Vistors are welcome to read news articles and visit web links.

Members can add articles and web links.

I want to take this opportunity to explain the status of the Critical Skills Retention Bonus (CSRB) in FY04 and possible funding for new eligibles in the outyears.

The Air Force funded the CSRB in FY03 for military officers with 4-14 years of service in five non-rated line specialties considered to have critical manning. Our military S&Es were two of the five career fields designated critical.

As we approached FY04, unanticipated funding cutbacks and shortfalls forced a review of all Air Force bonus programs. The cuts were severe and there was just no money remaining to offer CSRB to new eligibles in FY04.

We will continue to pay CSRB for those who signed contracts in FY03, but the future of the program is uncertain. Other leaders and I continue to search for possible ways to fund CSRB for our workforce.

AFMC News Service Release 0404
Released April 2, 2004

By 2nd Lt. Brooke Davis
Air Force Flight Test Center Public Affairs

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFMCNS) — For the first time, a B-1B Lancer aircrew successfully reprogrammed a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile’s flight path after becoming airborne during tests at the Utah Test and Training Range March 26.

B-1B crewmembers programmed the JASSM to fly close to 200 miles before hitting the target, while the crew faced weather and icing issues in the area, said Maj. Wim Libby, 419th Flight Test Squadron B-1B test pilot. This capability can be used in conjunction with the ability to reprogram JASSM in-flight to strike different targets.

The release was the final phase of developmental testing to integrate JASSM with the B-1B. Operational testing will start in April, Major Libby said.

AFMC News Service Release 0731
Released July 24, 2002

By Darren Heusel
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFMCNS) – Patience is what a top Air Force acquisition leader asked scientists and engineers for here July 18 as Pentagon officials work through recruiting and retention issues dealing with the service’s shortage of scientific and engineering expertise.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Plummer, recently selected as the functional manager for all Air Force scientists and engineers, assured the roughly 600 technological experts on hand for a July 18 briefing at the base theater here that he had their best interests at heart and he would continue their fight on Capitol Hill. Plummer is also the principal deputy for the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition.

"First and foremost, I want the scientists and engineers at Tinker and throughout the Air Force to know Air Force leadership is aware of their problems and are taking steps to fix those problems," Plummer said. "The second thing I want them to know is it won’t happen overnight; it took time for us to get here and it will take time to fix it.

"The methods we have at our disposal to fix these problems are cumbersome and we’ve got to work our way through those issues," he said.

Plummer was referring to a shortage of Air Force scientists and engineers and the steps being taken in Washington, D.C. to help deal with the shortage.

"My goal is to ensure when we send our warfighters over to the next theater that we have the technology to complete the mission," he said.

Plummer said he wanted to visit Tinker to make the scientists and engineers here aware of their importance to the Air Force and help them understand their connection to the warfighter.

"I wanted them to see me and to know they have a face in Washington," he said. "The question and answer session we had here has not been very different from the ones I had at Wright-Patterson (Air Force Base, Ohio), Washington, D.C. or Albuquerque. The issues they raised are all very similar."