Army “Recodes” Jump Pay Eligibility for 22,000
Look, up in the sky..
Leg day: Army cuts down on number of paid parachutists
The Army is reclassifying 20,000 paid parachutist positions to prioritize limited airborne resources for soldiers who would be the first to jump into combat.
Patty Nieberg
Since World War II, the number of soldiers the Army has trained to be able to jump into combat has more than doubled. But as the service prepares for a future war, it worries there are too many soldiers who need to maintain their jump status, especially those who would not actually be jumping directly into combat.
The Army is reclassifying around 20,000 paid parachutist positions to manage limited resources and prioritize airborne training for soldiers who would be the first ones on the ground, officials said. Paid parachute positions include paratroopers in airborne units as well as soldiers in other staff units.
Those soldiers who are coded as paid parachutist positions will still receive jump pay and need to maintain their jump status, according to Army officials. All soldiers are still able to go to airborne school. The change was first reported by Army Times.
“It’s not about the money, per se. It’s literally about — for the forces that will jump in the alpha echelon and fight off a potentially contested drop zone. We want them at the highest level of readiness,” Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps Lt. Gen. Greg Anderson said on an episode of the From the Green Notebook podcast on Wednesday. “Three jumps, most of those currency jumps, is not going to get us the readiness we need.”
Soldiers are required to jump once every three months to maintain their status.
Anderson said that maintaining “collective proficiency” across the airborne force under current conditions is “unsustainable” due to “dwindling resources.” Those resources range from a limited number of aircraft, to riggers who pack and inspect chutes for all jumps and the need to maintain highly proficient jump masters.
“All these things are contributing to a decline in the collective proficiency of our forces,” Anderson said. “For the last three fiscal years, the 82nd Airborne per capita is jumping less than four times — somewhere in the two-and-a-half to three jumps per paratrooper. That doesn’t even meet airborne currency, let alone airborne proficiency.”
The changes will go into effect Oct. 1, said Col. Mary Ricks, a spokesperson for the XVIII Airborne Corps.
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“We have tens of thousands of soldiers who are on airborne status and getting paid to be on airborne status that’s ballooned over time and not realistic to combat,” said Col. Dave Butler, a spokesperson for the Army. “Admin personnel at a division level, even in an airborne division, probably aren’t going to jump into combat.”
Extra pay for four Double-E Ticket rides a year? OK. I can see y’all getting Jump Pay. How you earn Base Pay now, is another question.
*grin*
Hat tip to a Usual Suspect for the inspiration.
Category: Big Army, Blue Skies, Usual Suspects
Pay cut for the troopers????
Pay cut for those who only jump Hollywood style (no equipment) once every three months to collect jump pay.
In the 10th group we did regular night jumps with full equipment. But when I was in Germany with the 509th, we had difficulty getting in enough jumps in winter because of weather. I wish I had a dollar for every time we sat around on an airfield all chuted up waiting for the weather to improve.
Former paratroopers. So I guess General Anderson will be removing himself from the rolls since he certainly won’t be the first to jump in, along with most of XVIII Corps staff. Oh wait, my recollection is that they keep a bunch of slots for themselves and then right before the actual mission pull a few Joe’s and NCO’s up to do the actual mission.
In fairness though we haven’t done a conventional warfare combat jump in over 20 years. Given the proliferation of drones I kind of doubt we will any time in the near future either.
The 509th did a huge jump of most of our airborne brigade into Norway in 1969 along with support elements, including artillery. The brigade commander and his staff jumped in. It took 23 C-130’s to drop the troops; then another 10 dropping equipment. I didn’t get to jump as I was a liaison officer to the Norwegian Army and helped plan and control the drop. The sky full of all those parachutes was quite a sight.
I know it’s blasphemy, but there were always signal MOS’s that just made no sense to me to have airborne positions. You can’t airdrop the equipment (OK, you can… once. But it won’t work.), so why are we doing this? For the record, I’m a leg. I got myself into enough shit situations walking off a military aircraft, ain’t no way I was jumping.
As veteran of one of those units, longer ago than I care to recall, I can tell you out of a battalion of 650 signal soldiers there were 20 jump slots. These in theory were for the Advon/ Recon party to get on the ground and recon the sites for emplacement of equipment.
In reality it was like I said in the other post. They would have all the Commanders and Platoon leaders and staffies on there. Then when the time came they would clear the roster and put the correct people on there, who were just cheated out of months and years of training and pay and then yell at them when they did a poor job.
Equipment that was less than prime for air drop was of course landed at the air field the Rangers had hopefully just seized. But some things were still droppable. A HMVV is a HMVV, it doesn’t matter what is on the bumper. You can drive it out and secure a site position and guide the equipment truck in when they arrived. That is how it was supposed to work in theory.
Had a roommate in Korea (89-90) that came from 82nd SIG. Said they jumped enough to stay qualified and paid, but never did anything MOS related on a jump. He got bored with signal, reenlisted 11B, and grew up to be the TRADOC CSM. 35th Sig used to be airborne, but I have no clue how many slots they actually had. I never saw anyone from there without wings.
I recall the option for tactical MOS’s while at Ft. Monmouth
in late 60’s but not interested. Don’t know anyone that was.
Hat tip and a salute to some friends that were 82nd Pleiku.
Cue up the wailing and gnashing of teeth. But what this article didn’t mention is that jump pay is actually increasing for those who stay in the remaining positions. Basic jump pay goes from $150 to $200. And jump masters get an additional $150. That’s a win win.
(Plus maybe some people will stop homesteading at Fort Bragg.)
I guess, it’s been $150 practically forever. It was $150 back in the 90s. $150 in 1995 would be the equivalent of $330 today. So even Jump Masters with the pay raise are making less today than they would have 30 years ago. Fuck, I’m old.
Must have been raised to $150 right at 1995.
As late as April 1994 it was $110, and had been for years.
IIRC, They raised cadet stipend and airborne pay the same year, which would have been 1995.
I actually got food with and lived off cadet pay. Ramen, tuna fish and peanut butter, baby!
It was $110 for officers back to the mid 1960’s.
JM’s are getting more money because no one wants to be a JM. lol It’s an incentive for them to get certified so they have enough to complete the task on every jump.
Interesting. Used to be everyone wanted to be one.
In the 82nd and other units that do jumps regularly, it’s not a big deal. It’ll be the units who are losing jump pay that always had an issue with getting JMs certified and wanting to be there. They end up getting called to jumpmaster every jump, get whored out to other units doing jumps that need JMs, etc.
Disclaimer, I’m a Dirty Leg, but one thoroughly brainwashed by the Rakkasans, who is proud of their Airborne heritage–past, present, and future. I used to cause a bit of butthurt on the paratrooper.net forums by bringing up the impact that 3/187 IN has had on Airborne history versus the thousands of 5-Jump Chumps in the Army who never served a day in any Airborne-designated unit. No, the 101st hasn’t jumped in over 50 years. Yes, Air Assault is still part of Airborne operations. I guess that in a way, a 3ID Cav Scout who conducted a few air assaults in Iraq is more Airborne than an 82nd ABN Infantryman who spent two years in the division and only did the proficiency jumps. 🫡
As I stated, I never served in an Airborne unit, but late in my career I went TDY to Bragg a few times. The motivation and overall atmosphere reminded me somewhat of 3/187. Airborne is more than just who collects pay and jumps, it’s a “can do” (not to be confused with the 15th IN out of Fort Stewart) attitude. That said, Airborne as most people think of it (Parachutists) is a means of entering the battlespace that is best reserved for smaller units nowadays. Hence, special operations got a few combat jumps in. Big Army units? I might be mistaken, but 173rd jumped once in Vietnam and once in Iraq. A brigade from the 82nd jumped into Panama. Prior to that, the only large-scale combat jumps since WWII were made by the Rakkasans in Korea.
So, scale up the pay for those who will actually jump if and when the time comes. I’m thinking battalion-level and lower… maybe a few slots for brigade leadership and key staff (commander, CSM, S3, S2). Combat troops, commanders, and battle staff should have priority. Eliminate the pay for those who follow. ALOC troops can work logistics and personnel issues from the rear. Most BSB and MSTB (I think they’re all Engineer units now) can fly in and land after airfields are secured.
