keep smoking that weed man…
That would be one of the highest paid roles in the public sector. In the Services you would be on a higher salary than CDS! Who gets paid £270k-£290k per year, or his Chiefs on £190k-£213k per year. It would be nearly 4 times what we pay an AOC!
So, with your suggestion of £450k each Pilot and the best part of what must be 1,000 or so in front line flying jobs - you have just blown nearly 1% (£0.45Bn) of the UK Defence Budget (roughly £45Bn) on 1,000 of the 140,000 Services’ personnel. That’s before you add all of the extras, like pension, healthcare, subsidised accommodation, school allowances, travel allowances, etc… You can probably make that 1.5%-2% of the Defence Budget. Yeah, that’s going to happen isn’t it?
Also, can you imagine the furore and demonisation of our people in the press and social media earning such a salary? Be prepared to become one of the most hated and envied professions in the land.
Personally, my pay and pension is relatively fair - it could be a little better, but hey, that’s life. I don’t do it to get rich, I live comfortably and I am proud to serve the way I do. I’ve had some phenomenal experiences that some will never get to witness. I’ve had 2 marriages and I don’t feel the need to prostitute myself for every last penny that I can get. I remember why I joined in the first place, many don’t.