Air Force can’t keep pilots with $225k bonus
AL.com reports that teh Air Force is still having trouble keeping pilots in uniform even with a $225,000 bonus for signing on for nine more years;
In June, the Air Force said it would give $225,000 signing bonuses for military aviators that commit to an additional nine-year flying fighter jets. The bonus would be paid in a lump-sum of $112,500 with the rest being paid out over the remaining nine years of the contract.
The bonus offer was a $100,000 increase from the existing amount that required a five-year commitment. Salary ranges for the job would remain the same – anywhere from $34,500 to $97,400 a year.
The Air Force was hoping to land more than 150 veteran military aviators to commit to the nine years in an effort to overcome growing deficit of fighter pilots.
That hasn’t happened, however. The Air Force won’t say how many pilots have applied for the bonus by the Oct. 31 deadline but conceded the number was small. Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning said a reduction in flying hours due to budget cuts is to blame for the lack of interest.
Yeah, it’s sequestration that did it – and maybe watching the Pentagon pick apart retirees’ benefits and squabble about retirement packages. And that’s pilots with huge bonuses – imagine what will happen to the rest of the career fields – the force will hemorrhage experience. The Pentagon is doing what the Taliban couldn’t.
Category: Military issues
Pilots fly. That’s what they do. No fly = goodbye. It’s that simple, bonus money or no bonus money.
@1 plus if you factor in the idea that flying jets requires some intelligence they probably understand the whole f#ck you later deal the military is currently utilizing to minimize labor costs…I’m thinking that maybe these guys don’t believe the military will honor its commitments to them based on current events….I’d have to say that’s probably a smart way to think. How many retirees are currently getting hosed with health care? Why would I believe anything these lying cocks#ckers say today? Knowing full well if they decide next year they don’t need me they might change the rules to toss me out and probably f#ck me out of the bonus, my retirement, and anything else these rat b4stards can steal from me on the way out the door….
No thank you, f#ck you very much….
Plus: virtual guarantee of employment at around $105-150k/yr (total salary/quarters/rations/flight pay/bonuses) for next 9 years, assuming start as O3 with 4+ years TIS.
Minus: eminently possible to get pitched in mid-to-late 30s with no retirement and with few marketable skills other than flying. Might not fly all that much if cuts continue. Potentially lots of time deployed in “wonderful” faraway locations.
Hard call, but yeah – I can see why a lot of folks would say “um, no thanks” given today’s current military climate.
Not much to add to previous comments. I guess to takes a butt load of money to convince a guy to stay in an organization busily tearing itself apart, while living in fear of the knife in the back at every turn.
When I was in, enlisted nuke bonuses were maxxed out at $30K. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to see a 23-24 year old kid reup for a $100K payday.
But what they don’t realize is the difference is on the outside, even in non-nuke jobs, between what they’re making at a E-5 or even E-6 versus the tech/utility world.
Learjet pilot starting pay is $70k +++, meaning plus bonuses and other perks. That’s STARTING pay. And it’s flying. And you don’t get shot at.
Wait a minute, you mean that flying a simulator ain’t gettin’ it? These guys, who’ve trained to fly fighter jets can’t see the benefits of flying an X-box or PS4 simulator? No fuel burned, no globull warming, no need for pesky maintenance on the real thing, just make sure the X-Box is plugged in to the wall.
Gotta agree with VOV @#2, pilots, along with lots of other people, can see the writing on the wall, and are expressing their confidence in the chain of command with their feet, heading for the exits.
Yeah, so about those pay and bennie cuts…
Why should crew chiefs stay if their retirement is going to be cut? Why should junior airmen re-up if pay and BAH will go down? Why would anyone join if the pay and bennies are crap?
It’s the 90’s all over again.
Yup, they’re thinking “Hmmm, stay in and get shit on, or take my skills and experience to the civilian world and make real money?”. What’s next, are they going to try and force personnel to stay?
@9 shhhhh don’t give them ideas….
@chockblock, the 1990s? I think you’re being generous.
How about the 1960s instead?
In the seventies, fighter guys were lucky to get 20 hours a month. Way to low a number to stay proficient. Granted, the flight simulators were far less capable then than now, but pilots want to aviate, not simulate. I didn’t have as much problem getting hours in the C-130, but we needed at least two pilots and could put more on for a flight and swap seats. Try doing that in a fighter.
Also, most major airlines are looking at mass retirements due to the age 65 retirement mandate. At Delta, half of the 11,000 pilots are over 50. Other airlines are even more top age heavy.
@Chockblock, @ExP2, the ’70s qualify as those times too.
Another retention factor may be the airlines, which are starting to see better days, and are discovering that many pilots they have are too dependent on automated systems. An article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday said as much. My hunch is these are lower-time pilots who were trained outside of the military. Maybe the airlines have found that people who have a lot of hours in actually flying a jet are better at things like… flying a jet.
George V.
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!
Rudyard Kipling
The Immutable Law of Unintended Consequences once more comes into play.
Or, as ya’all like to say around here, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”
And that applies to even YOU, CIC O’Preezy. You are NOT immune.
The US Air Force is stupid enough to believe that pilots will jump at the chance to get a few more bucks. As stated before, pilots love to fly, that is why they chose their profession. Being an aviator is a calling, and most of them can see what is coming down the pike, limited flight time and more desk time. Those that stay will fall into one of two categories: 1) The true believers and patriots 2) The crappier pilots that could not make it in the corporate world.