Army to Use Auction System for Warrant Officer Retention Bonuses
Feb 24th 2026
Starting in March the Army will let senior warrant officers confidentially bid the minimum monthly bonus they would accept for a six year commitment and pay a market clearing rate to winning bidders.
- The program is called the Warrant Officer Retention Bonus Auction and launches in March.
- Eligible participants are CWO-3 and CWO-4 in critical technical military occupational specialties, and aviators are excluded.
- Warrant officers submit confidential bids stating the minimum monthly bonus they would accept for a new six year active duty contract.
- Army officials will calculate a market clearing rate that spreads the program budget among as many qualifying bidders as possible and pay that rate to all winners.
- Soldiers who bid above the market clearing rate will not receive a bonus, while those who bid at or below it will all get the same payment.
- The auction is part of broader Army human resources reforms, including a Quality Tiered Incentive Program that ties higher reenlistment bonuses to performance.