The Air Force is upping the maximum amount in bonuses it will hand out to Airmen it is trying to retain in select career fields, from the previous limit of $100,000 up to $180,000 starting Oct. 1.
The number of career fields eligible for a bonus has also increased to 73, up 43 percent from last year’s 51 eligible career fields. All of the career fields represented on last year’s list are on this year’s too, the Air Force said in a May 23 press release.
The Air Force did not specify the new career fields in its release, but a spokesperson confirmed that a list posted to social media is accurate. The new eligible fields include air traffic control, electronic non-communications analyst, manpower management, and religious affairs.
The exact amount of bonus funds awarded varies based on several factors, including Airmen’s monthly basic pay, the length of the reenlistment, and experience level. New this year, the Air Force is extending its service cap from 72 months (6 years), to 96 months (8 years), which the service says can help Airmen receive larger bonuses and allow more flexibility in their reenlistment contract.
Airmen can also reenlist up to 12 months before their current term of service expires, which should give them more time to decide and open up a larger pool of eligible Airmen, the Air Force said in its release. The bonus can be made as a lump sum or as partial installments. The career cap is set at $360,000.
Retention bonuses are supposed to help retain Airmen in critical career fields with low manning, retention rates, or with extensive skills training. The economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic drove a surge in retention, and the number of fields eligible for retention bonus dropped to just 37 in 2021, down from 72 in 2020 and 115 in 2019.
Retention has returned to pre-pandemic levels: Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, told lawmakers earlier this month that the Air Force had bumped up its Active Duty recruiting goal from 26,000 recruits to 27,200 in response to “observed declines in current year retention averages and to help offset potential future retention trend declines.”
In its fiscal 2025 budget request, the Air Force included $1.1 billion for bonuses and retention programs for 118,000 positions, a major bump over last year’s request of $648 million for 65,000 positions.
Even so, experts have pointed out that the Air Force lacks accessible data on the effectiveness of retention bonuses.
“I can’t tell if a really big bonus offered 10 years ago to people working with computers was effective, because I can’t go back and see if the person who was offered the bonus got out or stayed,” RAND senior operations researcher and retired Air Force veteran Lisa Harrington told Air & Space Forces Magazine in January. “We really do need to be capturing the decision space of the individual Airman in the work we do.”
Air Force Specialty Code Special Experience Identifier Skill Level Career Field Zone A Zone B Zone C Zone E 1A1X3D 3, 5 Special Mission Aviator (C-130J Loadmaster) 2 2 0 0 1A1X3E 3, 5, 7 Special Mission Aviator (WC-130J Loadmaster 2 2 1 0 1A8X1G 3, 5, 7 Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst – Chinese 4 3.5 2 1 1A8X1I 3, 5, 7 Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst – Russian 4 3.5 2 1 1A8X1K 3,5 Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst – Persian 3 0 0 0 1B4X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1B000 Cyber Warfare Operations 7 7 5 3 1C1X1 3, 5 Air Traffic Control 3 3 0 0 1C3X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1C300 All-Domain Command and Control Operations 2 3 2 1 1C5X1 3, 5 Battle Management Ops 1 1 0 0 1C5X1D 3, 5, 7 Battle Management Ops (Weapons Director) 3 4 3 0 1D791 9 Cyberspace Defense Operations, Superintendent 0 0 2 3 1D7X1M 1AL, 1AP, 1AM or 1A0 3, 5, 7 Cyber Defense Operations (Mission Defense Activities) 1 1 1 0 1D7X1P 1AN 3, 5, 7, 9 Cyber Defense Operations (Data Operations) 7 7 5 3 1D7X1Q 1AM 3, 5, 7 Cyber Defense Operations (Enterprise Operations) 1 1 1 0 1D7X1Q 