Quote:
Originally Posted by LowSlowT2
No, what he's saying is the statistics are being viewed without context and consideration of what is happening beyond the walls & confines of big blue.
A business decision needs to be made with all factors considered and the AF is unable to do that. They are reactionary only. It is gobsmackingly moronic to point at these statistics on their own, without any reference or context to them, and claim, "all is well".
The retention will change when the economy picks up and the airlines start hiring en masse...just like the late '90s. Nothing the AF can do will change that...except this time, retention will be far worse than the '90s because of current AF QOL.
It is not my intent to get into an argument, merely to dispute this "mass exodus" theory of disgruntled pilots which has been claimed to be "about to begin" for the last 10 years imo.
I'm not sure why you say the stats arent being considered with whats happening outside big blue when the AFPC rep in the conversation mentioned some airline considerations.
How is the AF unable to make a business decision WRT retention? Retention dictates no changes needed; biz decision complete. You are claiming the AF is making the wrong choices...but there is no "market" demanding anything different. I don't think the AF is claiming all is well, but they certainly are claiming pay and benefits while on active duty are better than what most may find in the civilian world...and retention rates support that argument. As long as they have the ability to stop loss instead of pay the pipe dream 50k/year bonus mid level captains claim it would take to keep them in blah, blah, blah.......why change anything? cheaper to make stop loss payments than a 10yr 50k bonus. That my friend is a business decision.
Many people must be under the assumption the AF wants to retain people after their 10 yr commitment. I on the other hand think they don't want to. I think there are enough flag officer wanna-be's that enough will be retained regardless of what their life could be like as a civilian. And after that 11+ years a pilot has put in, probably 98% pursue ANG or AFRC so they are still retained more or less.
In regards to QOL, this thread has digressed into a smell of the typical I'm overworked because of ancillary training, deployments, and reflective belts. Well let's be honest, how much time does it really take to click through the annual ADLS tng? Fragged for an hour, done in 5. And for deployments, thats what everybody signed up for isn't it? So the beef becomes well its too many deployments for my liking. I could go on and on. Point is, name another profession that has more prima donna complain about anything people, than the pilot community. It sucks sometimes, and I'm about to leave on a 365, but bolting for the civilian world has just as many examples of regret as there are happy endings.
I wish I was home more, worked shorter days, didn't to have to go on a 365 soon, didn't have to do ancillary garbage or wear a reflective belt while deployed too. However, I will gladly make my 140k per year (on bonus) and retire with a paycheck every month in 6 years. If I had a 6 or 8 yr commitment like the good ol' days and major airlines were hiring, yep different story, punch. But, the AF made a business decision with 10yr thing, and probably 99.9% of pilot wanna be's never thought twice about it when in college, myself included. I have saved and invested over the first 14 years. Done fairly well, might even be able to retire in 6 and never work again. Would not be able to do that if I bounced at 11.8 yrs and got a civilian job. To each his own. I didn't want to work 2 jobs (assuming a TR gig), potentially take a huge pay cut, and have to worry about economic downturns, etc. The first 12 is essentially a sunk cost and no job out there will let you work 8 years and get a pension. Many ***** and moan as Captains b/c its the cool thing to do, but secretly think differently as Major staring at the 18.6 after tax bonus and the 8 more years until potentially complete freedom. Considering that, and the current state of the airlines, the USAF doesn't have to change a thing.
I would love to see the AF do a few things differently, but from a business perspective I don't see why they would have to.
Again, I have no intention to fight some battle here. I simply believe this "mass exodus" is not going to happen. My supporting argument: 10 years of prophesying from the pilot community and it still hasn't happened + record retention rates to back up the opinion that life in the USAF isn't all that bad.