Air Force offers up to $600,000 in bonuses for ‘retention of qualified airmen and officers’
In an official statement, the Air Force reported that the bonuses range from "$15,000 to $50,000 per year for contracts ranging from three to 12 years of additional service."
The Air Force reported in a press release the opening of two bonus programs that aim to retain "experienced airmen and qualified officers" to combat personnel shortages:
The programs called: the Fiscal Year 2024 Experienced Airman Retention Incentive (EARI), formerly known as the Aviation Bonus, and the 2024 Demonstration Bonus will offer up to $600,000 in total over the next 12 years to military pilots who enroll in 2024:
It is reported that the bonuses range from "$15,000 to $50,000 per year for contracts ranging from three to 12 years of additional service." Likewise, it is detailed that "eligible active duty airmen have until August 1 to register":
The EARI aims to "deliberately develop and retain experienced qualified officers to meet the Air Force's mission readiness, training and retention requirements to maintain force lethality."
Air Force Major General Adrián España, director of training and readiness and deputy chief of staff for operations at Air Force Headquarters, said in the statement: