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Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)


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21 hours ago, NKAWTG said:

Got a myPers email saying I'm eligible for the bonus now.  Looking into it as a prior bonus taker, I'd get the 11M rate per year for two years past my 20 years.  I assume the 365 is implied.  While it is awfully sweet of them to think of me, I don't believe I'll give up a year with my family and  2 years of seniority for 30k a year. 

Although if they give me a no 365 clause, and airline of choice afterward, I'd be tempted. 

This is an interesting thought. I wonder if the AF could do some drug deal with the airlines. If I could get a guaranteed hire with the my choice of airline, that might make me stay for longer.

I don't see why the airlines would ever agree to that.

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On 8/9/2017 at 4:43 PM, 3PAARO said:

What's your Short Tour Return date?

Risk level high.  Early 2001, but haven't done a short tour yet.  More than half my deployments have a awaiting MPF verification tag next to them, and I haven't cracked the code on how to make them move my STRD.

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1 hour ago, NKAWTG said:

Risk level high.  Early 2001, but haven't done a short tour yet.  More than half my deployments have a awaiting MPF verification tag next to them, and I haven't cracked the code on how to make them move my STRD.

It's actually not too hard to get that STRD moved.  I think that we have the technology and shouldn't have to force it ourselves, but until that's fixed I'm keeping mine up to date.  No MPF at my location, so I email PDFs of the paid travel voucher and the orders to my servicing MPF.  That removes the "awaiting verification" and moves the STRD.  There's a few briefs floating around that go into more detail, but not needed for the quick fix.  You can also take those documents in hand and go to the MPF and sit there until it's done if you're concerned it won't happen.  

There was a message recently about DTS cleaning out docs older than a cutoff, (2007, 2008?) so might be worth saving those now.  I don't want to derail the thread, so PM if you have more questions.  If you get desparate you can also download their reg on e-pubs that explains the STRD.  

Ironically, I'm on a short tour now (but it was voluntary - they're not all bad) so I could have just not bothered updating any of it.  At this point it's just habit.

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I know every airframe is different in terms of STRD vulnerability, but your risk level has to be approaching extreme.  Last I heard, before I went to the guard and quit caring about STRD, F-16 guys were getting non-vol'd out of cycle around 5 years after their STRD.  No way would I take the two year bonus (at least at current prices) knowing that it'd put me on a 365, but to each their own.

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On 8/3/2017 at 0:33 PM, nunya said:

Per year?  5,800 might be a little low if you count EVERY airline, but the big 6 are good for around 4k/yr.  Certainly nowhere near 30k/yr.

Last number I saw was 80 per day, worldwide for the foreseeable future.

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Anyone seen/heard of a Pilot Bonus to O-5s to get them to stay past 20 for two years? I heard rumors of such....Would be interesting to see how much they are offering to keep them for a couple more years.

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Depends on your 11/12X categorization... in a nutshell for old guys who took (and it expired) or didn't take the bonus, they'll give you cash (up to 35K a year) to stay a min of a year, out to 22 - or max 24 years of service... again, all depends on what you flew, so need to check the MyPers to see where you fit.

Chuck

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14 hours ago, LowNSlow said:

Anyone seen/heard of a Pilot Bonus to O-5s to get them to stay past 20 for two years? I heard rumors of such....Would be interesting to see how much they are offering to keep them for a couple more years.

Yeah, it's in the retire-and-go-fly-for-the-airlines memo right under to the it's-unwise-to-stay-in-AD-past-20 paragraph.

The USAF doesn't care about O-5's as pilots.  If they did, they'd care about getting pilots to make O-5.

There is non-committed/previously expired bonus eligible text in the PSDM.  But if a qualified pilot is past 20 and has no ADSC, I would seriously question their sanity for taking a bonus and staying instead of getting out.

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I saw some dude posted on the Pilot Network about looking at retiring at 15 years and not taking a bonus to get there.  Any further on that?

He was asking for the purpose of bringing it up at the HAF meeting. I wouldn't count on it happening, and certainly not anytime soon.
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1 hour ago, ihtfp06 said:


He was asking for the purpose of bringing it up at the HAF meeting. I wouldn't count on it happening, and certainly not anytime soon.

HAF is talking about a "guaranteed retirement" at 15. Since TERA is approved until 2025 (?), it would be theoretically possible. However, it would require public law changes for long term viability.

