AETC: Pilot training no puppy mill

The Air Force needs 2,100 additional pilots to reach its goal of 21,000 aviators, but initiatives to stem the shortage hasn’t been successful. On Oct. 1, the AF was 2,100 pilots short of the 21,000 “required to execute the National Defense Strategy” (NDS), service officials said in written testimony to a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing March 3. Producing more aviators remain the “most significant lever we have to arrest aircrew shortages,” according to the testimony. Military pilots are leaving service for better-paying jobs with airlines. The AF launched incentive pay to stay, but the shortage grew. Fighter pilots make up the biggest percentage - problematic from an NDS standpoint. The AF is pushing to grow its pilot pipeline to 1,480 aviators a year by FY-24, but has fallen short of its goal for the last five years. About 1,300 pilots are slated to finish training by the end of FY-20. Air Education and Training Command’s Lt. Gen. Brad Webb blamed the FY-20 training shortfall on a combination of bad weather, maintenance challenges, and instructor availability. Lackluster aircraft readiness also played a part. “I am comfortable that we have got (the) throttle at a right setting,” Webb said. “It cannot just be the puppy mill production of numbers.” (Source: AF Magazine 03/03/20) https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-still-2100-pilots-short-of-goal/