§318 Special pay: special warfare officers extending period of active duty

Summary

Allows a special warfare officer to get a cash retention bonus if the officer signs a written agreement to stay on active duty in special warfare for at least one year and the Secretary accepts the agreement. A "special warfare officer" is an officer who has the special warfare job or designator and is serving in a position that uses that job. To apply, the officer must be in pay grade O‑3, or O‑4 and not on a promotion list, must have 6 to 14 years of active commissioned service, and must have finished any service commitment from becoming an officer. The bonus cannot exceed $15,000 for each year of the agreement. The agreement and bonus can be prorated but cannot extend past the date the officer reaches 14 years of active commissioned service. Once the Secretary accepts the agreement, the total bonus amount is fixed. It may be paid half up front and the rest in equal yearly amounts, or in graduated yearly payments with the first paid at acceptance. The bonus is extra pay. If an officer leaves before finishing the agreed time after receiving the bonus, the officer must repay under the repayment rules in law (section 303a(e)). The service Secretaries must make rules to run this program, including a definition of "special warfare service," and those rules need the Secretary of Defense’s approval.