37 U.S.C. § 324 : US Code - Section 324: Special pay: accession bonus for new officers in critical skills

Search 37 U.S.C. § 324 : US Code - Section 324: Special pay: accession bonus for new officers in critical skills

(a) Accession Bonus Authorized. - Under regulations prescribed by
the Secretary concerned, a person who executes a written agreement
to accept a commission or an appointment as an officer of the armed
forces and serve on active duty in a designated critical officer
skill for the period specified in the agreement may, upon
acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary concerned, be paid an
accession bonus in an amount determined by the Secretary concerned.
(b) Designation of Critical Officer Skills. - The Secretary
concerned shall designate the critical officer skills for the
purposes of this section. A skill may be designated as a critical
officer skill for an armed force under this subsection if -
(1) in order to meet requirements of the armed force, it is
critical for the armed force to have a sufficient number of
officers who are qualified in that skill; and
(2) in order to mitigate a current or projected significant
shortage of personnel in the armed force who are qualified in
that skill, it is critical to access into that armed force in
sufficient numbers persons who are qualified in that skill or are
to be trained in that skill.
(c) Limitation on Amount of Bonus. - The amount of an accession
bonus under subsection (a) may not exceed $60,000.
(d) Payment Method. - Upon acceptance of a written agreement
under subsection (a) by the Secretary concerned, the total amount
of the accession bonus payable under the agreement becomes fixed.
The agreement shall specify whether the accession bonus will be
paid by the Secretary in a lump sum or installments.
(e) Relation to Other Accession Bonus Authority. - An individual
may not receive an accession bonus under this section and section
302d, 302h, 302j, or 312b of this title for the same period of
service.
(f) Repayment. - An individual who, having received all or part
of the bonus under an agreement referred to in subsection (a), is
not thereafter commissioned as an officer or does not commence or
complete the total period of active duty service specified in the
agreement shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section
303a(e) of this title.
(g) Termination of Authority. - No agreement under this section
may be entered into after December 31, 2006.