army pilot shortage reddit

The Army has had pilot shortages off and on ever since I can remember. Just like privates do certain tasks, junior warrant officers perform certain work as well, and I've personally seen a few folks not being able to deal with that change. Can't be branched aviation. I know there are exceptions to the rule, and I know some people haze junior warrant officers. However, Army aviation should not be compared with the other military branches—not least because of the widely varying costs of producing pilots. The severity of the decline in recruiting will be unknown until the recruiting data comes in from the first affected class of cadets and warrant officer candidates. Very true. It is extremely frustrating to see some officers and senior NCOS make such short sighted decisions to solve complex issues without finding the cause, and not conducting any type of research. Three hundred and fifty pilots, including helicopter and fast-jet pilots, are waiting to fly because of a shortage of planes and instructors. GAO reviewed the Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) program which covers all military officers with flight duties. What Are the Shortage MOS Jobs in the Army?. Secondly, the Army is unique because Warrant Officer Flight Training (WOFT) contains a program casually called “street-to-seat” or “high-school-to-flight-school.” If selected, you sign a contract. The Army rewards new recruits that possess civilian skills that are in high demand in the military, such as proficiency in a foreign language or X-Ray certification. At least in the early 2000s, there was the ARFORGEN cycle. AGR 90A88P1 Boonie cap advocate. This does require a lot of training and is only for those driven to rank up and succeed. United States Army on Reddit. Sure, there is a shortage of guys with 5000+ hours who have 2000+ VR and 1000 night and 2500 in multiengine helicopter and can show up and work for 40000 for a seasonal job. Log In Sign Up. We need better leadership courses that foster problem solving, the importance of critical thinking, and using surrounding talent to identify the cause of issues/solutions. The UH-72 costs twice as much to operate as a TH-67. Ultimately, the Army needs to focus on the retention of quality talent; not on retaining mediocre talent for a longer period of time "because they can mandate longer ADSOs.". Raising the service commitment ignores the actual root causes. In the same discussion about retention data, Brig. Germany German Air Force short on pilots, not planes. Posted this to the newbie thread a couple weeks ago and didn't receive any responses, so I figured I try it here: Commissioned Army Officer considering interservice transfer to AF in the next couple years. Brennan Randel is a captain in the United States Army and is the former commander of Alpha Company, 4-2 Attack Battalion stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. But at what cost? "It's time for an adjustment again," the general said. During the stream, the Holmeses discussed the Air Force’s current pilot shortage, and explained the importance of air battle managers and the communications from the E-3 AWACS. Additionally, because of rules that the Federal Aviation Administration has put into place over the last decade that make hiring civilian pilots difficult, many regional airlines have created rotary-wing transition programs that substantially ease the transition for Army helicopter pilots. New retirement extensions allow the Army to retain critical talent. Fixed wing is cheaper. Hello everyone, I have a couple of questions regarding the pilot occupation. I at least expected a survey or something from the Aviation branch to ask why I was leaving, but again, nothing. I spend almost 20 years missing opportunities due to family, deployments, school, and fear to change. However, increasing the service obligation of new pilots is the wrong course of action. The first step the Army must take is to implement exit surveys for pilots to determine why they are leaving. Army and Navy also have pilots but they fly rotary Wing aircraft (Helicopters) for more information on Army and Navy pilot review their job pages. That's not what I am talking about. Additionally, you may receive a Civilian Acquired Skills Bonus along with an enlistment incentive. Final thoughts – the social aspect of the Army has never been worse. