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1 AD-A284 531lil IIIIIIIllEllll11 i H 1 FLIGHT INCENTIVE PAY FOR ARMY AVIATORS D ISEP 2 0 1994FA thesis presented to the Faculty of the ArmyCommand and General Staff College in partialfulfillment of the requirements for thedegreeMASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCEbyCAPTAIN DANNY G. I. , Northern Michigan University, 1983 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas1994 Approved for public release; distribution is )7 -1 L ":E311111111 il 13 June 1994 Master's thesis , 2 Aug 93-3 Jun 94 Flight Incentive Pay for ArmyAviatorsCaptain (P) Danny G. I. Pummill, Army Command and General Staff CollegeATTN: ATZL-SWD-GDFort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-6900 Approved for public release, distribution is Army is paying incentives under the Aviation Career Incentive Act (ACIA)(to attract and retain qualified aviators) that are no longer justified. Theresearch was designed to determine the Army's need to pay aviators ACIA in orderto attract and maintain qualified aviators. The Aviation Career Incentive PayProgram was designed and implemented to prevent highly skilled personnel fromleaving the military to take higher paying jobs in the civilian aviation Force and Navy pilots make up the primary source of pilots for the civilianaviation sector and are in direct completion for trained aviators.

2 Army pilotswho are predominantly trained on helicopters are not heavily recruited by thecivilian aviation sector as there is no significant market for helicopter pilotsoutside of the military. The results of this study indicate that the Army hasbeen paying Aviation Career Incentive Pay to officer and warrant officer aviatorsfor reasons other than those set down in the Act. Most Army aviators surveyedfeel they are entitled to the pay, because of their special training and the time this study was completed there is no established shortage ofqualified personnel applying for Army flight school. Additionally, the Army hasnot experienced any problems retaining qualified , Aviation Career Improvement Act, Flight PayArmy Aviators, Helicopter Pilots, Incenative PayUNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIEDF a'jFLIGHT INCENTIVE PAY FOR ARMY AVIATORSA thesis presented no ' e Faculty of the ArmyCommand and Staff College in partialfulfillment of the requirements for thedegreeMASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCEbyCAPTAIN DANNY G.

3 I. , Northern Michigan University, 1983 ForNTIS CRA&IDTIC TAR oJust f :- ..By ~ i~ t 't'ibt,:tion /Fort Leavenworth, Kansas A,_ailablity Codes1994 Dist Avail and/orA-oApproved for public release; distribution is OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCETHESIS APPROVAL PAGEName of Candidate: Captain Danny G. I. PummillThesis Title: Flight Incentive Pay for Army AviatorsA roved by: thesis Committee ChairmanMAJ C. G. avidson, m ,MemberA/AJ R. J/Kilroy, r., , Consulting FacultyMAJ B. A. Leeson, this 3rd day of June 1994 by:a -64 1-L , Director, Graduate DegreePhisip J. rk ProgramsThe opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those ofthe student author and do not necessarily represent theviews of the Army Command and General Staff College orany other governmental agency. (References to this studyshould include the foregoing statement).iiABSTRACTFLIGHT INCENTIVE PAY FOR ARMY AVIATORS, by Captain DannyG. I. Pummill, AG, USA, 120 Army is paying incentives under the Aviation CareerIncentive Act (ACIA) (to attract and retain qualifiedaviators) that are no longer justified.

4 The research wasdesigned to determine the Army's need to pay aviators ACIAin order to attract and maintain qualified Aviation Career Incentive Pay Program was designed andimplemented to prevent highly skilled personnel from leavingthe military to take higher paying jobs in the civilianaviation sector. Air Force and Navy pilots make up theprimary source of pilots for the civilian aviation sectorand are in direct competition for trained aviators. Armypilots who are predominantly trained on helicopters are notheavily recruited by the civilian aviation sector as thereis no significant market for helicopter pilots outside ofthe results of this study indicate that the Army has beenpaying Aviation Career Incentive Pay to officer and warrantofficer aviators for reasons other than those set down inthe Act. Most Army aviators surveyed feel they are entitledto the pay, because of their special training and the time this study was completed there is no establishedshortage of qualified personnel applying for Army flightschool.

5 Additionally, the Army has not experienced anyproblems retaining qualified thesis could not have been completed withoutthe assistance of a number of individuals. I was fortunateto have Sam Torry as my next door neighbor. Sam was assign-ed to aviation branch, Total Army Personnel Agency inWashington, , prior to this assignment and dedicated alot of time explaining terms and helping me. While he didnot completely agree with my thesis , Jeff Kappenman fromStaff Group 9D, was always willing to provide me backgroundinformation on the various aspects of Army Aviation. Hespent a lot of personal time reading my work and makingrecommendations. Jack Gundrum, an Air Force B-52 pilotassigned to my staff group, provided Information from an AirForce perspective. He also served as my proofreader andspent a lot of his free time assisting with the completionof this study. I would also like to thank Karin Brightwell,the secretary in the Graduate Degree Programs Office, fortyping and Technical support.

