Latest news with #AFSCs
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Air Force surprises troops with sudden deadline for reenlistment bonuses
With the Air Force retaining the vast majority of its enlisted force, the service has burned through its pot of money that many collect for reenlistment bonuses and set a deadline for Monday, May 19, for any airmen still hoping to cash in. Announced Thursday, the deadline gives Airmen in some of the most high-demand jobs just five days to decide whether to extend their Air Force careers by several years. Those who decide after May 19 will no longer be eligible for a cash reward for reenlisting, which the service calls a selective retention bonus. The Air Force has recorded a retention rate of 89.3% since the fiscal year's start in October, an Air Force official told Task & Purpose on Friday. That rate has created more demand for the money set-aside for reenlistment bonuses than in previous years. Two factors, officials said, drained the available bonus faster than anticipated, the official said. The service opened the bonus program earlier in the fiscal year than it has in the past, and in 2024 the Air Force began allowing airmen to accept a selective retention bonus contract by reenlisting one year ahead of their scheduled end of service. As a result, the Air Force expects to spend all of the $172 million provided by Congress for the bonus program early in fiscal year 2025, the official said. On Thursday, the Air Force announced that its most recent selective retention bonus program will end more than four months before the close of fiscal year 2025, which runs until Sept. 30. 'Those who have accepted an SRB [selective retention bonus] prior to the close date will receive their full SRB bonus, including regular bonus payments for those opted into monthly installments,' an Air Force news release says. In December, the Air Force expanded the number of AFSCs eligible for retention bonuses in fiscal year 2025 from 73 to 89. The career fields eligible for bonuses included maintenance, aircrew, cyber, medical and special operations, the service announced in January. The size of bonuses vary by job and by the length of time an airmen agrees to reenlist for, but members in the most in-demand jobs who agree to the longest contracts could earn up to $180,000. The Air Force caps the total amount of money that airmen can receive in retention bonuses during their careers at $360,000. The Air Force added AFSCs to the bonus program after analyzing which airmen had skill that were in high demand by the private sector, a service spokeswoman told Task & Purpose in December. Army infantry officer calls new XM7 'unfit for use as a modern service rifle' Attempted Fort Leavenworth prison break leaves military inmate tangled on fence When Americans, Germans and POWs fought the SS from the walls of a castle This Army combat medic fought off an active shooter and rendered first aid This 53 aircraft 'elephant walk' has everything you'd need for a war in the Pacific
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Airmen Given Just Days to Reenlist to Claim Bonus for High-Skill Jobs
The Air Force is closing reenlistment bonuses for 89 of the service's toughest career fields several months earlier than anticipated -- and giving airmen who want the financial incentive only days to re-sign for the cash. The selective retention bonus, or SRB, for fiscal 2025 will end Tuesday, a statement from the service said, citing "high retention rates and projected full execution of the program's budget." reported in December on the 89 Air Force Specialty Codes, or AFSCs, that are eligible for the bonuses, which range anywhere from $180,000 to $360,000 over the course of an airman's career. Read Next: Pentagon Will Use Health Screenings, Commanders to Ferret Out Trans Troops for Separations "Air Force-wide enlisted retention levels continue to meet and, in some AFSCs, exceed sustainment needs," the statement said. "These higher retention rates led to more airmen using the SRB program, which is expected to utilize the entire budget for the program for FY25." However, the program may be getting more funding for bonuses in the coming year. A May 15 memo, which was leaked online and confirmed as authentic by a Department of the Air Force spokesperson, stated that the service "has requested funding for a Selective Retention Bonus program in Fiscal Year 2026." The Air Force will not offer a retroactive 2025 bonus once the program is reinstated, the memo added. But airmen who wish to take advantage of the financial incentives -- which are applicable for a wide range of jobs from pararescue and special reconnaissance to dental hygienists and paralegals -- have only until the end of Monday, just three days, to reenlist. The memo added that the suspension of the program this year does not apply to the Space Force, just the Air Force. Selective retention bonuses are used by the service to keep airmen in those often hard and arduous jobs, as well as maintain experience in more technical career paths. "Airmen currently receiving a selective retention bonus are not impacted and will receive their remaining installments," the memo detailed. The end of the bonus program -- put in place just a month prior to the start of President Donald Trump's second term in January -- marks one of the latest positive recruiting and retention trends the Air Force has seen following a pandemic-era slump. Katherine Kuzminski, the director of studies for the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C., which specializes in military personnel and family policy, told in an interview Friday that she can "see why that would be frustrating" for airmen who wanted to take advantage of the bonus before it disappeared. But Kuzminski added that it's not "breaking face" if the program accomplished what it set out to do. "If they have achieved their retention goal that they need to meet, to fill requirements, the purpose is to serve the service as opposed to a gift to a service member," she said. Related: Here Are the 89 Highly Skilled Air Force Jobs Eligible for Retention Bonuses in 2025
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Air Force gives airmen just days to reenlist for retention bonus
The Air Force is shutting down this year's selective retention bonus program, and airmen who want to reenlist and get a bonus have less than five days to do so. The service launched the fiscal 2025 bonus program last December. In a statement Thursday, the service said retention rates have been high, and the service is already projected to fully run through the budgeted amount of bonuses. Airmen whose jobs are on the list of Air Force specialty codes eligible for bonuses have until May 20 to reenlist or extend their enlistment. They will get their full bonus, the service said. 'Air Force-wide enlisted retention levels continue to meet and, in some AFSCs [Air Force specialty codes], exceed sustainment needs,' the Air Force said. 'These higher retention rates led to more airmen using the SRB program, which is expected to utilize the entire budget for the program for FY25.' The Air Force's 2025 bonus program included 89 jobs, and are meant to hold on to experienced airmen in important fields that require a great deal of initial training and tough qualification standards. Those jobs include AFSCs in the maintenance, aircrew, cyber, medical and special operations areas, such as pararescuemen, tactical air control party and combat controllers. A memo posted online on the unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco said Space Force guardians will not be affected by the change. Find a list of the 89 jobs impacted here.
