You are right. There is a choice involved.
A) you're a mil dude, so maybe you have to do a t&g at a regional, then off to a major. 3-6 months, if you took their bonus, they want it back. Hourly rate at year-1 for you.
B) You think the regionals have awesome bonuses, and you're hell bent on keeping the money. You have to stay typically between 13 months and 3 years, because fuck seniority at a major.
The BL is that yes, the regionals are flashing better money than historical averages, but just like the AF's bonuses, they are retention bonuses. Don't want to be retained? Then you don't get to keep the $. It's good for the .civ guys just reaching their R-ATP mins who are going to be there for 3-5yrs, but .mil guys should be prepared for some honest accounting if that's the route they end up on temporarily. It's not free money with no strings attached.