Barry Bull, Barry Van Lines mover, carries a box of household goods onto a moving truck at Dover Air Force Base, Del., in July 2021. (Nicole Leidholm/U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force said Monday that it is delaying moves scheduled for airmen beyond this month and holding off on bonuses because “higher than projected” personnel costs have led the service to be short on funding.
Pressing pause on moves and bonuses is necessary to avoid exhausting the military personnel budget for fiscal 2023, which ends Sept. 30, the Air Force said in a statement. The Air Force Personnel Center is only approving permanent duty-station moves for airmen with expected departure dates in July.
These decisions come from an Air Force already struggling to make certain that this year’s recruiting problems don’t leave an impact on the readiness of enlisted troops and their willingness to remain in the service. The Air Force projects it will miss its recruiting goal by about 10,000 airmen, Gen. David Allvin, the service vice chief of staff, said during an April congressional hearing.
“Due to inflation, [moving] costs were higher than budgeted and we made investments in recruiting and retention bonuses to address recruiting challenges and enhance retention,” said Ann Stefanek, spokeswoman for the Air Force. “The Air Force is still working through actual costs and potential funding options at this time. These delays do not impact airmen who already have orders in hand.”
Anyone expected to move in August or later will be approved based on priority and some will be delayed, the Air Force said.
Airmen living overseas with an expected return to the U.S. between October and December will be extended to return between January and March.
The service also said it is pausing bonus programs for reenlistment, aviation and new assignments.
Beginning Tuesday, the Air Force said it will suspend its selective reenlistment bonus program but will allow airmen who would have been eligible for the bonus to extend their current enlistment into the next fiscal year. This allows most airmen access to a reenlistment bonus when the program restarts.
Airmen who reach their maximum extensions by law on their enlistment also can be accommodated through constructive reenlistment and are encouraged to work through the personnel center.
The aviation bonus program launched June 6 will temporarily pause and be restructured in two weeks. When it relaunches, officers who did not already elect to sign a contract can do so while funds remain.
Any new assignment incentive pay is paused until Oct. 1 when the new fiscal year begins. However, airmen already receiving this bonus pay will continue to receive it.
