"There is some push, not just from the Air Force, but from the Department of Defense, to expand that program out, and take it from its current trial phase and make it a larger, bigger program, that would be available to all the services," Kelly said. Kelly said the Air Force and Defense Department hope to begin expanding the program over the next few years. "So why don't we have a program that allows them, in some cases, to be able to separate from the Air Force for a short period of time, get their family started, and then come back in?"Īlthough Cox used the example of a female airman who wants to start a family to explain how such a program would help, the program is also open to male airmen, and allows airmen to leave the service to pursue other life goals besides raising a family.Īs early as next year, the program could grow even larger - and not just in the Air Force. "Some women leave the Air Force because they want to start a family," Cox said. So an airman taking the full three years off agrees to serve another six years on active duty before leaving the Air Force for good.Ĭox first announced the Air Force's sabbatical plans at a breakfast last May. When their break is over and they return, they will be required to spend twice as long in active duty status as they spent in the CIPP program. For example, if an officer was in the 2000 year group before temporarily leaving the Air Force, he would be placed in the 2003 year group when he returns.Īirmen taking part in this program transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve during their sabbatical. Sam Cox, said participants' year groups would be reset when they return. To ensure that airmen's careers don't suffer by taking time off, Air Force's personnel chief, Lt. The Air Force will pay to move an airman from his or her duty station to any location in the U.S., and then move the airman to his or her follow-on base at the end of the program. That means a technical sergeant with 10 years of experience, for example, who normally makes $3,364.80 a month would get a monthly stipend of $224.32.Īirmen can keep up to 60 days of accrued leave. They also receive a small stipend of 1/15th of their usual monthly basic pay, based on their grade and years of service at the time they enter CIPP. Last year, the first application period closed in October and the first board met in November at the Air Force Personnel Center in San Antonio.Īirmen continue to receive their usual medical and dental coverage. ![]() The Air Force plans to run a selection board each fall to pick who will take part in the following year's program. ![]() But that CIPP thing will be big."įrom now on, Kelly said, the Air Force plans to begin discussing the next round of sabbaticals each spring and will start accepting applications each summer. If they're getting out to start a family, if they want to go and pursue advanced education, maybe they're taking care of aging parents. ![]() ![]() "Which is to allow our high performing airmen an avenue to remain in the Air Force if they have some other thing in their life. Brian Kelly, the Air Force's director of military force management policy, in a Dec. "We'll all be watching to see how well it goes, and making sure that the first people through as our test case, that it's accomplishing what we want to accomplish," said Brig.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |