Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer joins senior leaders of the U.S. Army Recruiting and Retention College and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at a Dec. 21, 2023, ceremony at Fort Knox, Ky., to honor the newest members of the recruiting force. (David Camacho/U.S. Army)

Soldiers who volunteer for recruiting duty and ship to training by the end of March can pocket a $5,000 bonus, service officials said this week as they seek to beef up the Army’s recruiting ranks.

The bonus extends a program that the Army announced in October, which provided $5,000 bonuses to most soldiers who agreed to attend recruiter training by February, said Capt. Candace Hoffman, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command. It comes as the Army pushes to add nearly 1,000 soldiers into its recruiting pipeline.

The Army last year announced a series of changes to its recruiting programs as it faced a second straight difficult recruiting year in which it fell about 10,000 recruits short of its 65,000-recruit annual goal. Among the changes, the service is seeking to bolster its recruiting apparatus with more recruiters and a higher-trained recruiting force with new jobs, including new recruiting-focused specialties for enlisted soldiers and warrant officers.

The bonus is available to active-duty and Reserve noncommissioned officers who volunteer for recruiting training, ship to the Army Recruiting College before March 31 and are selected for recruiting duty. To earn the bonus, which will be paid in a lump sum, soldiers must also complete the advanced training program, or ATP, within 120 days of assignment to a recruiting station, receive a satisfactory ATP quality score from the New Recruiting NCO board, and be in good standing with the Army, meaning not flagged for any adverse action and eligible for retention.

Soldiers accepting the bonus must agree to serve as a recruiter for 36 months. The bonus is not available to full-time recruiters serving in the 79R military occupational specialty, the Army said.

The program has proven popular in its initial months, according to Hoffman. She said the service has had more applicants for the program than spaces available in the Recruiting College, an eight-week course that trains soldiers to serve temporarily as a recruiter.

Since November, some 887 soldiers enrolled in the Recruiting College. The Army initially had sought to enroll about 800 by the end of February, Hoffman said. The service now aims to enroll roughly another 1,000 soldiers into the college before April.

Sergeants who complete the recruiting course will be promoted to staff sergeant upon graduation, according to the Army. Staff sergeants who complete the course and sign up 24 recruits who ship to basic training within a year will be promoted to sergeant first class, according to the service.

Those interested in the program should contact their career managers to volunteer, according to Army Human Resources Command.