Originally Posted by
KC10 FATboy
YES! They should have first offerred separation with no monetary incentive. This would have allowed the people who really wanted to get out that chance (the mil haters and those who were burning for a civilian job). Why pay people who were getting out anyways?
Second, they should have offerred programs such as PALACE CHASE, Blue-to-Green etc. This would have given those who still wanted to serve the chance to do so.
If they still didn't meet their targets, offer voluntary separation with a monetary incentive. After that, involuntary separation.
With the way they did it, it was a free for all due to the money incentive. People like myself who didn't get VSP but wanted to go into the guard / reserves, tried to PALACE CHASE but were denied because they PAID too many folks out.
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-Fatty
Sorry to hear about your story -- I hope all works out for you in the end.
That having been said, I think the AF would set an interesting precedent for itself if it offered early outs to folks without a monetary incentive. Then it becomes, "How come you let that guy out early but you won't let me out early." The answer is, "Because we had a special program, and he was paid a bonus when he left."
Not saying its right or wrong, but by paying a bonus and making it a "limited time offer", the AF gets to know more quickly that it will meet its end of FY goal.
I don't know a lot about Palace Chase, etc, but my guess would be that those programs are a two-way street, requiring active interest from Reserves, Army, etc. Were those organizations prepared to offer jobs to XXX number of separating AF pilots? I don't know ... maybe they were, maybe they weren't.
At that time, the decision was made to separate XXX number of pilots by the end of the FY. That didn't leave much time to go through a couple programs to get the numbers down -- unfortunately, the cost of doing business under the existing fiscal system imposed by our government.