A former Marine, I admit I was not military material. But for $90,000 I could have been.

I read the other day that the Army – our Army, the United States Army, the army still fighting two wars in dangerous, far-away places – is offering re-enlistment bonuses as high as $90,000.

For an old Marine, it’s initially shocking to hear that sum, but in fairness to the Army, the bonus is understandable. The army has $380 million to spend this year to enlist and re-enlist men and women for critical positions in an increasingly high-tech war.

Cyber posts, cryptologists or other intelligence or high-tech jobs with certain language skills are being rewarded with these juicy bonuses.

Can’t argue with that, but we’ve sure come a long way, baby, from the day I was offered the chance to re-enlist.

It was July 1962 when I was summoned to the sergeant-major’s office – not for the first time, I am sad to say – for a routine re-enlistment offer.

I, of course, had the feeling that he didn’t want me to re-enlist any more than I wanted to re-enlist.

The conversation didn’t go well. He gave me the standard spiel about re-enlisting, the security, the esprit de Corps, the bonus money I would get.

Oh, yes, the bonus money. Was it $600 or maybe $1,000? I don’t remember. And was that the amount for each year for which I re-upped? Again, don’t remember.

But I do remember one thing. The words “90 thousand dollars” were never mentioned. Yeah, that I remembered.

I, of course, thanked him for the generous offer, but said I was hoping to begin college once I mustered out and started life as a sloppy civilian (we kinda talked that way back then).

He asked about my plans and I told him I was already enrolled in a night course at the local college, where I was studying psychology (the hot subject of the day, as I recall).

Then I added, in a sort of smart-alecky way:

“Actually, I took a psychology test the other day. It showed that I was especially suited for military leadership.”

That was true, but I probably should have kept it to myself.

The sergeant-major, a no-nonsense Swede from Minnesota who once told me he knew a lot of good people from Minnesota before asking, only half in jest: “What happened to you?” I think it was over library books I had not returned on time.

So I knew he was on to me. I loved my four years in the Marines, but we both knew I was not military material.

Now he looked at me, long and hard, shook his head and said, simply: “Those (expletive) tests.”

I never took another psychology class, but I did study journalism. Looking back, I know that if I had been offered $90,000 or $50,000 or even $5,000, I might have been a fully retired Marine long ago.

So goes life.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 1:12 PM with the headline "A former Marine, I admit I was not military material. But for $90,000 I could have been.."