6 Finally, I would like tothank my wife Paula and my three children Jason, Jamie, andDanny, for their support and patience with my absence duringthe past year. Without the assistance of these people, Iwould have been unable to complete the requirements for myMaster of Military Art and Science OF CONTENTSPageAPPROVAL PAGE .. iiABSTRACT .. iiiACKNOWLEDGMENTS .. ivLIST OF TABLES .. viiCHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .. IThe ProblemDirection of ResearchProblems Associated With The ResearchThesis QuestionAssumptionsLimitations of ThesisSignificance of This ResearchOrganization of ThesisEndnotesCHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .. 16 IntroductionPrevious ResearchMilitary Documents and PublicationsGovernment DocumentsOther SourcesEndnotesCHAPTER 3 HISTORICAL Information AND BACKGROUND .. 25 IntroductionImpact of Civilian Aviation IndustryElimination of Hazardous Duty ProvisionDual ProficiencyFlight Pay RulesEndnotesvCHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .. 40 IntroductionAttract and Retain Qualified PilotsPlanned Army DownsizingAvailability of Pilot Positions in CivilianAviationExamination of StatisticsWhy Pilots Leave Active DutyEx-Army Aviator StudyFormulation of the SurveyDevelop Conclusion and RecommendationsEndnotesCHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS.

7 52 IntroductionRetention of Qualified AviatorsCivilian Alternatives for PilotsWhy Pilots Leave Active DutySurvey InformationEndnotesCHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION .. 83 IntroductionAttract and Retain Qualified AviatorsAvailability of Qualified AviatorsShould ACIP Be Paid to PilotsHow Much Does the Program Cost the ArmyEndnotesCHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH .. 96 IntroductionConclusionviAppendixesA .Survey .. 100B. Survey Results .. 106 Bibliography .. 113 Initial Distribution List .. 120 LIST OF TABLESTABLE 1. Monthly Incentive Pay Rates, Rated Officersand Warrant Officers .. 302. Monthly Incentive Pay Rates for OfficersOver 10 Years .. 333. Officer and Warrant Officer SpecialtiesAuthorized Aviation Incentive Pay .. 354. Military Manpower Costs by Component .. 375. Military Manpower Costs byComponent .. 536. Requirements for Flight Training, ArmyOfficers .. 547. Requirements for Flight Training ArmyWarrant Officers .. 568. Commissioned Officers Aviation Branch .. 629. Commissioned Officer Pilots Versus FlightPositions.

8 6310. Pilot Vacancies in the United States 1993 70viiCHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTIONOur need to attract fliers is inextricably relatedto our need to keep them. And the more we retain, thefewer we need to train. That is just common sense. Now,the retention of flyers is what we are talking about. Inour case it is less expensive to retain a flyer than toincur this replacement training cost.,The Army agrees with the conclusions of the majorcivilian pay commissions since World War II, thatcompensation for exposure to hazard is not a valid basisfor pay differential. The aviation career incentive paysystem must be geared to the supply and demand experienceto provide the necessary motivation and encouragement forindividuals to enter and remain in aviation on avoluntary two simple statements made during the 1974full Armed Services Committee consideration of HouseResolution 12670, Aviation Career Incentive Act of 1974,along with other testimony had a profound and far-reachingeffect on the Armed Forces of the United States.

9 Theoutcome of these hearings was the passage of the AviationCareer Incentive Act (ACIA), which directly linked thepayment of aviation incentives, or what most aviators referto as flight pay, to the ability of a military service toattract and retain qualified aviators. This law requires1the military services to provide annual updates to Congresson their ability to attract and retain qualified aviators tomilitary service. The law was enacted at the request of thearmed services to stem the flow of qualified aviators fromthe military to the civilian aviation military services in the United States offeraviation incentive pay to qualified officer and warrantofficer pilots. Some of the services have (in addition tothe aviation incentive pay) instituted a form of bonuses ina further attempt to ensure qualified aviators remain onactive paper will examine the Army's ability toattract and maintain qualified officer and warrant officeraviators. This thesis will also attempt to determine if theAviation Career Incentive Act has had an impact on theenlistment and retention of ProblemThe United States Army is currently paying aviationincentive pay to officer and warrant officers performingboth flight and nonflight related duties.

10 The Army,consistent with the other services, provides this incentivepay in compliance with the provisions of Public Law 93-294,The Aviation Career Incentive Act (ACIA) of 1974. This actamended Section 301 of Title 37, United States Code,2relating to incentive pay to attract and retain qualifiedvolunteers for aviation is currently no demand for rotary wing(helicopter) pilots in the civilian aviation percent of all Army pilots are trained andqualified for rotary wing aircraft Initialstatistics and Information made available from theDepartment of the Army Personnel Command indicate that thereis no demonstrated shortage of qualified personnel applyingfor aviation duty nor is there a record of too many aviatorsleaving active Army service voluntarily. Aviation incentivepay is paid to aviators based upon years of flying Army aviators continue to receive aviation even when they are not actually assigneO to aviationduties. All personnel receiving incentive pay are closelymonitored by aviation branch at the Army PersonnelCommand as they are required to report these statistics toCongress on a regular basis.