About 8,000 jobs in the Department of the Air Force, which includes the Space Force, sat empty as of March 2023, according to Pentagon data. Annual bonus pay programs aim to keep airmen around to blunt the effects of a pilot shortage that has lasted decades. The Air Force plans to formally announce the extension Friday. "Little Red Corvette, shipmate you're much too fast." The Army and Navy want to give more money to pilots whose service is ending, but they're blocked by bureaucracy. The change arrives around a month after the Air Force missed its recruiting target for the first time since 1999. The Navy kept more than 110% of sailors with up to 14 years of service in Fiscal Year 2023, which ended Sept. 30. The Navy is now breaking up the incentives into two-year increments, while also offering larger amounts to those who agree to four more years of service. Planning to reenlist for a cash bonus? You might want to wait. Rand Corp. has added to a growing body of research assessing the impacts of diversity on the military and barriers to its progress. Load More