Hunter Rose

The current take rates are out there. I think it's on that aircrew task force website. It's a not well advertised link that you have to hunt for. I looked at them two weeks ago, and they are abysmal, as should be expected with such a shitty bonus. Overall rate was like 36% or so. Fighter/bombers were even lower. A couple months left for folks to sign it so the numbers may increase, but it looked like it was shaping up to be the worst take rates in the last 5+ years. I'll track it down today at work.

Glad I have not been in the squadrons you have been in then. I would not have done well there. How there can be fallout if the Supervisor approves leave in accordance with the regs is asinine to me. If there's an "issue" with it in a squadron, the Supervisor should just not approve leave in this manner. Letting there be negative repercussions for approved leave in accordance with the regs is weak squadron/flight leadership.

What’s to “get away with”? it’s written in the damn regs. I always put my leave in LeaveWeb to start at 1200 the day prior to the first chargeable day. It always gets approved. If someone scowled at me for doing what the regs state, I think I’d laugh in their face.

No. You have to be in a tax free location the month your bonus processes on your LES and bonus pay hits your bank account. You’d again have to be in a tax free locale when your bonus hit in year 2 to get a portion of it tax free. As mentioned it is considered monthly pay by the finance folk, so you only get tax free (regular pay + ACP) up to the pay rate of the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. No huge benefit to delaying signing. Especially if it adds to your time in.

Annual retention report is out. Active Duty grew the pilot force by 54. At this rate, we’ll be where our manning numbers need to be in a mere 13-15 years! What a stupendous job Aircrew Task Force! The Generals need to cry uncle. They need to ask Congress for a bigger bonus, or if stuck with only a $35K bonus they need to offer it with a one year commitment and renewable annually.

Curious to see where the take rates end up for the year. I wish they'd filter out the old folks like me who just took a second bonus because it gets me to 20 and retirement. The only real number that matters is how many pilots took a bonus and remained after their initial UPT commitment was up. The annual rated manning report is always interesting in how they try and spin the pilot exodus numbers. This year I'm sure it will all be glowing pats on the back for how they've stabilized pilot numbers and actually increased by a few. Not really a success when you're still down 2K pilots for the total force.

The AF should just lower the bonus commitment to 1-2 years. Then it would essentially be "Pro Pay" without having to call it that, since they are incapable of convincing Congress there's a problem. It would at least help the crew force think leadership is trying. Of course, that assumes Big AF actually gives a crap about trying to fix the problem, which we all know they don't. They've been studying the problem with little to no actual action for what...5 YEARS now? At this stage in my career, with eyes wide open about how much Big AF appreciates me, I'm essentially a mercenary. I still like flying for the AF though. If they would let that Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty Program be bonus eligible, I'd sign up for four more years through that.

This is why HAF is clueless or just spineless about solving the problem. When OSD said no to higher AF AvB due to the high take rates in the Marine Corps (cited by Junior), I doubt anyone in HAF said factoring in helo take rates is stupid, since Delta/American/FedEx, etc. is not hiring away helo pilots. We're beyond the point of stupidity in fixing this. Junior still is mentioning studying the problem, collecting data, blah blah blah. There is nothing to study. The problem is being underpaid/undervalued while overworked with too many additional duties/time away from family. Just accept it. Stop studying the problem HAF and FIX SOMETHING ALREADY!

The annual Rated Retention Report comes out after December usually. It will have the take rates as well as all the stats and comparison to last year broken out by rated crew position and aircraft type. Don't expect official take rate numbers until this report is released. As mentioned, it is found under RAW on AFPC Secure links. It will be an abysmal report. For pilots, the FY18 total net loss was almost double the net loss in FY17 . You can get that number by looking at the monthly rated manning statistics in RAW and comparing it to the FY17 annual retention report in RAW.

The official Date of Retirement (DOR).

Seems like HAF finally realized pilots don't want to accept additional ADSCs. Maybe now they'll apply that outlook to the bonus and we'll see increased compensation in the from of Professional Pay without huge ADSCs. Here's hoping.

Quite frankly, HAF needs to get off its ass and start throwing money at the problem. Pilot losses are starting to go exponential. We had a net loss of 124 pilots in FY17...in FY18 we had a net loss of 227 pilots...that’s almost double the amount walking out the door in a single year. All the flowery speeches and Aircrew Retention Task Force efforts on QoL improvements have utterly failed. Why not at least try solving (or at least easing) the problem with money?

Maybe these abysmal take rates will actually get HAF to take an actual look at compensation, like the rumors of Professional Pay I have heard at MAJCOM. Two years of saying "it's not about the money" and yet all the Aircrew Retention Crisis Task Force's efforts in quality of life/deployments/additional duties have done absolutely nothing to slow the loss of pilots. We'll have the same approximately 150 pilot net loss for the year. Everyone I know who goes to the airlines mentions two things: tons of money and free time. So to act like money plays no role and completely ignore it has been idiotic by HAF.

Curious when they will start releasing the AvB take rate percentages since last year they had them up monthly on RAW. I imagine the downward trend will continue. This makes me think we will actually see a Professional Pay proposal in FY19 since USAF already has a net loss of 149 pilots from FY17 (about the same net loss they had the two years prior). Clearly the bonus and other retention initiatives are having zero effect, and the downward trend continues.

You can apply no earlier than 12 months out and no later than 4 months out from your requested retirement/separation date.

