'Commitment Bonus' of £15,000 for the military

[Training Risky]

Erm...

Maybe Melchett was being 'sarcastic' in his use of inverted commas...?

And in doing so was trying to illustrate the fuzzy, class-obsessed thinking demonstrated by this shower of sh!t we have in government while not appearing to actually back this line of thinking...?

Just a thought.

[C130 Techie]

I'm pleased to say my 100% record remains intact. Over the last 30 years I have missed every financial bonus retention incentive that has been offered.

[ZH875]

C130 Techie, you are not alone....

[clapperboard]

Does anyone have any concrete details on this? All i can see is that the already inplace bonuses are being bolstered and once again will be paid to people who were staying in anyway

[formertonkaplum]

Experience

And surley they have forgotten the other Cadre of people they are struggling to retain, Experienced JNCO / SNCO's!

It is these who are getting fed up with lies, reductions and less resources and jumping ship. What retention incentive are they getting?

Apart from the Arse-kisser "If you don't like it leave" comment.

So that will be................. Nil.

[Al R]

Cargosales said:
Not much detail on the Beeb yet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7303846.stm

It just says "Amongst other changes, he [Brown] also said there would be £15,000 bonuses for some long-serving military personnel"

Note the words some and long-serving before getting too excited.

I read that link, and was stumped at the tone of it. Genuinely. And then it hit me. The g'ment was doing something other than taxing us until we squeek, churning our boll#cks press releases and useless spin, interfering in lives, telling them what to do, forming more useless Agencies, devolving accountability to greedy wide eyed power mad parochial public bodies, forming quangos, riding roughshod over things like democracy and accountability, and generally acting like a crazed parish council but on a bigger scale.

[samuraimatt]

I read that link, and was stumped at the tone of it. Genuinely. And then it hit me. The g'ment was doing something other than taxing us until we squeek, churning our boll#cks press releases and useless spin, interfering in lives, telling them what to do, forming more useless Agencies, devolving accountability to greedy wide eyed power mad parochial public bodies, forming quangos, riding roughshod over things like democracy and accountability, and generally acting like a crazed parish council but on a bigger scale.

Oh Christ, I wondered how long it would take before our resident anti government spokesman would start spouting his expert opinion on something that doesn't even concern him. You have shown your commitment.
Let it go Al. Stick to telling stories of deliberately using too many CS tablets in the chamber.

[endplay]

With regard to any rank it seems to me that you get what circumstances and the environment dictate. The cold war years required an entirely diferent animal than that needed today but the quality of the individuals meant that some rose to the challenge and some didn't. The committment required to serve in the military of any era should put us all beyond any petty internal sniping so lets just acknowledge that we are all a cut above the rest and even those that. inevitably. fall below the line are above average by virtue of making the attempt.

[Grabbers]

At the risk of returning this thread back to topic, will the 15,000 be paid to personnel at their 4-8 yr point or will it be paid 4-8 years after their 22 year point? Not completely clear to me, I'm afraid.

[SirPercyWare-Armitag]

Bonus

So we are agreed then? This is another divisive move by the Government that results in us turning on each other?

Sod the bloody bonus. Why can't soldiers have their pay increased so they earn a decent wage? Then worry about bonuses.

Maybe if everyone was paid decently, people wouldnt leave. Maybe if we all knew our families would be looked after if the worse happened, then retention wouldnt be an issue.

[On_The_Top_Bunk]

Originally Posted by C130 Techie

I'm pleased to say my 100% record remains intact. Over the last 30 years I have missed every financial bonus retention incentive that has been offered.

