A new program gives pilots more flexibility to choose their terms of leaving active duty. Air crews will have the ability to choose whether they will leave in one-, two-, five-, nine-, or 13-year intervals, the Air Force Times reported. Under the previous arrangement, pilots could only opt for a five- or nine-year commitment. With the new program, Wilson says airman can make an extra $35,000 for each year they stay on and max out earnings at $455,000. This represents a hefty bump from the old arrangement that topped out pilot pay at $225,000.
Sputnik previously reported that the Air Force was considering forcing pilots to stay on, thus preventing them from skipping on to better paying roles in the private sector. “If I don’t have pilots to fly, the enemy has a vote,” Gen. Carlton Everhart said on April 4.
“If I can’t put warheads on foreheads, then [Daesh] is winning,” the Air Force general warned.
Speaking at a breakfast in Washington, Wilson reiterated pay bonuses alone won’t maintain the needed number of fighter pilots.
“It’s not just the money, and pilots tell us this,” she said. Rather, extra administrative duties and unnecessary training has given some pilots a bad taste in their mouths. “We’re looking at all of those non-mission oriented things to try to improve the quality of life and quality of service for pilots.”
Meanwhile, about one-third of all USAF jets aren’t actually ready to take to the skies at a moment’s notice.