Your bro may have been screwed in the past, but that is not what the current AFI 31- 2110 says. As of 26 Jan 18, Table 5.2. 365-day Extended Deployment Declinations/3-Day Options states if you have 19 yrs TAFMS as of notification date or RDD of a 365 you may request a retirement and opt out of the 365. AFPC could deny your retirement request and send you on the 365 but you are not getting separated instead of retired. After 19 yrs TAFMS your two options are establish a retirement date or AFPC denies your retirement request and deploys you. If you have less than 19 yrs TAFMS as of notification date or RDD of the 365, you may request separation and if approved would not get a retirement. (Forgive me I quoted above Figure 5.2 instead of Table 5.2 that replaced it.) As for getting out as soon as you can no argument there. Bottom line, until you have an established retirement date the power to let you retire or deploy you is still the AF's decision.

So read the regs again. Confirmed my view that Personnelists/A1 are blood sucking scum who deserve public beatings. Thanks for making me learn something. The retirement reg AFI 36-3203 refers you to 7-Day/3-Day Opt Out rules in AFI 36-2110.. It seems having 19 years TAFMS as of the mo/year of the ASD Assignment Selection Date is the kicker (not your official notification date). If you have 19 yrs TAFMS as of ASD you can 3-day opt out of the 365 and apply for retirement. If less then 19 yrs TAFMS you can 3-day opt out but only apply for separation. Same thing for PCS selection, but then it's 7-day opt out rules. So basically AF can select you for a PCS that incurs a 2-year ADSC at 17 yrs 11 mo TAFMS and your options ar to separate and get no retirement or accept the PCS (and an extra 1 to 1.5 yrs of service) to get a retirement. So basically the AF owns your ass until the day you hit 19 yrs TAFMS. Bastards.

Personally, I’ve grown tired of the “not deal with terrorists” line from leadership and AFPC. Maybe if they dealt with “terrorists” a little, we wouldn’t be 2K pilots short.

Where are you getting this from? Got a reference? I reviewed the active duty separations/retirement reg a week ago since my ADSC expired and was curious about my options. It still has all the 7-day opt verbiage for assignments as well as deployments. All the verbiage was still there that if the planned deployment days plus 30 takes you past 20 years you can establish a separation date in lieu of deploying. I’m not saying you are wrong (it wouldn’t be the first time big AF ignored what the regs actually said or maybe there is some other AFI I missed) but what you are saying does not agree with what I read in the AFIs .

Whatever Nav... I kid...I kid...😁 I've got no beef with WSO/CSOs getting extra compensation, I just don't think it's a very efficient use of funds that really help total force retention numbers. WSOs/CSOs are leaving for the Reserve/Guard, so they are still serving in some capacity. Pilots are leaving for the airlines, completely leaving the total force. As I mentioned at the end of my post you quoted, I think they AF should get rid of bonuses and increase flight pay or offer pro pay like doctors. The AF is offering chump change in bonus money. If you're offering chump change and trying to retain people on the cheap, it would be more efficient to just eliminate bonuses altogether and institute aircrew professional pay or just up the flight pay. Make flight pay at 10 years to $3K-4K for all aircrew or offer $2K-3K a month in pro pay at 10 years. It would send a solid message that aircrew are valued, that leadership is attempting to actually retain people, and not really cost the AF much more than they currently have allocated.

The cynical part of me agrees that the expanded WSO bonus was just to make the "Aircrew" retention numbers look better. However, at some point they still have to talk pilot numbers. The messaging from SECAF/CSAF has repeatedly talked about a 2K pilot shortfall, not aircrew. So reporting, "Hey Congress, bonus takers are up, our retention plan is working!" doesn't work because the pilot shortage is still 2K. This next won't be popular, but the WSO takers are mostly guys who were going to 20 anyway as mentioned above. It's also not like there is an equivalent lucrative civilian job like the airlines. Personally I think the WSO bonus should have just been added onto the pilot bonus to make it a $60K pilot bonus. You might actually get some pilots to stay for that money. An even better idea would be to just get rid of all these stupid bonus offers and just give pro pay like doctors. Give an extra $3K a month to all aircrew as part of their pay. That would go a lot further to making the entire crew force feel appreciated.

The McCain excuse is nearing an end, if not already there. McCain had decades of service, but his time is at an end. If the AF brass really wanted to push for more money for pilots, they could do it again. McCain doesn't even vote anymore due to his illness. The party line is still that a $35K pilot bonus is enough. It will be interesting to see the take rates when they start coming out. The will be abysmal and continue the trend of being lower than the previous year's take rate.

TM is to give the illusion you have more input into your future assignments...

If I remember correctly they did that last year when they tweaked the FY17 AvB program (to include categories for contract expired folks) and then re-released it with an extended sign-up date. I wonder if the first month take rate was so abysmally low that they are trying to make it more appealing. There's some really stupid stuff in the AvB program, like limiting contract expired folks eligibility for a 2nd bonus to only those folks whose contract expires in FY18. It's a pilot retention crisis! If someone had a contract expire last year, didn't take the 2nd bonus, but changed their mind this year and was willing to extend to 22-24 YAS, why the hell would you not take them?!?!?

Patriotism is what gets you to serve a 10-year ADSC when you are young and single. Money is what helps keep you in past your commitment once you have a family. All the General’s I’ve been exposed to seemed to think that no amount of money would affect people’s decision to stay. I think they have it backwards. The people who are going to stay regardless don’t care about the money. For plenty of folks on the fence money is a huge factor in their decision I’ve talked to plenty of guys on a bro level who will readily admit that a $50-60K annual bump in pay (without stupid long ADSCs attached to it) post ADSC would likely have gotten them to stay in. It’s not that the AF ever had to match airline pay, they just needed to provide a decent increase to make pilots continue to put of with the BS and lower QoL inherent in military service. Hell, even just making the $35K annual professional pay would likely get a few guys to serve an extra year or two.