MAGA! Make Airborne Great Again. 🤷♂️
That last sentence should be “BSTB”–Brigade Special Troops Battalion. For those unfamiliar with those and Brigade Support Battalions (BSB), they were implemented after the 2004 restructuring, putting Direct Support units under the direct command of a brigade. The BSTB contains Intel, Signal, and Engineer units, and Brigade HQ troops usually fall under it for admin purposes. It was interesting watching us task our subordinate units, only to have the BSTN try to task us in turn. Read the VTO/STO (Vanguard/Spartan Tasking Order) and you’ll see HHC, 4 or 2 IBCT tasked separately from the BSTB… But I digress. I think the BSTBs became Engineer battalions around the time 4th Brigade, 3ID reflagged to 2nd BDE.
BSBs consist of Forward Support Companies attached to each battalion, plus maintenance and medical troops. So, the B-626 (I think that was the right company) guys I took weapons to as the HHC/3-187 Armorer in 2004 fell under Division Support Command (DISCOM), later became part of 626th BSB, which answers directly to the 3/101 Commander.
Off-topic, but some of you might be wondering what the hell BSB/BSTB means. I didn’t know until I reported to brigade staff in 2012, and even then, was kind of confused as to the difference.
Ah yes “Can-do?”
Definitely a day of dredging up those memories, though this one is a sort of an amusing one, at least to me.
Not shit, there we were, so I was in 3-15 during my final deployment to Iraq ages ago. It was 2010 and the war had calmed way down. So much so that latrine management at Ramadi became a thing. I should point out that contractors serviced all the shitters so there was no reason for this. Soldiers have been drawing dicks since Roman and Greek times. Be that as it was the CSM put up signs in all the shitters about how to take a shit from start to finish. In detail. In no uncertain terms were soldiers to write or draw on the walls. No shit. It was on official battalion stationary, inside a document protector that was taped shut. At the bottom was the battalion motto; “Can Do!”. The latrine was immaculate. So begins the legend.
Assigned remote I only went there once a week to pick up and drop off Intel reports and other stuff. I was happy to be shitting on plastic. But now I was headed for home for mid tour leave. I saw that sign and couldn’t resist. I cut a small hole in the document protector and simply added “-doo”. Smiled all the way to the APOD and slept all the way home.
One would think one little word wouldn’t cause so much chaos. But you would be wrong.
Continued…
….Continued
So I get back to Ramadi three weeks later and go to use to the facilities and there is a buck sergeant in there watching me pee. I told him it isn’t an observed event. He hands me a paper towel and says he is just doing his job.
“Job” I ask?
Apparently someone had written “Can Do-Doo” on the official battalion stationary and the CSM had put up and now E6s and below were on latrine guard to prevent it from happening again. I will point out that I was above that rank at the time. Shit does indeed roll down hill.
“Just for that?” I wondered out loud.
Well no, apparently it started at the battalion HQs and then within a couple of days “they” had written on all of the CSMs MOIs in the battalion area on how to download class I. Women’s latrines too. He then had a battalion formation to try to figure out who did it and and nobody talked. Shocker.
That bastard had been telling me for months that he had no people to send me and he went and put a whole platoon on a shitty, meaningless detail. That was going to come up at our next meeting.
I debated turning myself in. But then again I had only started the shit, I wasn’t there for the rest of them. He couldn’t punish me anyway. But then again they were all remfs, so who cares? If they have time to guard latrines at the big FOB with cheesecake in the chow hall then they clearly aren’t working very hard.
Maybe they would send me a few soldiers, I got missions for them, and our latrines had many wonderful depictions of fine turgid American penises inside. Some may have been a little large for some tastes, but you can never get enough of that kind of thing. As a footnote the latrine guard went on for another three months till the CSM went on leave. He must have got him some because he didn’t turn back on when he got back.
