37 U.S.C. § 301e — Multiyear retention bonus: dental officers of the armed forces

(a) Bonus authorized: (1) A dental officer^* described in subsection (b) who signs a written agreement to stay on active duty^* for two, three, or four years after finishing any other active-duty service commitment may, once the Secretary of the relevant military department accepts the agreement, be paid a retention bonus under this section. (2) The bonus cannot exceed $50,000 per year for a four-year agreement; the maximum yearly bonus for two-year and three-year agreements is reduced to reflect the shorter commitment.

(b) Officers automatically eligible: Subsection (a) applies to an officer who (1) is an officer of the Dental Corps of the Army or Navy, or an Air Force officer designated as a dental officer; (2) has a dental specialty in oral and maxillofacial surgery; (3) is in a pay^* grade^* below O-7; (4) has at least eight years of creditable service, computed as described in section 302b(g), or has finished any active-duty service commitment incurred for dental education and training; and (5) has completed initial residency training, or will complete it before September 30 of the fiscal year the officer signs the agreement.

(c) Extension of bonus to other dental officers: At the discretion of the Secretary of the relevant military department, the Secretary may sign a written agreement, and pay a retention bonus, to a dental officer who does not have the specialty described in (b)(2), as long as the officer otherwise meets the eligibility requirements in (b). Secretaries must exercise this discretion consistently with regulations the Secretary of Defense prescribes.

(d) Repayment: An officer who does not complete the agreed active-duty period must repay money under the repayment rules in section 303a(e).