The Air Force will stop awarding new bonuses and delay some permanent change-of-station orders to offset rising personnel costs.
USAF is reviewing all pending PCS orders for Airmen whose projected departure dates are Aug. 1 or later. While some will be approved on a “priority basis,” others will be delayed. Those who have already received orders will be allowed to move.
Moves will also be delayed for Airmen on long tours overseas, such as those accompanied by their families, whose “Date Estimated Return From Overseas” (DEROS) falls between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. Those dates will be back to January-March 2024, according to a July 10 press release.
Putting a hold on orders and moves could complicate the lives of thousands of Air Force families. The busy summer “PCS season” is now underway.
Bonus cuts could affect hundreds more. While Airmen who have already signed a contract or been approved for certain bonuses will continue to receive them, the Air Force is no longer accepting new Airmen into three bonus programs:
- Selective reenlistment bonuses. New selective reenlistment bonuses will be suspended beginning July 11. The bonuses, designed to help retain Airmen in hard-to-fill career fields, should return in the fall with the start of the new fiscal year. In the meantime, eligible service members will be allowed “to extend their current enlistment into Fiscal Year 2024,” the Air Force said. Some 51 job specialties were eligible for the bonus when the rates were last adjusted in May, down from 63 in 2022. Rates and offers are always subject to change.
- Aviation bonuses. Just a month after announcing it was upping the maximum bonuses for pilots, air battle managers, and combat systems officers to $50,000 per year, USAF said it is pausing the program for restructuring. The service said it expects to reopen aviation bonuses within weeks. Eligible officers must typically commit to three to 12 additional years of service to qualify.
- Assignment incentive pay programs. Assignment incentive pay is provided to certain Airmen with unusual or extended assignments. Airmen receiving it now will continue without change, but no additional Airmen will begin getting assignment incentive payments until the start of the next fiscal year, Oct. 1.
“The Air Force continues to work through additional options to avoid the funding shortfall and will provide more information when available,” the service release stated.
Rising costs for PCS moves and outdated funding projections for other programs drove the funding gap, a service spokeswoman told Air & Space Forces Magazine. In fiscal 2023, the service received $35.4 billion in military personnel funding, $194 million shy of its budget request.
Reductions come as the Air Force has begun to see retention levels across dip in the wake of record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Air Force’s pilot shortage in particular continues to be an issue, exacerbated by increased hiring by the airlines.
Making matters harder is recruiting, which continues to run behind requirements, as fewer and fewer young Americans are either eligible or willing to serve. The Air Force expects to miss its recruiting goals by about 10 percent in fiscal 2023.