
Gen. Paul E. Funk II, commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, hands South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster a proclamation to be signed during a Partnership for Your Success event at Fort Jackson Aug. 17. The PaYS program is a strategic partnership event that guarantees Soldiers an interview and possible employment once they leave the service. (By Robert Timmons)
It PaYS: SC, Army leaders agree to enlistment incentive
By Robert Timmons, Fort Jackson Public Affairs
The already close partnership between Fort Jackson and the Palmetto State was strengthen Aug. 17 as leaders from the Army and South Carolina signed a partnership memorandum that assists Soldiers to find jobs when they successfully finish an enlistment.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Gen. Paul E. Funk II, commanding general of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command signed the memorandum in front of a group of civic and military leaders at Fort Jackson.
The Partnership for Your Success is “an investment between the state of South Carolina and the U.S. Army, and its an investment in human capital,” Funk said prior to signing the agreement.
According to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, PaYS is a strategic partnership between the U.S. Army and a cross section of corporations, companies, and public sector agencies that guarantees Soldiers an interview and possible employment after the Army. When a Soldier exits the service, their name is matched with a database of projected future jobs based on their military occupational specialty and are given an interview. The program guarantees an interview not necessarily a job.

Funk said the program benefits not only the Soldier but the business as well.
“I’ll tell you what you get when you agree to interview and perhaps hire these folks – you’re getting a veteran who is highly skilled, motivated and responsive,” he said. “You get a person who … understands discipline. You get someone who’s trustworthy; someone you want on your team.”
“It is a workforce incentive to bring the people who have chosen to come back here and be part of the fabric of society with an elite service back here in South Carolina,” said retired (Maj. Gen.) William F. Grimsley, Secretary of the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs. “
“We are honored to participate in this with the great U.S. Army, and I want to thank the Army and all the services for keeping this world safe – it is a dangerous world where things can change in an instant,” McMasters said during the ceremony.

Funk and McMaster signed a ceremonial partnership agreement with each agency of South Carolina.
The program was founded in 2000 as an enlistment incentive for active duty Soldiers but has since expanded to Reserve and National Guard Soldiers and other areas of the service including Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets.