(Ken Silva, Headline USA) As the Biden administration continues to shovel billions of dollars to support other countries’ wars, the Air Force is set to cut $10 million in bonus pay in fiscal 2024.
The Air Force Times revealed the Air Force’s impending pay cut last week in a report on the military branch’s latest budget request.
“If Congress approves the request in the service’s budget proposal, released March 13, the service would downsize its special duty assignment pay program from $101.7 million in 2023 to $92.2 million in the coming year,” the outlet reported.
According to the Air Force Times, 30,800 airmen currently earn special duty pay. That could fall to about 29,800 in fiscal 2024.
The Air Force isn’t the only branch cutting pay for its servicemembers. As Headline USA reported last week, the Army is looking to do the same: Planning a cut to its Army Credentialing Assistance program, or Army CA, as a cost-cutting measure.
“Instead of being intended to be used for college degrees, the program gave soldiers $4,000 per year, for civilian credentials — such as qualifications in coding languages, cybersecurity, personal training, commercial driver’s licenses and other skills that can help them in the civilian world or supplement their military career,” Military.com explained of the Army’s impending cuts.
The cuts come as the Defense Department struggles to find recruits for all branches of the military.
the Army reportedly fell more than 15,000 recruits short of its target of 60,000 in 2022, and another 10,000 recruits last year.
The decrease in white recruits has led the overall decline. Military.com in January that the number of white Army recruits fell from 44,042 in 2018 to 25,070. In 2018, 56.4% of new recruits were reportedly categorized as white. In 2023, that number reportedly declined to 44%.
Many government officials have expressed apathy at the declining recruitment rates. In December, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., proposed that the shortfall in white recruits could be made up for by allowing illegal immigrants to serve.
“Do you know what the recruiting numbers are at the Army, Navy and Air Force? They can’t find enough people,” Durbin said at the time. “And there are undocumented people who want to serve this country. Should we give them the chance? I think we should.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
