<p>What is the pay for an Air Force officer after graduation from the Academy? I’m assuming it varies by assignment (pilot versus ground) so is there a table on on a AF web site you can review? Many thanks for answers in advance…</p>
<p>U.S</a>. Air Force - Pay Chart</p>
<p>Note that this is only base pay, and doesn't include things like BAH/BAS, flight pay, hazardous duty pay, etc.</p>
<p><strong><em>FYI</em></strong></p>
<p>BAH = Basic Allowance for Housing
BAS = Basic Allowance for Subsistence</p>
<p>Ah yes, thanks eagle.</p>
<p>Thanks for the chart!! I'm curious, can you give me some kind of idea what is "Typical" BAH/BAS, flight pay, hazardous duty pay is? I no it will be just a ball park number...</p>
<p>The truth and the reality is BAH will never be enough to cover your expenses...most young Lts. either rent houses together or married live on base. Pilots and navs will only make about 125 a month more than other line officers.</p>
<p>I wouldn't pay any attention to the pay, alot can happen in te next 5 yrs...under Bush and Clinton are pay lagged behind, but under Clinton's second term we got huge pay increases for a couple of yrs. Right now pay raises are tied to Cost of Living. BAH is tied to what it will cost a civilian to live in a home in that area. As a realtor I know that even in DC with one of the highest BAH, you would be hard to find a home to even rent that would also cover your utilities (that is the goal of the BAH)</p>
<p>Hornetguy or others: correct me if I'm wrong but a Second Lt. out of an academy is credited with two years of service I think. So for the chart, it would be O-1 and over 2 years service plus BAH/BAS. Do the allowances also get adjusted for service years?</p>
<p>Unless things have changed the answer is no. I think that if you are reading the chart and see the yrs, that is typically for the enlisted that became an officer.
Pay and rank is based on you DOR. For example, AFA will have a DOR for their commission date, their line number will be by the class rank from the AFA...for example when they make 0-4, the number 1 grad. will be top of the pack, the bottom will be last to pin on from the AFA. If you also think about it, that would mean AFA will be eligible to retire earlier b/c of the time served...all of our friends who graduated AFA retired June 1st 20 yrs later. Pay is based on active duty and cadets at the AFA are not active duty. This maybe true now, but I can't see how, especially if they changed it to give them extra pay for their AFA yrs it still creates the problem of time served and promotion boards, plus you would have to then give extra to pay to all of the past grads, and I know our friends who grad AFA still active would love to have that extra pay, especially those retired. Retirement pay is based on yrs served after 20 you get 2.5% extra every yr. Our friend who has handed his papers after 25 yrs, under your belief would actually get 10% more in pay, and then I am sure he would have stayed for 1 more yr to reach the top of 30 yrs =75% of pay </p>
<p>BAH is never based on yrs, but dependents, rank and location. BTW you don't get more money for more dependents...just the one spouse. Dependents will also play in the amount of weight limits in moves.</p>
<p>BAS has been the same amt as long as I can remember, just like flight pay (125 under 2 was the amt Bullet made 20 yrs ago)...for flyers they luck out because they get flight suits and their boots, for those wearing the blues, they need to constantly buy new shirts, pants and shoes.</p>
<p>bulletandpima - So glad you guys are back posting. You have been missed! Hope all went well with the move and your new space is working out for all of you!</p>
<p>Now, could you please, for the non-military of us here, clarify the DOR thing? What is DOR? And what does your class rank have to do with when you retire, get out, or whatever it is you were saying that confused me? Sorry! I assume 0-4 is time served or ranking for officer or....?</p>
<p>Also, if your retirement pay, should a cadet elect to stay in for 20 years or so, is based on time served, then any cadet choosing grad school, or chosen for UPT or any other advanced schooling will not have their time counted until they are finished with schooling and begin "service"?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help and I hope I did not confuse you!</p>
<p>
[quote]
cadets at the AFA are not active duty.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Cadets and midshipmen at Service academies are Active Duty. A cadet at Air Force is Active Duty with the rank of cadet and stationed at the AFA to complete education. As cadets/mids they are not eligible for a transfer or deployment. ROTC cadets/mids are NOT Active Duty.
Same with Army and Navy.
While a cadet/mid however, years toward retirement is NOT credited. </p>
<p>If an Air Force officer attends grad school full time - they would incur an extra obligation but the years in grad school are credited toward retirement. For instance, if an officer serves 8 years (post academy or college) and goes to grad school for 2 years then only 10 more years of service are required to get to retirement.</p>
<p>I believe the purpose of BAH is to give some parity to those servicemen and women who are stationed in high priced housing markets. Living in DC is far more expensive than Omaha Ne, thus the BAH attempts to even it out - (it doesn't really though).
You get more for having a spouse since you "need" bigger living quarters and you can't live in barracks on base and more for bring higher rank since those with higher rank expect to live in larger/nicer housing.
