In the most recent issue, the cover article “Nukes are No. 1″ asserts that the newly formed MAJCOM, Global Strike Command, is in need of 2,500 more airmen in order to be fully ready once the stand-up date is reached.
This would not be such a problem if the bases were in desirable locations such as Florida, California or anywhere other than where they currently are. The Air Force has a proposed solution to this small, yet rather significant, problem. Their solution involves the implementation of incentive pay for those qualified under the Personal Reliability Program to retain this qualification. Also in the works is the idea of giving those in “key nuclear billets” deployment credit to make them more competitive with their peers when it comes time to go up for various boards.
What is also mentioned in the article as well as earlier in this post is the problem with location. Most of the bases under this new command are located in the northern part of the United States, infamously known for their bitterly cold winters. Many who are assigned to these areas are either completely unaware of where these places are or are not prepared for the nature of the locations they are headed to. It does not help that many who are bound for the northern tier bases are informed by either their instructors or coworkers about what lies ahead for them.
This article raises many questions that do little to put those who are potentially headed to a base with a nuclear mission at ease. Many higher ranking individuals want to tout that these locations are not as bad as many would have others believe. These locations are, in fact, good for those who are passionate about spending a lot of time outdoors. This author is willing to wager a fair bit that a fair amount of those who are either already located in these locations or are inbound are not of the perpetually outdoors type. A good number are from larger areas with a larger and more diverse population. Speaking from experience, the populations of most bases with a nuclear mission are not in the most ethnically diverse locations of the world. The populations tend toward the homogenous, with caucasians making up the vast majority in many situations.
In regards to the possibility of incentive pay, many questions come to mind. First off, how much will it be? For many people, especially those who are already qualified, no amount can compensate them for the way they feel about a certain location. Also, will the amount be the same for everyone, Secondly, what kind of prerequisites are required in order to initially qualify, as well as maintain the qualification? What happens if you go off of PRP for a short while (less than 30 days)? Would they take that into consideration before axing the bonus for that month? What happens if someone gets disqualified due to events beyond their control, such as a car accident?
The possibility of “deployment-in-place” credit also raises questions in addition to skeptical eyebrows. Who would these “key nuclear billets” include? Just maintanence? How about chefs? Cops? Capsule crews? Would these career fields also be considered key to the overall operational capability of the nuclear program? One might be tempted to say that of all of the parts that are required for nuclear operations, cops should definitely not get it, due to the rather recent opening of their members to the possibility of deployment. The fact that those in security have the possibility of deploying should not disqualify them from receiving the deployment-in-place credit due to the fact that in one case, in order to deploy everyone in one particular location at the current rate in which they are doing so, it would take more than thirty-one years to deploy everyone just once. This is assuming that the personnel never left for somwhere else and continued to stay in for the entire duration of their wait. While this may sound like an unreasonable situation, the reality of it lends merit to the granting this credit to security personnel in addition to everyone else.
The last glaring issue is even if all of the possible inclusions were to be a reality, when could those in their isolated posts expect to see the benefits that are expected to keep them come into effect? Where is the US Air Force expected to come up with the financing for this? Would it truly work? Can senior leadership possibly expect a little extra money and deployment credit to retain the personnel that the MAJCOM requires? Will these benefits be enough to counteract the endless horror stories that fill so many with dread? Only time will tell, but it is the opinion of this desk that much work and effort will be required before any success can be achieved.
