The Coast Guard has announced Fiscal Year 2026 bonuses and incentives for active duty and reserve members.
These incentives – which are both monetary and non-monetary – are based on the Military Workforce Planning Team (MWPT)’s annual assessment of the service’s recruiting, retention and assignment needs. They are in effect from Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026.
There will be no Selective Reenlistment bonuses in FY 2026. Instead, the service is focused on using the targeted bonuses listed below to better meet its needs. In addition, the Coast Guard is getting ready to launch a new bonus tracking system, which will make it easier for members to follow the approval process. So, stay tuned. More details will be coming soon.
Authorized monetary incentives include:
- Enlistment bonuses (EB) – for culinary specialists (CS), electrician’s mate (EM), and machinery technicians (MK). Applicants with college credit or previous Department of Defense (DoD) experience, or who agree to quick-ship to certain boot camp convenings also qualify for an EB.
- Designated Career Field bonuses (DCFB) – for culinary specialists (CS), electrician’s mates (EM) and machinery technicians (MK).
- Critical Skills Retention bonuses (CSRB) – for some enlisted ratings as well as some officer and chief warrant officer specialties, qualifications, and assignments. CSRBs are also available for certain cyber and afloat positions, and others with specific qualifications and assignments.
- Aviation bonuses (AvB) – pilots O-4 and below who serve on designated operations and certain pilots at O-5 level qualify for bonuses.
- Note: Members who voluntarily short-tour from an assignment for which a bonus was paid to a position not eligible for a bonus under the same program will have the unearned portion of the bonus recouped at a prorated amount.
Authorized non-monetary incentives include:
- For enlisted: guaranteed A-schools for critical rates, tour length increases or two-year extensions at designated units for certain rates, suspension of HYT, SWE points for certain assignments.
- For officers: tour length increases or two-year extensions at designated units for certain specialties, elective airframe transition for certain pilots.
You can find details, eligibility requirements, and service obligations — and see if you qualify — on the Military Bonus and Incentive Program SharePoint site.
Bonus agreement forms will be available Oct. 1 in the Coast Guard Official Forms directory.
Other changes this year
Obligated Service: Members with remaining obligated service for Post 9/11 GI Bill transfer of educational benefits (TEB), service-funded advanced education (not listed in the bonus eligibility criteria), a previous bonus agreement, or obligated service that extends beyond Sept. 2026 are NOT eligible for bonuses offered in this ALCOAST. Waivers will not be granted.
Separately, enlisted members needing to obligate service for an FY26 Critical Skills Retention bonus must sign the extension of enlistment within the current fiscal year, but the extension does not have to begin to run in the current fiscal year. This means more members will be eligible for some bonuses than they were before.
Can I get more than one bonus?
Multiple enlistment bonuses (EB) for the same period of service, known as bonus stacking, may be authorized. But these cannot exceed the statutory cap of $75,000 per recruit. Coast Guard Recruiting Command will authorize bonus stacking for eligible applicants.
- For more details on bonus procedures, please review ALCOAST 386/25 and the Coast Guard Military Bonus and Incentive Programs Instruction.
- Talk with your Chief or Silver Badge well in advance of your reenlistment or extension date to ensure you have all the information to make a good decision.
- You can also chat with your P&A office, Work-Life staff, and senior yeoman.
- For questions that still cannot be answered, ask your command to contact the Office of Military Policy at: HQSPolicyandStandards@uscg.mil.
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