1,800-Year-Old Roman Penis Carving Found Etched Into Hadrian’s Wall
Ah, 3-15. I spent a handful of months in the battalion. After getting selected by CSM Barnes to become the 4th IBCT Schools NCO when I reported after my recruiting duty, I spent nearly two years waiting to go back to the line. My arrival basically went like this: CSM (to a handful of SSGs and one SGT): “Who has Squad Leader time?” Me: “I do.” (I was the only one) CSM: “Good, you’ll be the new Schools NCO. In a year I’ll let you choose a battalion to go take a platoon. SGT C, you’re going to Schools too.” 2ABCT was about to deploy, which had screwed up all of the 11Bs that reported to Fort Stewart when I did. We got held at reception for an extra week or two being told that our original orders were being deleted and that we were all going to 2nd BDE. That didn’t happen, so I reported to 4th only to find that their School NCO, a SFC, had been sent to 2nd BDE that morning. What else didn’t happen? CSM Barnes left shortly afterward to take a recruiting brigade, I got stuck on brigade staff for nearly two years and almost didn’t deploy to Afghanistan, and I was rated as an E-6 the entire time. When I returned from block leave, the new Ops SGM saw me in a meeting and asked who I was and how long I’d been in S3. I was sent to 3-15 that same day. 3-15 was where I served under the most incompetent PSG I’ve ever seen. I’ve mentioned the guy before: SF, Ranger (tabbed and scrolled), Combat Diver, former Marine. Great guy on a personal level, but you could tell he never spent a day in a leadership position especially in a conventional Infantry role. He treated me as the junior squad leader in a platoon that had two other SSGs–one had a year in grade and the other a month in grade when I arrived, while I was already sitting at seven years in grade. The problem he had with me was… Read more »
Long story short, my aging body got to me. We did the Murph every Wednesday. I suck at pullups unless I do them often, and it had been a while, so I only got a few in without help. The following week I struggled to do one, then found my hernia had reopened. So, I served as EIB cadre, went to West Point as a CLDT OC/T, and after nine or so months in the battalion, after my hernia repair had gone wrong (I’d be feeling alright then feel like someone gut punched me out of nowhere), my 1SG came to me to ask my intention. It was easy for me to tell him I was deadweight and that a younger and more capable NCO should take the position. I didn’t need it, and by that time was resigned to retiring as an E-6. I went back to brigade, then got Drill Sergeant orders only eight months later and wore the hat for a couple of years.
Oh, and I thought Barnes was the 3-15 CSM before taking the brigade. I guess those were his signs?
Besides my ramblings about 3-15, I have quite the graffiti story as well:
I was in C/3-187 during the Invasion, sitting at FARP Shell before the battalion conducted a Ground Assault Convoy into Baghdad to link up with 3ID. Our PSG was a former Mountain Phase RI and treated the platoon much like we were Ranger School students. When we moved from an outer ACP of Saddam Int’l (I still call it that because I never saw “BIAP”) to an inner ACP only a week or so after taking the airport, someone had misplaced their tubular nylon and d-ring. SFC H had us all dump our rucks and packs. I’d gotten some goodies from the Special Republican Guard compound we’d moved through, and my ruck was overfilled. Since we only had a few minutes to repack, the helmet and a bunch of other gear got left behind. I still have the uniform and some web gear but that’s it.
Later, we were in Northern Iraq outside of a little town called Dohala, occupying an abandoned border fort. When we moved in, it seemed the locals had gone there to do who knows what. There were explicit drawings on the walls and human excrement on the floors. One night I was on guard on the roof, due to be relieved in 30 minutes or so, when the PSG and PL walked up. There were a couple of sentences written on the guard post, and they looked at them, walked away, then came back with the SLs. The next thing you know, the entire platoon was in the courtyard getting smoked. This was just before 2200, and finally at 0200 it stopped. I just stayed on guard, no need for “relief”. At 0500, each squad rotated through rooftop guard in full gear.
The following evening, we got our weekly hot A’s, and our PSG started the smoke session anew after dinner. The concrete was so hot I’d try to direct puddles of sweat under my hands only to have them evaporate in seconds.
Fortunately for us, the culprit stepped forward. It was the FO, or at least he took the blame. He was immediately moved from the platoon CP to outside the walls.