Technically, retirement is still 30 years and the Services are allowing people to retire at 20 from a post-WWII "temporary" exemption. So who knows.

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On 8/17/2017 at 9:42 AM, LowNSlow said:

Anyone seen/heard of a Pilot Bonus to O-5s to get them to stay past 20 for two years? I heard rumors of such....Would be interesting to see how much they are offering to keep them for a couple more years.

I've seen it for fighter types, allowing transition to F-35 for RTU purposes as well as a second assignment in place (SAIP) option, I think both will happen.  If on the CAF Fighter pilots page on the BookFace.  

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It's probably been mentioned before, but it would be a significant (and maybe easier?) change if the bonus was tax-free.  It would be a lot of money to the person receiving it, but since there aren't a lot of bonus takers in a given year, it wouldn't even cause the lowliest IRS agent's assistant secretary to look up from their calculator.

If Congress is so reluctant to up the bonus on the front end, then without affecting their front end costs, they could improve it on the back end (sts).

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How about making all military pay tax free?  That would probably have an effect on retention and recruiting.  Oh, and the only people that would deploy would be those that really need to. 

Wait, scratch that.  I propose all military pay be tax free after the first $100.  That way we'd still be considered "tax payers" and not merely mercs.  Symbology, you know.

Out

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Looks like they're starting to tap guard guys with command stink in MilPDS for 6-mo command tours in CENTCOM... involuntary mobilization. Looks like Big Blue is getting desperate. I remember the days they wouldn't let ARC staff anything over there to preserve PRF bullets for the AD. Oh how they change their tune real fast. The ARC will bleed just as badly if that starts to be abused.

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11 minutes ago, Gazmo said:

The ARC will bleed just as badly if that starts to be abused.

Worse.  ARC guys generally have the ability to exit much faster and with a much less uncertain future.  A guy already holding a purple seniority number, but on mil leave to work at JFHQ after a command tour, is not nervous about feeding his family "on the outside."

I guess they'll learn that lesson the hard way. 

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Oh wow.  This will end well, I'm sure.  Guys who are topped out at O-5 with over 20, with an outside airline gig, who are just staying around (losing money!) to fly the mission and teach the young guys, are going to bail in droves.  Probably 20% of my squadron fits this demographic, and I promise you none of us will do a 6 month deployment.

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4 hours ago, Gazmo said:

Looks like they're starting to tap guard guys with command stink in MilPDS for 6-mo command tours in CENTCOM... involuntary mobilization. 

Do tell...

1 hour ago, Bergman said:

Oh wow.  This will end well, I'm sure.  Guys who are topped out at O-5 with over 20, with an outside airline gig, who are just staying around (losing money!) to fly the mission and teach the young guys, are going to bail in droves.  Probably 20% of my squadron fits this demographic, and I promise you none of us will do a 6 month deployment.

This!  Although, we pretty much have zero dudes staying past 20.  The few that do are either leadership or only have 20 due to their enlisted time...I would look for the latter to bail at first sign of the above happening.  

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23 hours ago, otsap said:

It's probably been mentioned before, but it would be a significant (and maybe easier?) change if the bonus was tax-free.  It would be a lot of money to the person receiving it, but since there aren't a lot of bonus takers in a given year, it wouldn't even cause the lowliest IRS agent's assistant secretary to look up from their calculator.

If Congress is so reluctant to up the bonus on the front end, then without affecting their front end costs, they could improve it on the back end (sts).

Pretty sensible, which means McCain et al would outright reject it. 

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17 hours ago, SocialD said:

Do tell...

This!  Although, we pretty much have zero dudes staying past 20.  The few that do are either leadership or only have 20 due to their enlisted time...I would look for the latter to bail at first sign of the above happening.  

Just the latter?  If they really start involuntary mobilizations for individual non-combat deployments, I think you'll see guys across the board start to walk.  Even guys within a couple years of 20 active time would consider walking.  Won't get sent away from your family for six months only to make unnecessary powerpoints with the airlines.

Interesting point to ponder, is a command tour something you can really non-vol someone into?  If said commander does literally nothing as a commander other than sleep, eat, and workout, will he get sent home for 'lack of confidence'?  With squadron commanders getting fired right and left over the past five years, seems like it would be easy to turn a 6 month tour into a 6 week trip.  And since he's guard, if he did get sent home, could big blue really do anything about it if his TAG had his back?

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