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. That is not a good thing. Dire warnings have been sounded across all aviation markets for a good 10 years. Anyway, I just clocked 20 years, 5 1/2 years of that has been spent in the Middle East and for what? They used their experience to mentor and groom all the other warrants around them including myself. Starting in October, all personnel selected to attend the Army’s initial entry aviation training will incur an ADSO of ten years upon graduation from flight training—a dramatic increase from the previous six-year commitment. U.S. army photo In May 2015, the GAO released its most recent report on the sorry state of America’s drone force. Army National Guard: At this time, the Army National Guard is only hiring civilians. The Army says it needs the UH-72 for training because it teaches the use of glass cockpit and other advanced technology. The program also supplements the Air Force's efforts to fix its years long pilot shortage -- a problem facing all aviation units. The Army is the only service which allow non college graduates in being Officers and pilots as we know. I don't know how common my situation is, but I'm sure there are plenty of people like me who barely flew, while there are others flying until they drop. 154k. I’m in shape, arguably intelligent, and have at least ten good years of service left in me… yet an age waiver will not be considered for aviation for either OCS or WOCS. Back then the Army had a hard-on for pilots. There never has been. Meanwhile students don't do touchdown autorotations and other traditional flight maneuvers. Sometimes that's necessary, but there's got to be some balance. People are tired. Press J to jump to the feed. The best pilots I have served with were prior NCOs. The Civilian Acquired Skills … I'm about to retire from the Air Force as an engineer, O-4, mostly dest and staff job. Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a three-part series on new approaches to airpower called “Blurring the Lines.” Read the first article in the series here.. It’s been pointed out so often that it’s gotten boring: The Air Force has a pilot shortage. I'd sign a 15 year ADSO if they gave me an age waiver (I'm only 35 – not 65!). Raising the service commitment ignores the actual root causes. January 27, 2021 U.S. Army STAND-TO! A Leader’s Guide to Conducting Research Staff Rides, Report to Congressional Armed Services Committees on Initiatives for Mitigating Military Pilot Shortfalls, Government Accountability Office reported, With Equal Opportunity Comes Equal Responsibility: Lowering Fitness Standards to Accommodate Women Will Hurt the Army—and Women, Maneuver Warfare: “Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated”, Call for Submissions: Polar SOF Essay Contest, Without Firing a Shot: Coercion and Strategy in an Era of Great Power Competition, Announcing MWI’s 2020–21 Fellows and Adjunct Scholars. If people don't want to serve, you are actually harming readiness, not helping it. A reduction in accessions will turn a long-term solution into a short-term problem. The Army must also capture the opinions of those it can still retain. 2 years ago. The commander of Canada's air force wants to pay retention and signing bonuses to pilots, one measure of several meant to address the military's shortage of experienced aviators. From this mid-grade officer's perspective – this constant obsession with readiness is actually detrimental to readiness. The Irregular Warfare Podcast is Looking for a New Team Member. There are a lot more BCTs, SF groups, SFABs and NG/USAR units than there are CABs. "Make a Soldier look at you and say, 'I want to be that person,'" he said. Posted by. After working several years in the corporate sector in various strategic positions, I recently came back on active duty due to the strong desire to serve. "This young group of officers want to be experts in their branch," he said. Although busy, it left plenty of downtime for people to have actual lives. The military’s fighter pilot shortfall is reaching alarming proportions — and a new report from the Government Accountability Office shows just how bad the problem has become. The trainers also include artificial intelligence and cognitive assessment tools. Close. That hesitation will open up slots for others further down an OML or with less stellar accomplishments, potentially creating other issues related to performance or aptitude. Meghann Myers. Increasing the ADSO, though, does not require data—it is guaranteed to increase retention. Canada faces a shortage of 3,000 pilots and 55,000 workers overall in the aviation industry by 2025 — caused by retirements, industry growth and barriers to… The pilot shortage: The Army’s struggle to fix its aviation problems. FYI there is a national pilot shortage right now. In an all-volunteer force, you won't be ready if most of your personnel in a critical branch want to get out. Can you hear the roar of approval erupting from Army doctors across the globe serving out their decade plus commitments? If pilots today are so unhappy that they are leaving in numbers higher than expected, why would prospective pilots accept a much longer service obligation for that same experience? It further acts as a disincentive to those who would like to do the mission, but are unwilling to sacrifice a decade of their time in the event they don't like the lifestyle. At least 70% are not degree holders and they come from all 5 branches of the military. There are no