Military retirees seeking any civil employment with a foreign government agency — or any instrumentality of a foreign government agency — must apply for permission in advance or risk losing their military retirement pay.
For retired Airmen, the Secretary of the Air Force and Secretary of State serve as approval authorities for requests, though the Air Force Personnel Center’s Retiree Services section functions as the administrative manager of the Foreign Government Employment program.
Legally, there are certain situations in which an employee receives compensation where the payment is indirectly received from a foreign state.
Examples include consulting and legal services, as well as payments from domestic professional corporations. Before accepting employment, retirees should contact an ethics attorney at their local base legal office to discuss the implications, according to AFPC legal officials.
“The program is very complex and retirees need to know the rules anytime they consider working for a foreign government or a company in a foreign country, whether or not compensation is received,” said Bill Woody, the program’s acting manager at AFPC.
If retired Airmen start working for a foreign government without pre-employment approval, Woody says they take the risk of having to repay some or all of their retirement pay.
Air Force Instruction 36-2913, Request for Approval of Foreign Government Employment of Air Force Members, outlines the rules and necessary paperwork, as well as application instructions. The application package includes the Foreign Government Employment Memo, Foreign Government Employment Questionnaire and a Standard Form 312, Nondisclosure Agreement, which can all be found on the Air Force Retiree Services website Foreign Government Employment page.
Retirees can mail application packages to: AFPC Directorate of Airmen and Family Care, Airmen and Family Readiness Division, 550 C Street W, JBSA-Randolph TX 78150. Packages can also be faxed to 210-665-2322.
Retired Airmen with questions about foreign government employment can send email to afpc.retiree@us.af.mil. To protect personal privacy, applicants are asked not to include Social Security numbers or any other personally identifiable information in emails.
For more information about Air Force personnel programs, visit myPers.