Balancing Two Lives: The Relationship of Activation, Pay, and Retention Among U.S. Air Force Reserve Pilots
Abstract
Following the events of September 11th, the average days served by the part-time pilots of the Air Force Reserve doubled and, at times, tripled compared to the pre-September 11th rates. These part-time military pilots often work for civilian airlines and earn some of the highest civilian incomes in the nation. Popular press reports and surveys of reservists suggest that becoming activated for active duty service results in income losses for the activated members. Both Congress and the Department of Defense have expressed concerns that if activation causes income losses, then these losses might lead some reservists to leave the reserves earlier than they otherwise would have, and the losses might also prevent some potential reservists from ever joining the reserves. This dissertation analyzed whether the increased activations of reserve pilots negatively affected their earnings and retention rates. It began by exploring the information relevant to the dual-employment aspect of the part-time, reserve pilots. Using that information, a theoretical model was developed to hypothesize how an individual would behave as that individual chooses between reserve activation time and civilian employment opportunities. The insights from this model provided the basis for two empirical analyses of grouped administrative data from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Defense. In both cases, the results of the analyses suggested that positive income and retention impacts were associated with increased activation service.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA487578
Entities
People
- Brian E. Maue
Organizations
- RAND Corporation