So, for a month or so, we had two outsiders. On one side of the fort, near the makeshift latrine, was a guy who’d tested positive for cocaine, but the results hadn’t been received until we got to Kuwait. He’d been kept in the rear but started stealing atropine autoinjectors and was sent back to the platoon once we got somewhat stable. He lived in a poncho hooch, getting a case of water and a case of MREs every week or so, and no communication between him and the rest of us was permitted. His sole job was to burn shit.
The FO got a similar treatment, all over the couple of lines scribbled at the guard point. He lived on the other side of the fort, in a poncho hooch, and was also forbidden to communicate with us. I think he was finally reintegrated after a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, visiting other platoons saw their guard points covered and recovered in graffiti. They must have gone through thousands of markers and probably stained their uniforms just leaning on the wood.
This same PSG told us we’d get to 800 overhead hand claps in Kuwait (we did) and later led us in 600+ side-straddle hops. We consistently had the highest PT average in the battalion and regularly had the CSM doing PT with us. SFC H was someone who didn’t collect badges for the sake of doing so and fought going to Air Assault School when the 101st was pressuring every leader in the division to get qualified, figuring he wouldn’t learn anything new having already gone through Mountain Warfare and other schools. He ended up going, as did our WSL who jumped into Panama with 75th Ranger and didn’t make E-7 until nearly 18 years in.
They really hated the soldier art there. Shoemaker was the Battalion Commander at the time. I don’t recall Barnes going to Brigade, but I think he was at battalion the whole time I was with them. I tended to avoid the unit as much as possible since we were “attached” (forlorn step children) and not assigned.
Most units, even in theater, when they don’t have anything to do just make shit up. Strange they threw the artist out with the druggie.
We had a couple of idiots who decided to smoke some Spice (back when Spice was legal) before going on patrol. I was the patrol leader and suddenly we stop and the TC for the third truck kicks two Joes out and yells for two more.
I’m confused but when we get to where we are going he is very animated and wanting an immediate Article 15 for them. I can’t recall what the boss did to them but Spice was officially illegal the very next day.
A lot of units are probably like this, but 3-15 seemed like it attracted the special sorts. The CSM that took over in 2014 was a far cry from the one that had been in charge in Afghanistan in 2013. We had a severe shortage of junior NCOs, because it was virtually impossible to pass a promotion board unless you were Ranger qualified. One of the few Soldiers I knew who made Sergeant in 3-15 during my brief time there was not only a Ranger but also an MIT grad and one of the few I met who had higher ASVAB lime scores than me. Barnes was a temporary BDE CSM, from my understanding. His predecessor had assaulted his wife at a military ball and gotten relieved. I found the previous 4IBCT CSM’s relief-for-cause NCOER on the share drive in Afghanistan and I don’t think he move upward in his career. 😁 His successor was a Ranger who was relieved himself for drinking on duty, then they promoted CSM Hummel from a battalion position in 2nd BDE to take over in time for Afghanistan. CSM Hummel was a great guy, and he and COL Gallahue went on to lead the War College in 2019. I’d see them during the weekly “housing crisis SLUBs with the Director of Army Staff. As for Barnes, I think his niche as a senior CSM was in recruiting. I saw him in the food court at Jackson when I was at Drill Sergeant School in 2016 and thought about talking to him but decided against it. 3-15 did have to change the names of their maneuvers in late 2014, though. Marne Focus was in full effect, with Vanguard Focus and our battalion Focus exercises going on simultaneously. China Focus earned the name China Fuck-us from the troops when they realized they weren’t just doing a week or two like 3-7 IN, 6-8 CAV, and the other units, but rather a month-plus of smaller exercises. All under LTC Minami of the “expeditionary Army” mindset–meaning full battle rattle worn at all times unless in a “patrol base”.… Read more »
The Army’s budget is going up about 12 Billion from this current FY, but they’re cutting personnel costs and proficiency pay. Yep, sounds about right.
More money for “something something” lethality, less money for personnel.
Same with the Air Force, their FY26 budget is going to be about 40 Billion more and they’re cutting personnel funding, can’t afford to PCS anyone this Summer, and can’t fix any facilities a servicemember lives or works in.
