As published on AirForceTimes.com
Pilot retention in 2007 surpasses expectations
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Aug 13, 2007 17:37:28 EDT
Pilot retention is not a problem for the Air Force in 2007.
As of the end of July, nearly two-thirds of the 853 pilots eligible to sign up for the pilot bonus had agreed to spend another five years in the service, according to Air Force statistics.
Pilots can begin receiving the bonus once their nine-year initial aviation service commitment is over.
When the 2007 pilot bonus program was announced, officials had been expecting about 50 percent of the eligible pilots to take the five-year bonus worth a total of $125,000. With two months left to sign up, 62.4 of the pilots had taken the bonus — officially known as aviator continuation pay.
The highest sign-up rates have been among pilots from Air Force Materiel Command at 75.9 percent and Air Force Special Operations Command at 67.6 percent. The lowest take rates were for Air Mobility Command, 43.4 percent, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe pilots at 40.6 percent.
The service’s largest command, Air Combat Command, had a sign-up rate of 48.8 percent.
In 2006, the Air Force had been expecting 55 percent of the pilots eligible that year to take the bonus. Instead, the take rate was 66 percent.
The 2007 and 2006 bonus programs were far less generous than what the service provided pilots as recently as 2004. That year, pilots, navigators and air battle managers could sign up for bonuses that would continue until they could retire at their 20-year mark. The current program ends the bonus with pilots still needing to serve another five years before they can retire.
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