Military branches often offer bonus payments or performance bonuses to those who meet various personnel qualification requirements. Such bonus programs can be short term, such as an initial cash payout, or long-term bonus performance programs, which spread payments out over the course of enlistment term. Some performance bonuses are offered upon enlistment, for reenlistment, or for overseas extension as well as bonuses, or special pay, for hardship duty, hazardous duty, imminent danger pay, as well as combat aviation or diver pay.

Enlistment performance bonuses are paid out after minimum-qualifying scores on qualifications test within the armed forces for which there is a demand for personnel are met. In most cases, enlistment terms are for three years in duration and may earn recruits between $1,000 and $12,000, depending on education levels, as well as rating or MOS (military occupational specialty – aka "job"). The U.S. Army has been known to increase enlistment bonuses to as high as $25,000, dependent on MOS needs.

Reenlistments as well as overseas extension bonuses are also available for military members who opt to extend overseas tours by one year or more. Such performance bonuses can be paid out in several different ways, including incorporation into monthly pay, or in a 15-day R&R prepaid round-trip transportation to the United States, or as 30 days of R&R in addition to already accumulated or existing leave time.

Regardless of the method through which such performance bonuses are paid out, recruits and veteran soldiers alike benefit, as does the military branch through which such performance bonuses are awarded.