Join the club

[dessert_flyer]

Just a guess but surely this retention is aimed at your front line soldier, who is leaving the Army after 3 or 6 years. From what i gather there is a real problem with retention within the Army for the private on the front line, so to give these guys up to £15000 to go out and come face to face with the Taleban certainly gets my vote, especially as they are on c**p wages anyway. The cost of training a new soldier is far more than persuading a soldier to do an extra few years. This then comes across to the RAF, where we are lossing an awful lot of skilled manpower after 3 or 6 years, essentialy these people can earn far more in civvy street with less hassle, so they are pvr'ing in their droves. Once again it is more cost effective to give higher retention incentives than to train another airman. I cant believe it is there to keep our higher and longer serving personell in the service, lets face it, if the higher ranks leave then their is more promotion and therefore a good retention tool for those coming up through the ranks. Yes you will loose a lot of good experienced SNCO's, but last i looked that was never a big problem as the quality of guys coming up is high, (except in a few cases where we really really did not need to loose particular SNCO's who were exceptional). As for the 'Officer class', well there is a whole raft of young officers trying to fill the boots of those of you higher up the food chain. It has been proven that the pilot FRI did not keep that many in, and those young thrusters have, and still are leaving in their droves to the airlines, (and who can blame them). For the Navigators of this world, well there isnt a great deal out there for them anymore, just as their isnt for many Airman Aircrew, and so to take their wages, which for many is far higher than they could get in civvy street, is an easy choice.
Like i said this is really aimed at the junior ranks, and is essentially a no cost option for the government, and help keeps some good soldiers in a place where we do really need them


DF

[Salusa]

You know something which I heard?

And I am pretty sure it’s true...

In Singapore they pay their Air Force pilots the going rate (i.e. they earn just as much as if they were flying heavy’s for SQ). They therefore retain the best of the crop and its conisdered a real career.

Basically it comes down to investment and support of your country which the one eyed Broown is sadly lacking in.

[dallas]

I think dessert_flyer is just about on the money. Experience isn't tangible - bums on seats are. Most people who've done 9+ years (officer) and 15+ (enlisted) are either chasing promotion or pension, so they're staying for the short term. New recruits take a few years to start seeing the cracks, so the 'vulnerable', for whom pensions are boring and way too far off are the 6-10 year crowd, who also happen to have age on their side. They're also quite well trained, normally quite fit and possibly buyable with 15k.

The longer term problem will be when the 'options' people exit, which is already happening now en masse, but recruitment fails to feed in replacements on the bottom rung. Promotion will be great in the short term and counterbalance some exits, but ultimately salary won't compensate for same old issues - even fewer people and worn out kit - especially as the forecast is even worse.

So, dare I say it, the fix is somewhat short-sighted.

[South Bound]

The £15k seems a fairly sensible approach to me - a comparatively small outlay to keep a trained soldier/sailor/airman in for another few years. Of course, it does mean that those who were going to stay anyway will get the money as well, but that is no different to any of the other FRIs handed out in the past.

I have long given up any hope that anyone was going to show an interest in retaining someone in my rank/specialisation, and while I would love someone to throw a bonus my way, it is not going to happen. IMHO, there is a general acceptance that FRIs cannot compensate certain people when compared to opportunities outside/pressures of Service vs home life at key stages. They are now focussing on keeping people in at the early stages of a career, rather than fighting a losing battle with those that have been in 10-15 years and know their own minds.

[Wrathmonk]

Of course you get nothing for nothing so how is this to be paid for - end of CEA anyone ....

[The Dodger]

I agree with some folks here, this bonus scheme should be aimed more at the retention of the Soilder, Sailor and Airmen. I left the Airforce last week to a Civillian Airline job, which I hope will turn into a great Career. I used to think the same of the Airforce when I first joined up. Indeed things at first looked great. I loved every minute of it. However with all the problems the services are facing with housing and quality of life etc, I knew that I had to go, to have a chance of a career I want in Aviation. The money the Airforce offers to engineers or aircrew today, is no way competitive enough to that of the Airlines. The goverment for once is doing something to try and stop experinced bods from leaving. Unfortunatly I think it's too late. It would have taken me another load of years in the Airforce, doing OOA, station duties etc, to fight for a promotion and pay rise which I am getting now. Just by leaving I have already improved my quality of life. What does that say.

[No Vote Joe]

Any details of who is exactly eligable and for what return of service?

If it's anything like the last few, then 15k less tax = 9k, for 5 years return = £1800 a year. Is that really going to keep people in? Probably not.

The guy that is already pensionable with the option of a job outside paying roughly what he has already, plus pension plus gratuity is far more attractive.

[No Vote Joe]

10 out of 10 for optimism!!

[Truck2005]

Has it all come down to money? If this is all the government think of the guys then god help us.