Naval special warfare officers could receive up to $125,000 under a new retention bonus the service is offering.
According to a NAVADMIN released Friday, qualified naval special warfare officers can apply for retention bonuses in exchange for another three or five years of service. Those eligible are officers with designators 1130 or 1137 and who have a minimum of 15 years of active-duty commissioned service under their belt, the Navy said.
The bonuses range from a total of $15,000 to $125,000 and are broken down in two phases: Phase 1 for those with 15 years of active duty service and Phase 2 for those with 20 to 22 years of active duty service.
Among both phases, the amount varies depending on the length of the agreement and if the service members is a command eligible officer — one who screened positive at a NSW CO/XO Administrative Screening Board for executive officer, the Navy said.
Command-eligible NSW officers with designator 1130 and 15 years of service are eligible to sign on for a five-year agreement and receive $25,000 each year, or a three-year agreement totaling $15,000 annually under a Phase 1 contract. Meanwhile, command eligible NSW officers with designator 1137 and 15 years of service can qualify for a five-year agreement totaling $12,000 each year and a three-year agreement totaling $7,500 each year.
Those who did not screen positive with the board and who have the designator 1130 and 15 years of service can qualify for a five-year agreement amounting $15,000 each year or a three-year agreement for $5,000 each year.
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Meanwhile, Phase 2 is only offered in three-year increments. Command eligible officers with the 1130 designator are eligible for a three-year agreement totaling $25,000 each year, while non-command eligible officers with the 1130 designator can qualify for a three-year agreement coming out to $15,000 each year.
On the table for command eligible officers with the 1137 designator is a three-year agreement amounting to $12,000 each year.
For both phases, officers with the 1137 designator are not eligible for the bonus if they have not been command screened.
Officers can choose to be paid the bonus either in equal amounts annually throughout the term of agreement, or receive half of the amount up front while the remaining sum will be distributed in equal installments throughout the rest of the term.
Commanding officers must provide endorsements for eligible officers, who submit their request letter to the Naval Special Warfare Retention Bonus program manager through their chain of command.
“Officers must submit their applications to the NSWRB Program Manager prior to their requested start date and should confirm receipt,” the Navy said in a NAVADMIN message. “Applications received after the requested start date will not be accepted and payments will not be processed until all eligibility criteria are met. The first payment normally occurs 2 to 3 weeks after all eligibility criteria are met.”
In the event that a service member does not meet the full terms of the agreement, the pay will be terminated and the officer must pay back the outstanding sum outlined in the bonus agreement.
