Chinook 240,
I think the hackneyed explanation is that acquiring "Q" ticks is a JO's path to promotion - and that is sufficient "reward" in itself. The PA spine is supposed to reward those that tread a different path, and this is where it's tricky. How do you retain a 42 year old PA F/L or S/L who's got all the ticks and is now utterly fed up on the Ops treadmill? With a decent pension waiting the siren song of civvie street (and the nagging of the nagger!) can lead to this experienced Q cadre leaving. Perhaps more pervasive though is the lack of genuine rest tours and the fact that much of the "fun" flying has evaporated. In our world, throw in the fact that many of the older guys have bought property before the boom and have subsequently smaller mortgages. I think that this problem will really bite as the current crop near their IPP at 38, esp when we exit the recession....