Staff Sgt. Michael Lee, a chaplain assistant with the 130th Engineer Brigade, reenlisted on December 13, 2016 on the 18th hole at the Navy Marine Golf Course. The Administrating Officer was Chaplain (COL) William Green, of U.S. Army Pacific. (Courtes...

If you were on the fence about whether to leave the Army or give it a little more time, now is the time to talk to your career counselor about your options. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2017 has raised the active Army's end strength to 426K. There are numerous special incentives being offered to help achieve this critical mission increase.

The incentives apply to those Soldiers with a FY17 ETS date, or prior to 30 September 2017 only.

Qualifying Soldiers who extend for a minimum of 12 months, but no more than 23 months, will receive a lump sum bonus of $10,000.00.

Soldiers with an ETS date prior to 30 September 2017 who are authorized a Selective Reenlistment Bonus listed in paragraphs 4 or 5 in MILPER Message Number 17-029 are authorized an additional lump sum kicker of $13,000.00.

Soldiers with an ETS date prior to 30 September 2017 who are not authorized a Selective Reenlistment Bonus are now authorized to reenlist for a lump sum Tier 17 Selective Reenlistment Bonus of $10,000.00.

The 90-day retention window Soldiers normally expect is suspended. Soldiers now have up to their ETS date to reenlist or extend.

"Now more than ever it is important for Soldiers and NCOs to keep in close contact with their Career Counselors, even if they have started the Soldier for Life Program. Getting the most up to date information would allow them to make sound decisions for the future of their careers and families," said Master Sgt. Gary Norris, 8th Military Police Brigade Career Counselor.

Retention Control Points Exception to Policy are automatically given for those FY17 SPC(P) and SGT(P) serving in a balanced or shortage MOS (according to current In/Out call) and can now stay in for 10 years as a Spc. and 15 years for Sgt. Previous retention control points were 8 years for Spc. and 14 years for Sgt).

There are also incentivized reenlistment changes. Soldiers serving in an over strength MOS with less than 10 years of total active federal service are authorized reenlistment choice of duty station movement options. Previously, Soldiers serving in an over strength MOS only had the option to re-class or reenlist per for the needs of the Army.

Soldiers who are currently on terminal leave and desire to reenlist/extend may still be eligible.

They must proceed to the closest Army Installation with Career Counselor support in order to take action. The Soldier's retention action must be processed by Career Counselor at the Soldier's current unit while they are on terminal leave and cannot be processed by a commander at another installation. The servicing Career Counselor must ensure that once the action is complete, that they coordinate with the Transition Point to have their ETS orders revoked and for DFAS to properly code the Soldier to prevent further pay issues.

The Soldiers in our formations are our Army's most important resource. The goal of the 8th TSC Retention Program is to reenlist/extend on a long term basis in order to maintain the Army's end strength. For more details, contact your career counselor, or check out www.armyreenlistment.com