Only a handful of officers have so far expressed interest in a new program offering airmen a lengthy sabbatical from the Air Force, and the service is hoping more will apply before the sign-up period ends Oct. 15.
The Career Intermission Pilot Program — which would allow airmen to temporarily leave the service for up to three years to start a family, go to school, or pursue other personal or professional goals — has so far drawn 30 applicants — five officers and 25 enlisted.
Assuming most of the enlisted applicants remain eligible after vetting is completed, that would mean the Air Force already has the maximum 20 enlisted airmen it hoped would take part in the first CIPP test. But the Air Force also hopes to have up to 20 officers test the program.
Col. Rob Romer, chief of the Air Force’s military force policy division, said in an Oct. 2 interview he’s hopeful the Air Force can get to 20 officer applicants by the time the window closes Oct. 15. But even if it stays at five officers, Romer said he’ll be happy. He said that these programs often start out small-scale, and noted that the Navy had three total participants the first time it tested a similar program in 2009.
“Like anything that’s new, there’s a natural hesitancy to not be first, and to let the kinks work out,” Romer said. “I think with each coming year, we’ll see more people take it. They’ll see it’s workable, and it can apply to me.”
Romer said the Air Force is trying to spread the word about the CIPP sign-up through media outreach, a Facebook chat Sept. 9, and by sending notes to major command personnel staff, to get them to encourage airmen to sign up.
“This is a new program for the Air Force, so what we want to do is get the word out to as many avenues as possible, as many people as possible, to say this might be an opportunity to look into, rather than separate from the Air Force,” Romer said. “This is an option to just take a break, take care of your family consideration, and then come back to the Air Force with renewed vigor and a new experience.”
But while the program is open to all airmen, the 30 applicants so far have all been active duty — no Guard or reserve applicants. Romer said one reason that no reservists have signed up may be because they must be career status reservists to be eligible, of which there are only about 1,400. And Air National Guardsmen can already switch to drill status if they need to take some personal time, Romer said, which operates similarly to CIPP and may be reducing Guard interest in the new program.
Romer said that the 30 applicants have been evenly divided between men and women. Applicants typically request leave to pursue further education or for family reasons, he said.
And applicants have requested 27 months of leave on average, he said. Airmen can choose how many months of leave they wish to take when they apply.
After this application period closes, a panel will convene in mid-November to decide who to approve for the time off, Romer said. Selected airmen will be notified in December. The administrative process will then take a few months to switch selected airmen to Individual Ready Reserve status, he said.
The Air Force plans to select a new batch of airmen for CIPP every fall. The service is now authorized to conduct this test and another next year, but Congress must grant the Air Force permission to do it in 2016 and beyond. Romer is optimistic that the program will succeed.
“We have every intention of continuing it on in the future,” Romer said. “We believe there is a positive need out there to do that.”
Air Force personnel chief Lt. Gen. Samuel Cox first announced the Air Force’s plans for this program in May and said it would allow the service to hold on to good airmen who would otherwise leave to pursue other life goals. He used the example of a female airman who wanted to start a family, but the program is open to both men and women.
“Some women leave the Air Force because they want to start a family,” Cox said at an Air Force Association breakfast in May. “So why don’t we have a program that allows them, in some cases, to be able to separate from the Air Force for a short period of time, get their family started, and then come back in?”
When on leave under CIPP, airmen enter individual ready reserve and receive one-fifteenth of their monthly basic pay. They may keep full medical and dental benefits for themselves and their families, as well as exchange and commissary privileges. The Air Force will pay to move the airman from his or her duty station to any location in the U.S. when CIPP begins, and also move the airman to his or her follow-on base when the airman’s leave ends.
Airmen are not eligible for promotion while in CIPP, and those selected for promotion before entering the program cannot pin on their next rank until they complete the program. The time spent in CIPP does not count toward retirement, and upon return, airmen’s date-of-rank will be adjusted forward by the same amount as their time off to compete with a new peer group for advancement.
Airmen must maintain all Air Force standards while participating in the program, including health and fitness, and be ready to fully resume their duties at any time.
