The Marine Corps Is Paying up to $18,630 to Fill Its New Scout Platoons

The Marine Corps graduated its last scout sniper class in December 2023. Now it’s paying Marines to reenlist in the job that replaced it.

A Sept. 22 Marine Corps order (MARADMIN 429/26) adds reenlistment bonuses for the new Scout job (MOS 0315). Payments will range from $7,500 to $18,630, depending on rank and contract.

As of Oct. 21, 200 active-duty Marines qualify to transfer into the job right away, said Capt. Steven J. Keenan, a Marine Corps spokesperson. But only 65 reenlistment spots are available to newly converted Scouts this fiscal year.

What the Scout Bonus Pays and Who Qualifies

The exact amount depends on your rank and years of active service. Zone A covers Marines with 17 months to six years. Zone B covers six to 10 years.

In Zone A, Scouts get $7,500 as an E-3, $8,000 as an E-4, and $10,000 as an E-5. In Zone B, E-5s get $18,630. E-6s and above are not eligible for a Scout bonus.

To get the entire amount, you must reenlist for at least 48 more months. The Corps then pays it in the fiscal year your current contract ends, not when you sign.

First-term sergeants and below can also add an FMF Infantry Kicker. Reenlist for 60 months and agree to stay in an assigned infantry unit for the first 24 months, and you get an additional $7,000. Agree to 36 months, and you get $30,000. You’re only allowed one kicker.

The bonus is for active-duty Marines whose contracts end between Oct. 1, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2027. It doesn’t apply to the Marine Corps Reserve.

Marines E-5 and under can convert now if they’re a rifleman (MOS 0311), machine gunner (0331), mortarman (0341), antitank missile gunner (0352), or already a Scout (0315). They also must have graduated the Basic Scout Course or hold the old scout sniper job (0317) as an additional MOS.

How Many Marines Will Get In

As of Oct. 21, 200 active-duty Marines were eligible to convert to Scout because they had already completed the Basic Scout Course or held the 0317 job, Keenan said. Another 20 Reserve Marines were also eligible to convert, though the bonus doesn’t cover the Reserve.

The Corps set aside 65 reenlistment spots for newly converted Scouts this fiscal year, Keenan said. Thirty-five are in the first-term alignment plan, the Corps’ reenlistment quota for Marines finishing their first contract. The other 30 are in the next-term alignment plan, for Marines who have reenlisted before.

That’s about one spot for every three eligible active-duty Marines. Once the spots fill, extra reenlistments receive a bonus only if Marine Corps headquarters approves it.

From Scout Sniper to Scout

In 2023, the Marine Corps disclosed it would replace scout sniper platoons in its infantry battalions with new scout platoons. The last scout sniper class graduated that December.

The shift was a result of Force Design 2030, a modernization initiative aimed at preparing the Marine Corps for future conflicts against peer adversaries.

"In accordance with Force Design 2030, the Commandant of the Marine Corps has approved the establishment of a 26-Marine Scout Platoon, resident in the Headquarters and Service Company of the infantry battalion," the Corps announced in a March 2023 press release regarding the transition.

For nearly three years, scout work didn’t have its own job code. That all changed with a June 2026 Marine Corps order (MARADMIN 296/26), which made Scout a primary MOS starting Oct. 1. Each infantry battalion now gets a 26-Marine scout platoon.

Because this is a new job that needs Marines to fill it, the Sept. 22 bonus is how the Corps plans to keep skilled Marines in those platoons instead of losing them when their contracts end.

Why Staff Sergeants Can’t Switch

Staff sergeants and above can’t get the Scout bonus, and it’s not a mistake.

“Staff Sergeants and above are not currently eligible for the 0315 PMOS, as these grades fall under 0369 MOS,” Keenan said.

That’s the infantry unit leader job. Those Marines have a bonus of their own. Under the FY27 program, staff sergeants and above in Zone B with MOS 0369 can get $23,500.

Former scout snipers who switch won’t lose credit for their training.

“Marines who convert from 0317 to 0315 will retain 0317 as an AMOS, and completion of the 0317 course will remain reflected on their MBS,” Keenan said.

In other words, their record will still show they were a scout sniper and finished the course.

What to Do If You Qualify

First, check your record. You need to be an E-3 to E-5 with PMOS 0311, 0315, 0331, 0341, or 0352. You also need to have graduated from the Basic Scout Course or hold AMOS 0317. Your ECC has to fall between Oct. 1, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2027.

Then talk to your career counselor. Units have to send their conversion lists to headquarters no later than Nov. 1.

Before you sign, read the Statement of Understanding. Your bonus amount is set when you reenlist, but you get paid in the fiscal year your contract ends. If you aren’t paid by then, you can ask to leave the Corps within 90 days after that fiscal year ends.

Don’t wait. There are only 65 spots, and the Corps can end the program early if the money runs out or its needs change. It ended last year’s bonus program early, on Oct. 28, 2025, after meeting its retention goals.