Air Force Retention is at an all-time high. For the first time in twenty years, the Air Force has the highest number of airmen in active duty service. Some members who had planned to transition out of service in 2020 delayed their transition due to COVID-19 concerns. The Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly credits Congress with helping to keep manpower high stating in a press release that “Congress delivered immense help, increased our numbers and helped us make real readiness improvements after sequestration reductions.”
Different programs are being considered to bring numbers back to below the total end strength of 333,700. Voluntary opportunities are being reviewed by Headquarters Air Force to provide airmen the opportunity to waive active duty service commitments or to move to the Guard or Reserve from active duty through waivers. In addition, retention bonuses will no longer be utilized for all specialties to maintain the force needed to meet the requirements of the DOD and Air Force. “We have to bring in the right number of Airmen each year to sustain the force throughout the continuum of service, Lt. Gen Brian Kelly said further, “We have a plan to avoid future year-group gaps and we will announce volunteer options soon that we believe will balance end-strength appropriately.”
All movement from active to reserves or guard or out of service would be voluntary and no involuntary shape forcing programs would be utilized in Fiscal Year 2021. Airmen would be The FY 2021 Selective Retention Bonus Program for 37 eligible Air Force Specialties was released on December 10. The FY 2021 Selective Retention Bonus Program Listing is available on the retention page for the Air Force here and on myPers.
The old Chief says…
I am a retired US Air Force Chief Master Sergeant (E-9) with over 30-years on active duty. I have pretty much seen it all; not everything, but aenough to offer some advice…
The Air Force is going to take some drastic action to balance the force level. You need to be Proactive or you will be letting the luck of the draw decide your and your family’s future.
Maybe you are thinking of getting out and putting all that great training, experience, and security clearance to use in the hope of making the “big bucks;” but when the Air Force pulls the switch, you are not going to be out there alone. Many, many other smart, highly trained personnel, who also have security clearances will also be competing for those few positions.
Besides having to deal with other released folks, you will be competing with all the folks who know the “civilian ropes” but who are unemployed or underemployed due the COVID-19 downturn in the economy.
The Air Force will be offering different programs besides leaving the Air Force. Some will be necessitate retraining from your career field, one that you know like the back of your hand and even hoped to ride into retirement. But it isn’t going to happen for everyone, especially if you are in one of those career fields that is so great that everyone reenlists and is now pushing being overmanned.
The writer and philosopher George Santayana, wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” So learn from me and my experiences…
Twice I was offered Palace Balance (PB). Back then PB was the AF’s program to level the force which included retraining (both voluntary and involuntary, early release, retention forgiveness, and even discharge).
The first time I was offer PB was in 1983, due to a restructuring of my AFSC. Everyone in my career field was offered PB. I was a new MSgt and had just PCS’d. The personnel most eligible had lots of TIG and time-on-station. This PB has 3-phases, phase-1 offered a lot of AFSCs and a BOP. Phase-2 offered the left over AFCSs, but no BOP, and Phase-3, meant mandatory retraining into whatever AFSCs were left and no-BOP.
I had recently taken the Electronic Data Processing Test (EDPT) a test required before consideration was given for retraining into the Computer Fields (Programmer and Operator). I scored high enough to be selected for a Programming position and I volunteered during Phase-1 to retrain into the Computer Programmer career field with a BOP to Langley AFB. I was selected but I had to wait until the next Fiscal Year (October) as only 1-PCS is authorized in a calendar year, but I arranged to go TDY to Tech School while at Offutt, and the was on base, at Langley, by the following November.
As for many of my friends and fellow Graphics folks from my old AFSC, many tried to ride out the storm, and were very unhappy with the “left-over” AFSCs in Phase-2, and a few “die-hards” even tried to ride out Phase-3. They thought (incorrectly…) that since they were assigned to a headquarters graphics shop and even had 4-Star endorsements on their Airman Performance Reports (APRs predated EPRs…) refused to get the required retention to go to a tech school or PCS and got burned. By refusing to get the retention to retrain or PCS, they made themselves ineligible to even reenlist and were forced out at the end of their enlistments (some short of retirement; back then you had to serve a full 20-years to get any retirement…).
The second time I was offered PB was in 1991, I had just sewed on Chief Master Sergeant, and I was offered early release of my promotion retention extension. The AF had too many E-9s and offered all of us early out. The newly promoted E-9s only had to have 6-months TIG to retire and not lose the rank. I did not avail myself of this opportunity and I ultimately stayed for 10 more years and retired with more than 30-years and I loved it…
So the moral here is: Do not let the Air Force decide your future any more than it is absolutely necessary. Be Proactive, find out what your option are, and take action.
If you’ve read this far you are the type of person to chart your own future. Don’t let the AF put you into one of those low-retention AFSCs (remember there is a reason folks do not want to stay…).
Good Luck and Air High!