Rangers offer big recruitment bonuses as they continue to evolve

In its quest to become more independent and lethal, the 75^th Ranger Regiment is offering significant monetary bonuses for specific Military Occupational Specialties (MOS).

There are three categories of bonuses:

$20K: 25C (Radio Operator-Maintainer), 89B (Ammunition Specialist), 92R (Parachute Rigger), 92G (Culinary Specialist), 92Y (Unit Supply Specialist).

$10K: 15W (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator), 27D (Paralegal Specialist), 35G (Signals Intelligence Officer), 42A (Human Resources Specialist), 88A (Transportation, General), 91S (Stryker Systems Maintainer), 92A (Quartermaster Officer), 94E (Radio & Communications Security and Equipment Repairer)

$5K: 25P (Microwave Systems Operator/Maintainer), 25U (Signal Support Systems Specialist), 35M (Human Intelligence Collector), 36B (Financial Management Technician), 91B (Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic), 91F (Small Arms/Towed Artillery Repairer), 92W (Water Treatment Specialist), 94F (Computer/Detection Systems Repairer)

The bonuses, however, apply only to Soldiers who enlisted without an Option 40 contract — Option 40 contracts guarantee a spot to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Process (RASP).

The 75^th Ranger Regiment is comprised of five battalions:

• 1^st Ranger Battalion based in Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
• 2^nd Ranger Battalion based in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
• 3^rd Ranger Battalion based in Fort Benning, Georgia
• Special Troops Battalion (STB) based in Fort Benning, Georgia
• Military Intelligence Battalion (MIB) based in Fort Benning, Georgia

Interesting, the 75^th Ranger Regiment is also looking for Civil Affairs (38A) officers, among numerous other officer MOS. An unknown component of Army Spec Ops, Civil Affairs provides commanders with a critical bridge to the local population.

Earlier this year, the 75^th Ranger Regiment was offering $10K bonuses even to infantrymen (11 series).

Ever since the Global War on Terror (GWOT) began, the Regiment has had to up its game. Pre-9/11, the Regiment was tasked with essentially two missions: Airfield seizure and pulling security for the nation’s direct action Special Mission Units (SMU), Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 — it did so more frequently for the former. Each Ranger Battalion was paired with a Delta Squadron — at that time, Delta had three Assault Squadrons (A, B, C) — and they rotated in the readiness cycle.

With the plethora of targets in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 75^th Ranger Regiment gradually increased its skillset to include standalone counterterrorism missions. It also added a fourth line company to each battalion (D company). Fast forward to today: the Regiment provides scalable (from a single platoon to the whole regiment) light infantry solutions to any problem (conventional or special operations).

There is, however, a downside with the Regiment’s expanded role. The perpetual cycle of training and deploying has had an impact on retention, particularly in the non-commissioned officer ranks, which are the brain and moving force of every unit. It only remains to be seen how the Regiment will cope with its expanded role.