What the current SECDEF doesn’t understand is that they’ll play these same BS games and instead of focusing on personnel and making them happier, bureaucrats will fund what they “want” to fund because it makes their job easier, both for the military and after they go into the private sector and just “coincidentally” happen to work for a defense contractor.
DOD won’t ever get fixed if we keep pissing off motivated people by taking away services and support for them only to give the money to defense contractors for low grade stuff.
Much of that is simply the nature of a giant bureaucracy and, while there are clear and absolutely awful qualities that come with giant bureaucracy, there is also a massive logistics apparatus that cannot exist without one.
Cutting specialized pay in this instance just means one POG can’t simply dismiss another joe as just some leg, it doesn’t actually hurt airborne capability.
Cheap bastards.
THE DAY BEFORE NATIONAL AIRBORNE DAY?! (huuuge semi-sarc)
I’m glad they’re making it more realistic.
Okay, five-jump chump here… but you need have qualified f*ckers to do it in force.
You definitely do, but in my experience, a lot of Airborne School graduates never plan to do another jump. You have the Option 40 (Ranger contract) kids who would get the Wings, then quit RIP and go to a Leg unit. I think they’ve changed that now, to where OPT 40 have to pass RASP before going to Airborne School. Then you have the Soldiers who reenlist with Airborne as an incentive, despite being in a non-jump unit and planning on never going to the 82nd, 173rd, or another Airborne unit. Or the Cadets and young LTs who get jump qualified before going to their Adjutant General or Quartermaster jobs and eventually becoming yet another overweight MAJ that manages to “make tape” once or twice a year.
Toss in the fact that Big Army likes Victors a lot more than Golfs, so almost every Ranger-qualified Soldier is going to be jump qualified or endlessly pushed to go to the school.
Seven-jump Chump here. Got two jumps at the Q-Course, Phase II, before failing the runs.
No excuse … I just didn’t properly prepare myself. Thought it was still the “gentlemen’s course” … but that had just changed due to Kathleen Wilder….. damn her!
I know one Golf.
Wow.
Old school.
Leg Ranger.
They exist?
Yes, they do. Half of my Ranger class was not airborne qualified. My original orders when I was commissioned had me going to Ranger School as a leg. But at IOBC I was offered Jump school and assigned to a later class. By the way, all RA combat arms officers were required to attend Ranger School in 1968 and 1969. Thus, there were two platoons of leg Ranger students.
We had one in The Old Guard. I think he was what the internet would term a troll nowadays, as he took pride in refusing to go to Airborne School and liked seeing the reactions of senior NCOs.
My 1SG in 3-15 was a Golf, but he went through Ranger School in his late 30s as an SFC. I just looked at his Facebook profile, and I think he’s still in; he made CSM regardless.
Little confused.
If in an airborne unit, your on jump status – hence the pay?
What am I missing?
Nope, not everyone in airborne units are on jump status, unless said unit is a Ranger Battalion, in which case it is a requirement and they will toss you quick if you aren’t able to jump.
Even in Special Forces units there are support personnel who aren’t on jump status, although those units have enough slots for everyone normally.
XVIII COSCOM, before it was rolled into 1st Sustainment Command perfect example of an airborne unit full of leg support personnel.
Roger.
Been a while since I was in.
That was so, back in the 1970’s. There were two WAC’s assigned as secretaries/clerks to the Group commander in the 10th SFG(A).
In my recruiting station, we had a Flight Medic who wore a maroon beret until a new 1SG forced her to wear the black beret in keeping with Army standards. She was married to another Medic who was assigned across town. Both had come from the 82nd, but while he was on jump status as a Combat Medic, she was a NAP–Non-Airborne Personnel.
The Sabalauski Air Assault School is designated Airborne and from my understanding jump-qualified cadre maintain their proficiency. Not all are Airborne qualified, but all wore the maroon beret when I went through in 2004.
I think there’s a lot of confusion, and it’s really tricky when you take everything into consideration. The 101st is an easy target: why do they have an Airborne tab if they don’t jump (I answered this yesterday… Air Assault is still an Airborne operation), but when you see Soldiers wearing 82nd patches and maroon berets, or even Group Support sporting SF patches and maroon berets, but no jump wings, it seems weird.
ATW!