A new retention program will pay about $1,550 per month to select senior warrant officers who agree to serve longer, helping the Army keep their technical skills.
The Warrant Officer Retention Bonus, or WORB, will go to 100 chief warrant officers in more than a dozen cyber, intelligence, and other technical specialties, and is open to those with 17 to 21 years of active federal service.
Army seeks to keep top warrant officers with $1,550 monthly incentive
WORB givesqualified warrant officers around $1,550 each month in exchange for extra years in uniform. The goal is to keep the technical experts the Army already relies on. So who exactly can sign up for this new cash boost?
The program targets chief warrant officers nearing the 20‑year retirement mark whose skills the Army considers indispensable. According to Lt. Col. Angela Chipman, the chief of Army retention, soldiers who accept the bonus take on an added service commitment that ranges from 3 to 6 years, depending on how long they have already served, as she explained in an interview with Task & Purpose.
Key elements of the bonus look like this:
- Monthly payments of about $1,550 for each eligible participant
- Eligibility for chief warrant officers with 17 to 21 years of active service
- Cap of 100 participants out of 254 eligible warrant officers
Chipman said 67 warrant officers had already signed up and she expected the 100‑person cap to be reached by the end of the week.
Longer service obligations depend on years of active federal duty completed
The precise obligation under WORB depends on how long the warrant officer has served when they sign the agreement.
| Years in active federal service at signup | Extra service obligation under WORB | Monthly bonus amount |
| 17–19 years | 6 additional years | About $1,550 per month |
| 20–21 years | Minimum of 3 additional years | About $1,550 per month |
An earlier version of the program rolled out in August required an eight‑year obligation, but the Army later cut that requirement, hoping to make the offer more appealing.
How the retention bonus fits into wider Army transformation and restructuring plans
The WORB forms part of a broader Army retention revamp announced last week as the service embarks on a force-wide restructuring known as the Army Transformation Initiative. Chipman has noted that more than 92% of warrant officers stay until retirement, but many become eligible at about 20 years of service, before they reach the most senior roles.
Most warrant officers come from enlisted or officer careers and average about eight years before pinning on their warrant rank, so they can hit 20 years while still mid‑grade. For those debating retirement, the Warrant Officer Retention Bonus offers an incentive to stay.
