January 11, 2006: The U.S. Navy is trying to keep discharged sailors, with key skills, available for recall to active duty. To that end, it is offering $15,000 bonuses to certain sailors if they will sign up for six years of reserve duty after they leave active duty. Those eligible are master-at-arms (security specialists), hospital corpsman, gunner's mate, intelligence specialist, builder, steelworker, construction electrician, construction mechanic, diver, explosive ordnance specialist, SEAL, and special warfare combatant crewman.

The naval reserve has a way to go in this department, as it has been twenty years since they last met their recruiting goals. Until the current war on terror, the navy didn't rely on their reserves all that much. But now they find that there are certain critical areas where they could use a little more help. Thus the bonus program.