A new $5,000 pay bonus was authorized by the U.S. Army to help entice new top-performing troops into new training. The reason for the bonus is the need for more advisers in areas of the world, such as Syria, Iraq, Africa and Afghanistan.
The new reality of training and building security forces in different parts of the world has opened up new opportunities within the Army. With the bonus and the new troops entering new training, the Army hops to create five new and permanent brigades of full-trained professional advisers. These advisers will be deployed around the world, as needed.
This new program shows how the Trump administration has embraced the working “by, with and through” local forces, which was a part of the Obama administration. The policy came out of the 2003 Iraq invasion, which saw more attn. 160,000 American soldiers battling on the ground and struggling to train local troops in the area.
It only took about three years for the Iraqi security forces to collapse after the U.S. troops left in 2011. This caused U.S. troops to return for more training and advising, while enabling the Iraqis to push the Islamic State from their country.
Bonus Approved and Moving Forward
The $5,000 bonus was approved last week and will become available in June. A colonel has been chosen to lead the first brigade and will begin by traveling to many military posts over the next few weeks to recruit soldiers for the unit. Joining the brigade is voluntary.
Some soldiers are expected to show apprehension, since this is a new program. They may not want to leave their current career path, especially if they fear this new plan may fail or lose support later on. The bonus will help with recruiting the mid-grade, non-commissioned officers to become a part of the program. It’s expected that 529 soldiers will be a part of the brigade with 360 being officers not qualifying for the bonus. The rest will qualify and can earn extra money.
You Should Know The Objective
Overall, the object of this new bonus and brigade will be to fix problems found in the current training programs. With some soldiers being deployed at advisers and trainers, they have had to leave their units back home. This has happened in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first brigade is expected to be ready to deploy by the end of next year. However, no decision has been made about where they will go.
