Fort Richardson brigade leads re-enlistment stats
FORT RICHARDSON - A higher percentage of 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team members from Fort Richardson re-enlisted than did soldiers in any brigade in the U.S. Army.
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"We exceeded 200 percent of our re-enlistment goals, and that says a lot," said Col. Michael Garrett, commander of the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, which returned to Fort Richardson from Iraq last month.
The brigade exceeded its re-enlistment target set by the Department of Defense by 267 percent last fiscal year, said Master Sgt. Douglas Goodwin, who leads the brigade's retention efforts.
In all, 1,105 soldiers in the unit re-enlisted, more than a third of about 3,000 noncommissioned soldiers in the brigade eligible for re-enlistment, Goodwin said.
One attraction may have been the Army's new bonus system, which offers cash inducements to re-enlist ranging from $20,000 to $35,000 for medics and highly skilled infantry soldiers.
Goodwin said re-enlistment bonuses paid last year to members of the 4th brigade alone exceeded $8.5 million.