Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

[Techsan]

Well, I hit my decision point (365) and still no bonus - pound sand big blue cause I'm out!

Best of luck to ya.

[Butters]

Well, I hit my decision point (365) and still no bonus - pound sand big blue cause I'm out!

I hear the airlines are hiring.

[SocialD]

I hear the airlines are hiring.

True story. Have already had a few friends hired by majors this year.

[RTB]

Well, I hit my decision point (365) and still no bonus - pound sand big blue cause I'm out!

Well played and good luck! Curious, with the 365 you got hit with, would the bonus have been enough to keep you in? If I was at that fork in the road, a 25k/yr bonus would NOT have kept me in...

[Karl Hungus]

Well played and good luck! Curious, with the 365 you got hit with, would the bonus have been enough to keep you in? If I was at that fork in the road, a 25k/yr bonus would NOT have kept me in...

Don't forget that that $25k/yr becomes around $18k/yr after Obama takes his cut. Is $18k/yr worth that 365 to a shithole?

[Toro]

Don't forget that that $25k/yr becomes around $18k/yr after Obama takes his cut. Is $18k/yr worth that 365 to a shithole?

Is $18K a year worth it - on top of your current salary - to get sent to some shit hole where you'll get tax free, hostile fire pay, hazard duty pay, and family separation pay? If you're going to bitch about compensation for going to a shithole, this argument doesn't really cut it - you actually make out like a bandit.

And as far as Obama taking your money, I facepalm in your general direction. It was 25K cut down to 18K way back when I took the bonus (and was spending 365 in a shithole) when Bush took his cut.

[matmacwc]

Well, I hit my decision point (365) and still no bonus - pound sand big blue cause I'm out!

I'd be curious what your leadership says.

[ViperStud]

Dude I get it but I don't at the same time. I am no company man, not by a longshot, and I need to make the same decision in a year, assuming the bonus is still around. Stay or go should be about a lot more than a deployment. Deployments are part of what we do. I leave for shitholestan in November. I'll sport bitch as much as the next guy but get the ###### over it, we are in the military and we deploy. Quit acting like a pariah when it comes your time to go downrange.

[Homestar]

Is $18K a year worth it - on top of your current salary - to get sent to some shit hole where you'll get tax free, hostile fire pay, hazard duty pay, and family separation pay? If you're going to bitch about compensation for going to a shithole, this argument doesn't really cut it - you actually make out like a bandit.

And as far as Obama taking your money, I facepalm in your general direction. It was 25K cut down to 18K way back when I took the bonus (and was spending 365 in a shithole) when Bush took his cut.

Your post made we wonder exactly how much I made on my 365 last year so I did some rough numbers:

HFIDP: $3,060 ($255/mo)

HDP: $1,200 ($100/mo)

FSH: $3,000 ($250/mo)

SDP: $1,166 (10 grand at 10% interest for 5 quarters)

CZTE: $2,000. This is a difficult one to measure. In 2011 I didn't pay any in Federal taxes because I have 4 kids and hit the CZTE zone for three months (which has been standard since about 2005). My total income tax bill (Fed + State) in 2011 was just over $2,000 so 12 months of tax free in 2012 was equivalent to about an extra 2 grand in my pocket.

Per Diem: $1,277 ($3.50/day for 365 days)

So, 365 days added up comes to roughly $11,700 for a senior O-3, to give some perspective to the discussion.

[sky_king]

With 4 kids, taxes drop by $4000. The CTZE is less 'potent' for those with children. It's my counter argument for the BAH w/ and w/o dependents.

[HeloDude]

Your post made we wonder exactly how much I made on my 365 last year so I did some rough numbers:

HFIDP: $3,060 ($255/mo)

HDP: $1,200 ($100/mo)

FSH: $3,000 ($250/mo)

SDP: $1,166 (10 grand at 10% interest for 5 quarters)

CZTE: $2,000. This is a difficult one to measure. In 2011 I didn't pay any in Federal taxes because I have 4 kids and hit the CZTE zone for three months (which has been standard since about 2005). My total income tax bill (Fed + State) in 2011 was just over $2,000 so 12 months of tax free in 2012 was equivalent to about an extra 2 grand in my pocket.

Per Diem: $1,277 ($3.50/day for 365 days)

So, 365 days added up comes to roughly $11,700 for a senior O-3, to give some perspective to the discussion.

The guys who make bank on a deployment are single guys who can deploy for a year, move everything they own into storage, then get back and shortly PCS. Married guys still need a house, pay to feed their kids, bills, etc. So you're kind of comparing apples and oranges.

[11F]

Well played and good luck! Curious, with the 365 you got hit with, would the bonus have been enough to keep you in? If I was at that fork in the road, a 25k/yr bonus would NOT have kept me in...

It didn't make the decision, it made it easier. If the bonus was a sure thing, it would have been really hard to turn it down.

Dude I get it but I don't at the same time. I am no company man, not by a longshot, and I need to make the same decision in a year, assuming the bonus is still around. Stay or go should be about a lot more than a deployment. Deployments are part of what we do. I leave for shitholestan in November. I'll sport bitch as much as the next guy but get the ###### over it, we are in the military and we deploy. Quit acting like a pariah when it comes your time to go downrange.

