Aviation Bonus FY17
 

Any rumors or knowledge of when the FY 17 pilot bonus will drop? Thanks!

Nope, but, you should not sign it....

Keep this in mind--golden handcuffs are still handcuffs.

Only reason to take the bonus in this day and age is if you are prior enlisted and have 15+ years and the ....what I am saying...

The only reason to take the bonus is if you want to stay in the military for a 30 year career and it is your #1 passion. If that is the case...why are you on APC?

I'm a quitter, a proud airline pilot, and a guy who makes money helping folks get ready for the leap.

That said--SOMEBODY has got to stay in go to weapons school, command squadrons, wings, and lead the way. If a guy wants and dreams of that--God bless him and I hope he thrives.

Airline hiring waves do several things. First--they make a lot of quitters happy. They also make guys who want to stay in happy too, because bonuses happen, and maybe your shot at your dream assignment got a little easier.

I got plenty of friends who bailed at the first shot. Some like me did one bonus then bailed. Others went 20, and a few went 20+.

Every single one of them served. That's cool. If a pilot wants to stay--then go be the leader you wanted to work for one day.

Peeking in here is just good business. At least you get a little (if someone skewed) perspective on the other side.

The only problem here is guys who would not have otherwise promoted, promote. The turds float to the top.

I blame leadership that punish "quitters" via final OPR/FITREP.

If a quitter is number 1, rank them as such. The system can't work if you feed it garbage.

Grumble,

It's not that easy. While I don't disagree with you in some cases, if the #1 is getting out and my #2 DH is and would be capable of leading a squadron, I'm going to give him/her the bump and give them the opportunity to promote and compete for squadron XO/CO in the active component. If there is a huge disparity between the #1 and #2 and I don't have confidence in the #2's ability to be a commanding officer, the decision is easy. Just because someone is ranked second doesn't mean they can't be a good leader or shouldn't promote. The Navy's system is broken in that regard with far too much emphasis on the length(duration) of the DH #1 EP ticket and it loses some quality folks that will never screen for command solely as a function of timing.

I have sat on a few SelRes (Navy) promotion boards as both a recorder and voting member; In most cases, the last active component FITREP does not hurt the member unless that final FITREP had/has language in it that is a message to the board, then we're having a different discussion. A lower ranking in traffic is expected at the time you get off active duty(the board understands that) and the emphasis is placed on performance up to that point and after that depending on the member's timing for the board. If a person who leaves active duty doesn't promote in the reserves, it isn't because of their last FITREP being taken down a notch as they are leaving active duty, at least not in the Navy.

If you are having fun and are still getting Promoted go ahead and stay. Great advice from a forgotten friend. Maybe add have some mentors carrying your water too in retrospect. Because airline life is not close to squadron life. On the other hand staff life is not close to airline life. Took the bonus a couple times, right after I negotiated the orders I wanted. Oh yeah every set of orders for 20+ were flying. Then the wheel stopped, the fun dropped, and it was time to go.

Incidently, had dinner the other night with a retired O-6 Aviator whose last job was in Millington in Aviation detailing. Further facts deleted to protect the fork tonged devil. Very hard to keep people past 20 across the board. But he retired when his fun factor dropped, and despite non current for 5+ years, took actions that led to a killer corporate gig. YMMV.

I'm sure that's true, but it's not just the last competitive fitrep that gets taken down a notch for the pilot who is thinking about getting out. Plus, career paths come into play as well. Three years ago, when the abysmal O-4 results came out, there were a lot of JOs who thought "maybe I should take that NROTC gig at Penn instead of the better Navy career move," or "why should I go to the boat when there's a 40% chance I'll get fired anyway?" The promotion rates will probably keep getting better by shifting the zones, but a large group of JOs getting out now are just the smart ones who didn't want to gamble with 50-60% promotion rates.... and they came to that decision years ago and prepared accordingly.

A lot of talent is leaving the Navy right now for that reason. I'm talking about community golden children who are one foot out the door as soon as they show up for their disassociated tour. I'm actually surprised when I meet a LT who wants to do 20 now.

What else gets taken down a notch when you decide to leave active duty from a career perspective? I'm not sure I'm following your line of thinking here. I was simply attempting to articulate (based on my experience) how/why a 'out the door' FITREP that may be declining or not an EP isn't a show stopper for promotion in the reserves or even command down the road.

The O-4 selection board issues are separate and distinct from dudes getting out in droves IMHO. I don't think you can put cause/effect with those two tied together. QOL is the #1 driver for folks getting out, at least the ones I speak to daily. That really has nothing to do with the folks that didn't make O-4 because the board process was jacked up. Sure it might leave a bad taste in folks' mouths(and it should) but I don't think its the driver.

I'm a SelRes CO at an FRS, I get what you're saying about talented folks leaving, I see it all the time and even have to turn great talent away from my organization because we're full, I get it. Those folks will find gainful employment in the reserves if they choose to, but the competition for those spots(flying) is pretty stiff right now. That will ebb and flow, as will this retention issue as it cycles back around; it always has and it will again.