled to set out the time or date by which a discretionary bonus payment may be paid out to employees. If an employee is not employed at that time, then the employee is not entitled to the discretionary bonus.
Are there any bonuses for serving in the Army?
Prior service enlistment bonuses. COME BACK AND EARN $20,000. Qualified prior service members at E4 and below may be eligible for up to $20,000 in bonuses. To qualify, you’ll need to enlist into a critical-skill Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).
When does an executive participate in a bonus program?
The Executive shall participate in any short- term incentive compensation program as may be in effect from time to time, as determined solely at the discretion of the Board, or any other bonus program as the Company may establish from time to time in its sole discretion.