It is a perk to keep folks in the service.</p>
<p>IMO - the pay for new officers isn't bad, at all. It does increase nicely in just a few years of service and promotions.</p>
<p>OK, you have all made my head hurt.</p>
<p>Also BJ10Mom the O-4 is a rank. O-1 is 2nd Lt and O-10 is a four star general.</p>
<p>Wow where to start. The Military pay is very transparent. the pay charts have been posted previously and are fairly easy to read.</p>
<p>Base pay is the monthly amount a service member will make. It is determined by Rank, and time in service. Your time in service can be effected by a few additional considerations. Participation in ROTC, attendance at a Service Academy, etc. When you look at the pay chart for base pay you find your rank O-1, O-2 etc. and move across the chart to the number of years in service. Example an O-1 second Lt. who graduated from the Academy may be credited with 2 or 4 years service ( not sure if they get credit, I do think 2 years sounded right though). If you move across the chart from 0-1 to the 2 year column the base pay will be listed. Currently 2659.80 you will pay fed taxes and state/local taxes on this amount.</p>
<p>A second Lt will get BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistance) to pay for meals. This is non taxable and will be $202 a month.</p>
<p>If a second lt lives off base they will recieve BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing). The amount is determined by the location you are assigned. Washington DC will get more than Cheyenne Wyoming. It is also determined by your rank. A Captain will recieve more than a 2nd Lt. Typically around $1000 to $1400 depending on your base. </p>
<p>So long and short after taxes a new 2LT today will be taking home about $3600 to $4000 a month after graduation. The important thing to take away is that your not gonna get rich, but you will have enough to live comfortably.</p>
<p>Almost forgot the most important thing. When you graduate you will have a degree that will open doors with endless possibilities. You wont have any college loan debt, and you will immediately have a career earning good money. Your future is bright no matter what.</p>
<p>Nobility - thanks, exactly what I wanted to know on the ranking scale. I am assuming it just follows along that 0-2 is 1st. Lt. and so on.........</p>
<p>ds-you are retired so I can ask you. bulletandpima must be busy......what does DOR stand for?</p>
<p>Also, is it really true, as I read BandP's post, that your ranking at a Service Academy, AFA for our purposes here, really does paly a part in how fast you move up the ladder? I guess ds, when you tell me what DOR is, I may then understand!??? :)</p>
<p>DOR is Date of Rank the day you are allowed to wear your rank. When the kids graduate they will be given a Date of Rank for 2nd Lt. say 1 Jun 2010. Now if as I suspect the Cadet is at the top of the class. Determined by (MPA, GPA, and Athletic ranking sorry forgot that acronym). Cadet X will be 1,2,3 etc in their class. Cadet 1 gets promoted in the early cycle to 1st Lt in about a year with about 100 others. His promotion date DOR will be determined by his class rank from the Academy. So the promotion list comes out in Sept and they start allowing the good 2lt's to pin their new rank in January. The date rolls around and they let the first 10 to become new 1st Lt's. In February they promote the next ten. This is called a line number and is based on what your class rank was. </p>
<p>Hope that isn't to confusing, but I am sure you don't have much to worry about here. I see a lot of early promotions in the future.</p>
<p>ds - PERFECT! Nowwwwww I understand what DOR is. Quite frankly, I had no idea that your graduating rank at a Service Academy held that kind of weight. All news to me!</p>
<p>1st let me clarify...cadets are not viewed as AD for pay, promotion or retirement purposes. They are AD because they can be called up for military reasons.</p>
<p>2nd, pay scales...I became curious about if AFA grads get time served for pay. According to 2 of my friends, both said NOPE. One is AD as a Col. right now and the other is retired. They said their pay scale was and is the exact same as someone being commissioned from OTS or ROTC. The friend that is still active said if this is true that AFA cadets are getting time served he wants to go and fight his pay b/c he is being short changed. WHich brings me back to why I don't think they changed the rule...too many AD and retired officers would cry foul and want their pay to be changed accordingly. For every retired officer from the AFA they would be demanding 10% more (2.5% per yr after 20...4 yrs = 10%). One thing I can always say about the military they believe in what is good for the goose is good for the gander.</p>
<p>Personally, I would say to anyone that you can easily afford to live even as a married officer on the pay as long as you live within your means. Bullet and I had our DS when he was a 2nd lt. we didn't take trips to exotic places, but I got to stay home and watch my babies grow in comfortable homes.</p>
<p>The true perks for the AFA have changed over yrs...it used to be the best perk was a full commission which is long gone...but undoubtedly it is the best education any military officer could ever desire. Don't even consider the military if you are looking at how much you will make. After 20 yrs of saying when Bullet gets his next promotion, or when he reaches this yr mark we will have money to live our dreams, I can tell you the time you actually start making money is the day you retire. You will always be out of pocket everytime you move, everytime you get deployed, everytime you go to the dentist or orthodontist. Trust me I can show you the bills and the umpteen different curtain rods that I carried around for th enext house to save money. You join for the love of the service. The smile and fact that Bullet would come home saying I can't believe they pay me to do this was worth every coupon I ever cut!</p>
<p>It's funny, my buds and I were talking about the graduation rank mattering yesterday. They got that info too since they talked to people who had promoted slower due to their lower class rank. ironic.</p>