1AS 3, 5, 7 Cyber Defense Operations (Enterprise Operations) 2 2 2 0 1D7X1W 1AS 3, 5, 7 Cyber Defense Operations (Expeditionary Communications) 2 2 2 0 1D7X1W 1AM or 1AP 3, 5, 7 Cyber Defense Operations – (Expeditionary Communications) 1 1 1 0 1D7X3C 3, 5 Cable and Antenna Defense Operations – Cable and Antenna Operations 3 0 0 0 1H0X1 7, 9, or 1H000 Aerospace Physiology 0 0 2 2 1N2X1A 3, 5 Signals Intelligence (Electronic Non-Communications Analyst) 2 0 0 0 1N3X1G 3, 5, 7 Cryptologic Language Analyst (Chinese) 3.5 3 2 0 1N3X1I 3, 5, 7 Cryptologic Language Analyst (Russian) 3.5 3 2 0 1N3X1K 3, 5 Cryptologic Language Analyst (Persian) 3 0 0 0 1N4X1A 3, 5, 7 Cyber Intelligence (Analysis) 2 2 2 0 1N8X1 3, 5, 7 Targeting Analyst 3 4 2 0 1P0X1A 3, 5 Aircrew Flight Equipment (Ejection Seat Aircraft) 2 0 0 0 1P0X1B 3, 5 Aircrew Flight Equipment (Non-Ejection Seat Aircraft) 2 0 0 0 1T0X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1T000 Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape 7 7 5 3 1Z1X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1Z100 Pararescue 7 7 5 3 1Z2X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1Z200 Combat control 7 7 5 3 1Z3X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1Z300 TACP 7 7 5 3 1Z4X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 1Z400 Special Reconaissance 7 7 5 3 2A373 7 Tactical Aircraft Maintenance Craftsman 0 3 0 0 2A375 7 Advanced Fighter Aircraft Integrated Avionics Craftsman 0 2 2 0 2A377 7 Tactical Aircraft Maintenance (5th Generation) Craftsman 0 1 2 0 2A378 7 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Maintenance Craftsman 0 3 3 0 2A3X8A 3, 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Maintenance (MQ-1/MQ-9) 1 2 0 0 2A3X8B 3, 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Maintenance (RQ-4) 1 2 0 0 2A3X5B 3, 5 Advanced Fighter Aircraft Integrated Avionics (F-35) 2 2 0 0 2A3X5C 3, 5 Advanced Fighter Aircraft Integrated Avionics (MQ-1/MQ-9/RQ-4) 2 0 0 0 2A5X1A 3, 5 Airlift/Special Mission Aircraft Maintenance – C-20/C-21/C-22/C-37/C-40/E-4/VC-25) 4 0 0 0 2A574 7 Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance Craftsman 0 1 1 0 2A5X4C 3, 5 Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance – KC-46 3 3 0 0 2A5X4D 3, 5 Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance – B-52 0.5 1 0 0 2A5X4E 3, 5 Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance – B-1 0 2 0 0 2A5X4F 3, 5 Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance – B-2 2 1 0 0 2G0X1 5, 7, 9, or 2G000 Logistics Plans 0 1 2 1 2M090 9 or 2M000 Missile and Space System Maintenance 0 0 0 2 2M0X1X 3, 5, 7 Missile and Space System Electronic Maintenance 3 2 1 1 2M0X2 3, 5, 7 Missile and Space System Maintenance 3 2 1 1 2M0X3 3, 5, 7 Missile and Space Facilities 3 2 1 1 2W2X1 3, 5 , 7 Nuclear Weapons 4 4 3 0 3E5X1 3, 5 Engineering 1 1 0 0 3E8X1 3, 5, 7, 9, or 3E800 Explosive Ordnance Disposal 5 4.5 4 3 3F371 7 Manpower 0 0 3 0 3P0X1A 3, 5 Security Forces (Military Working Dog Handler) 2 1 0 0 3P0X1B 3, 5, 7 Security Forces (Combat Arms) 1 1 1 0 4C0X1 3, 5, 7 Mental Health Service 2 1 1 0 4H0X1 3, 5, 7 Respiratory Care Practitioner 2 1 1 0 4J0X2 3, 5 Physical Medicine 0 2 0 0 4J0X2A 5, 7 Physical Medicine (Orthotic) 0 4 5 0 4N0X1C 5, 7 Aerospace Medical Service (Independent Duty Medical Technician) 0 2 2 0 4N0X1D 3, 5, 7 Aerospace Medical Service (Allergy/Immunization Technician) 1 1 1 0 4N0X1F 3, 5, 7 Aerospace Medical Service (Flight and Operational Medicine) 1.5 1.5 1 0 4N0X1G 5, 7 Aerospace Medical Service (Aeromedical Evacuation) 0 3.5 3.5 0 4N0X1H 5, 7 Aerospace Medical Service (National Registry Paramedic) 0 4 2 0 4N1X1B 5, 7 Surgical Technologist (Urology) 0 1 1 0 4N1X1C 3, 5 Surgical Technologist (Orthopedics) 1 0 0 0 4N1X1D 3, 5 Surgical Technologist (Otorhinolaryngology) 2 0 2 0 4P0X1 3, 5 Pharmacy 3 0 0 0 4R0X1A 3, 5 Diagnostic Imaging (Nuclear medicine) 0 2 0 0 4R0X1C 3, 5 Diagnostic Imaging – MRI 0 2 0 0 4V0X1S 5, 7 Ophthalmic 0 3 3 0 4Y0X1H 5, 7, 9 Dental hygienist 0 1 1 1 5R0X1 7, 9, 5R000 Religious Affairs 0 0 0 2