Originally Posted by
Dragon7
http://www.gao.gov/assets/130/128827.pdf
The more things change the more they remain the same. We are only just now seeing the first wave of Flag or General Officers who were eligible for the bonus. Even now many of the decision makers never had a chance to take the bonus and disdained it and those who took it.
Just a couple years ago i listened as a very senior aviator flag bragged that "we have retention figured out". Really? So that whole post 911 economy and airline swoon had nothing to do it?
Would argue it has everything to do with it. Managing pilot inventory is a long term evolution and those in charge are not doing it long term, and probably are insulated from hearing the issues that are causing them challenges and are about to get much worse.
The good news is if you want to be an Airline pilot, the services adjusting downwards the bonus, sending pilots home early "selectively", and cutting every flight hour possible while demanding more and more non cockpit activities from JPME to Community service is a great sign that hiring is about to get going very strongly. In the last two hiring "waves", the military actually did the same things they are doing now.
Take the bonus if it is in your interest and you were gonna stay anyway. Mil retirement is no joke. But how much desk time and risk of retiring non current can you absorb?
Good luck.
Spot on. I think the biggest morale killer are the last things you mentioned. When a freshly minted Weapons School grad does one short 6 month stint as a SQ Weapons Office rand then gets dragged to be the Wing Exec and goes non-BMC that speaks to the problem. Some goys, like me, just wanted to fly. I was blessed enough to do it for 15 straight years following 2 non-rated assignments as an Lt. Now throw in the fact that a 20 year fighter career won't get you 2500 hours any more since the only SQs getting hours are those deployed or spinning-up to deploy. I see massive exodus of those folks who really just want to fly and then possibly go to the airlines afterwards. If this austerity continues guys won't be nearly as experienced after a career and thus less competitive as well.