After a massive culling of career fields eligible for selective re-enlistment bonuses in late 2013, the Air Force is moving to once again expand the list.
The Air Force removed 46 career fields from the list of jobs that were eligible for bonuses on Dec. 5, 2013, leaving 10 jobs.
On Thursday, the Air Force Personnel Center said in a release that it would add 13 more jobs to the list, effective immediately.
The 10 jobs that remained after the 2013 cuts will still be eligible for bonuses.
Three of those new jobs — 2A5X2D helicopter/tilt rotor aircraft maintenance for CV-22 Ospreys, 2M0X3 missile and space facilities, and 4C0X1 mental health services — were cut in 2013 and are now being restored.
Another 10 jobs are new to the SRB list.
When announcing the massive 2013 bonus cuts, the Air Force said they were a result of the force cuts driven by the sequester.
This time, however, the Air Force said the expansion of the list is because the service is moving toward a higher end strength.
The career fields eligible for these bonuses are increasing to better retain experienced airmen in key mission areas such as maintenance, signals intelligence and mental health, the AFPC release said.
"All of these career fields are challenged to retain experienced mid-level airmen," AFPC personnel services director Col. Arch Bruns said in the release. "The FY15 SRB program will offer bonus incentives to airmen in critical and emerging career fields with high operations demands and low manning that still require attention, such as battlefield airmen, cyberspace specialties and specific maintenance career fields. These incentives will also help the Air Force retain key maintenance experience while we work F-35 maintenance manning options."
These career fields have been at or below required sustainment levels for some time, AFPC said. As a result, they were exempt from last year's voluntary force management programs, and most involuntary programs except for the Quality Force Review Board.
"SRBs are judiciously and effectively targeted to provide the most return-on-investment in both dollars and capability," Bruns said. "This allows the [Air Force] to retain airmen who are critical to current and emerging mission requirements."
The list of career fields on the selective re-enlistment bonus is as follows:
New to the list:
1N2X1A Signals intel analyst-electronic
2A3X3 Tactical aircraft maintenance
2A3X4 Fighter aircraft integrated avionics
2A375 Advanced fighter aircraft integrated avionics
2A3X5A Advanced fighter aircraft integrated avionics (F-22)
2A375B Advanced fighter aircraft integrated avionics (F-35)
2A3X7 Tactical aircraft maintenance (fifth generation)
2A574 Refuel/bomber aircraft maintenance craftsman
2A5X4D Refuel/bomber aircraft maintenance craftsman (B-52)
2A5X4F Refuel/bomber aircraft maintenance craftsman (B-2)
Restored to the list after 2013 cuts:
2A5X2D Helicopter/tilt rotor aircraft maintenance (CV-22)
2M0X3 Missile and space facilities
4C0X1 Mental health service
Still on the list
1A8X1 Airborne cryptologic language analyst
1A8X2 Airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operator
1B4X1 Cyberspace defense operations
1C2X1 Combat control
1C4X1 Tactical air control party
1N4X1A Fusion analyst, digital network analyst
1T0X1 Survival, evasion, resistance and escape
1T2X1 Pararescue
1W0X2 Special operations weather
3E8X1 Explosive ordnance disposal
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
