U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) review High Mobility Artillery Rocket System information during a training course 1-26 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, on Oct. 8, 2025. (Andrew King/U.S. Marine Corps)
The Marine Corps is offering service members thousands of dollars in retention bonuses and additional “kickers” in fiscal year 2027, the service announced in an administrative message this week.
“Retaining our most experienced and qualified Marines remain[s] one of the service’s highest priorities. Retention goals are vital for shaping and sustaining the Marine Corps’ enlisted force,” the administrative message said. “It is imperative the Marine Corps builds upon past successes and continues to prioritize retaining the best and most talented Marines.”
The Corps is offering tens of thousands in primary military occupational specialty, or PMOS, bonuses for reenlisting in certain eligible jobs for up to five years. Some jobs, such as aircraft maintenance and infantry personnel, can qualify for more money in the form of kicker bonuses. Marines who agree to a lateral move kicker for seven years will get $50,000 in addition to the PMOS bonus.
Marines in aircraft maintenance could receive a kicker of up to $15,000 in addition to the PMOS bonus. Service members who sign up for the Fleet Marine Force infantry could receive a kicker of $7,000 or $30,000, depending on the length.
Marines eligible for the fiscal year 2027 bonuses include anyone whose contracts expire between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2027, the administrative message says.
The Selective Retention Bonus Program is updated annually to identify enlisted job fields that qualify for financial incentives based on where the Corps most needs to retain experienced personnel.
A variety of factors determine which Marines might be eligible for bonuses — and how much those bonuses might be — including the amount of manning in specific career fields, time in service and rank.
The Corps also announced the continued suspension of the Broken Service Selective Retention Bonus Program for a third straight year.
That program was designed to provide an incentive for Marines who had left the service for fewer than four years to return to active-duty status.