I am not acting like an outcast (pariah) at all (I'm not exactly sure why you said that). The difference between you and me (as you stated) is that you *have* to go to Afghanistan (you aren't eligible to leave the AF due to your UPT commitment). I, on the other hand, do not. It would have been a lot easier to tell my wife and 4 kids that I was going on a 365 in order to pay for future weddings and college tuitions (ACP over 5 years). However, I couldn't make that statement to them (the ACP isn't a guarantee yet).

I'd be curious what your leadership says.

I was a little more eloquent than telling them to "pound sand". They understood and tried to reclama.

[Hueypilot]

I did a 365 then about 18 months after getting home got deployed for another 190 days. I made good money, but I'll never get those 19 months of my kids lives back. I'll probably get a black lung disease at some point for breathing all the crap they burn over there. That's on top of the normal Big Blue careerism queep that only seems to magnify while deployed. All that and I could still wind up being twice passed over for some ridiculous square not being filled and shown the door. So I left. For me it was not worth staying for another $18k.

[Homestar]

The guys who make bank on a deployment are single guys who can deploy for a year, move everything they own into storage, then get back and shortly PCS. Married guys still need a house, pay to feed their kids, bills, etc. So you're kind of comparing apples and oranges.

Good point.

[Toro]

Next time you're in a shithole, ask a few contractors what they're making. You may reevaluate how rich you think you're getting.

Oh, I know. The difference is that you generally don't have much of a choice on whether you go. They do, hence the need for a larger incentive.

[matmacwc]

Oh, I know. The difference is that you generally don't have much of a choice on whether you go. They do, hence the need for a larger incentive.

And know you understand the Air Reserve Technician

[guineapigfury]

I was a little more eloquent than telling them to "pound sand". They understood and tried to reclama.

How does this work? You can 7 day opt something and they get a mulligan to try and keep you in? Can you still leave either way? Educate me please.

[C-21.Pilot]

How does this work? You can 7 day opt something and they get a mulligan to try and keep you in? Can you still leave either way? Educate me please.

Absolutely. If he doesn't have the retainability for the 1 year, you can tell Big Blue to go screw themselves. If he truly says that he's getting out, then he won't be eligible for the bonus *if* it gets released. Because of his decline in deployment, he will be DAV coded in MILPDS which will result in his ineligibility for ACP.

Big picture, if the reclama goes thru, some bro is going to be telling his family shortly that he'll be away for a year.

[sky_king]

Big picture, if the reclama goes thru, some bro is going to be telling his family shortly that he'll be away for a year.

What was rule number two? Timing is everything?

[Champ Kind]

Absolutely. If he doesn't have the retainability for the 1 year, you can tell Big Blue to go screw themselves. If he truly says that he's getting out, then he won't be eligible for the bonus *if* it gets released. Because of his decline in deployment, he will be DAV coded in MILPDS which will result in his ineligibility for ACP.

Big picture, if the reclama goes thru, some bro is going to be telling his family shortly that he'll be away for a year.

Am I reading this wrong? Are you implying that a dude telling the AF to "pound sand" to a 365 is responsible for the next guy in line getting tagged with it?

[Bergman]

What was rule number two? Timing is everything?

That's actually Rule #1.

Rule #2: life isn't fair

Rule #3: there is no justice

[Cap-10]

Am I reading this wrong? Are you implying that a dude telling the AF to "pound sand" to a 365 is responsible for the next guy in line getting tagged with it?

That's how it works...every time a dude opts out, it either gets kicked back up the chain or the base gets told to figure it out.

This is the main reason guys sometimes get < 30 days notice (I've seen it happen 3 times) for their deployment....6-9 people I front of them but the RNLTD never gets pushed to the right.

Cheers,

Cap-10

[Dupe]

Deployments are part of what we do. I leave for shitholestan in November. I'll sport bitch as much as the next guy but get the ###### over it, we are in the military and we deploy. Quit acting like a pariah when it comes your time to go downrange.

To me, the issue isn't deploying. It's deploying to fill jobs that shouldn't be rated jobs in the first place. I have no problem going to a targeting cell in the CAOC or working the fixed wing CAS desk at a CJSOAD somewhere. Its the fact that dudes are being deployed to be coffee-getters or briefing builders that yanks my chain. If the new Chief wants to make a change... he can start by asking the question "Are all these rated deployed billets really required?" My view is that the Army has figured out that a rated AF person can make quick decisions in a way that other tribes in the AF don't. As a result "can make spot decisions" gets morphed into "rated required."

[RTB]

Dude I get it but I don't at the same time. I am no company man, not by a longshot, and I need to make the same decision in a year, assuming the bonus is still around. Stay or go should be about a lot more than a deployment. Deployments are part of what we do. I leave for shitholestan in November. I'll sport bitch as much as the next guy but get the ###### over it, we are in the military and we deploy. Quit acting like a pariah when it comes your time to go downrange.

"Get the #### over it"? How many times should he be expected to "get the #### over it"? Are 4 deployments enough? 6? Should his kids also just "get the #### over it"...again? Deployments are part of the job but there comes a point in everyone's career where enough is enough and other priorities (family) are more important. To suggest that he is somehow acting out of line for opting out this time is just poor form.

[scoobs]

I hear the airlines are hiring.

Kind of, you'll need a golden ticket though unless you go to a regional, then you'll nede a second job to pay the bills.