Air Force offers new incentive for South Korea duty

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott Elliott
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  Airmen who volunteer to extend their tours of duty in South Korea may be eligible for an extra $300 per month.

The assignment incentive pay program is designed to reduce permanent-change-of-station requirements, encourage longer tours, provide further stability and improve readiness on the peninsula, said Lt. Col. Leslie Formolo. The colonel is the chief of the assignment, classification, separation and retirement policy branch at the Pentagon.

The Air Force currently uses the home basing and follow-on assignment, the overseas tour extension incentive and the in-place consecutive overseas tour programs to encourage Airmen to select a South Korean assignment. Officials said they will continue to offer these programs along with the new incentive.

It will be offered as a test program until December 2005, Colonel Formolo said. Airmen who volunteer to serve a 24-month unaccompanied or 36-month accompanied tour before leaving their current duty station will be offered $300 per month for the duration of the tour. Extension and in-place options will be available to individuals choosing to extend after they are in country.

The extension program offers enlisted Airmen three options: $2,000 cash, 30 days of nonchargeable leave or 15 days of nonchargeable leave and a plane ticket to the nearest port of entry. The in-place program pays round-trip plane fare for Airmen and command-sponsored family members to home of record.

Airmen currently in South Korea will be granted a one-time offer to extend their current tours for assignment incentive eligibility. During the “open season,” Airmen who previously signed up for the extension or in-place programs may switch to the new program and extend their original tour lengths by 12 months if they have not received benefits from the other programs. They will receive $300 per month from the date they sign the contract until the end of the extended tour.

Airmen with assignments to South Korea will be offered the incentive before they move. Upon arrival, servicing military personnel flight officials will confirm the Airman’s intent and begin the incentive if the Airman elects this option.

Those who take the new incentive will not be eligible for the other programs; however, other entitlements, such as hardship duty pay, are not affected by the new incentive.

“The primary purpose of (the new incentive) is to attract qualified volunteers to extend their tours at one of the more difficult-to-fill locations in the Air Force,” Colonel Formolo said. “The measure of success will be a change in perception of assignment to [South] Korea, increased stabilization and readiness.”