upcoming events at this time. The Army has had pilot shortages off and on ever since I can remember. I have a high schooler who is applying to engineering programs for school and is interested in an ROTC path that might include aviation. While all the services have some pilot shortages, only the Navy has a severe shortage of pilots. By Sean Kimmons, Army News ServiceApril 17, 2019. Stephen Losey. A fact which totally earns a thumbs up from the USAF. According to a report from BreakingDefense.com, the situation’s gone from a bad deficit of 1,500 pilots this summer, to an ugly shortage of 2,000 pilots.To combat this shortage, the Air Force formed an Aircrew Crisis Task Force, upped flight pay to as much as $1,800 a month, and increased bonuses as high as $35,000 — all with no luck. The congressional study on pilot retention noted, “One of the most important variables in meeting pilot requirements is the retention rate, as this is used to estimate what level of new pilot production is needed.”. Close. Do a quick search online for "army critical MOS 2018" or "army jobs list" and you'll find hundreds of jobs for enlisted personnel and military officers.The term MOS stands for military occupation specialty code and it's used by the Army to classify enlisted soldiers in different specialties. Anyone who wishes to become an Army pilot must first become an enlisted soldier or an officer in the U.S. Army. User account menu. 9 month rotations are followed by field time, followed by gunnery, followed by EIB, followed by a CTC, etc. Your email address will not be published. Before trying to add more pilots, or change quality of life (which I don't think they're trying to do), they should look at leveling the demands on pilots within the ranks. Another anecdote, when I was deployed there was a desire to have experienced cockpits on higher risk/higher visibility missions – usually two pilots with 1000+ total hours. Our young NCOs want to become warrant officers and get out and fly. Guess what? These specialties are broken down into fields. It also dropped the active federal service maximum to eight years for enlisted Soldiers, an important step since about 75 percent of warrant officers were once enlisted. I still don't understand how this ADSO extension is going to fix any of those issues, though it may act as a "gotcha" to get people "over the hill" in their Army career where they wouldn't feel like a transition at 10-12 years of service would be a good decision. We are always either training or deploying. Your email address will not be published. Actually, the option to revert to Warrant Officer does exist. This is not going to end well until leaders finally understand that there has to be a work/life balance. The service should find a better way of addressing its shortage of pilots. Because honestly put – the lifestyle sucks nowadays. I transitioned from infantry to aviation and have had off-and-on heartache with it ever since. Reply. Space Force will release further details for a limited inter-service transfer for other Sister Services sometime in FY21. It’s shocking that the Army doesn’t have any institutional memory about what causes pilot shortage, which are primarily two broad topics: quality of life in the Army, and economic opportunities outside the Army. Think about approving some ETPs. I've been in the Army for a long time, and it's never been worse than now. A Talk With The US Army’s Underground Warfare Expert. Rather, the Modern War Institute provides a forum for professionals to share opinions and cultivate ideas. It will harm recruiting and we will continue to bleed talent into the civilian aviation market. 1 year ago. "We probably need to look at it and adjust it a little bit if we're having to throw bonus money to keep people," he said. Anything and everything related to or affecting US Army Aviation. These figures do not include initial training—they solely account for the time and cost associated with the platform-specific training. The Army has very few fixed-wing aircraft. Reading your first paragraph and skimming the rest I couldn't agree more. One way to keep pilots in the Army has been bonuses, but Gayler argues that is only a short-term fix. 106. This may be because the Army has not undertaken the same in-depth approach to understanding this problem as other services. "That's alarming," Gayler said Monday during a conference hosted by the Army Aviation Association of America, or Quad A. Often times these decisions being made do more harm than good, and cause a tremendous amount of work (just look at our administrative packet processes). February 19, 2021 U.S. Army STAND-TO! One of the reasons for the increased ADSO was related to demand from the private sector for pilots. There is no replacement theory for ARFORGEN – they decided to just shelve it and go with "let's make everyone miserable all the time". Archived. Well, when you have a system that initially punishes critical thinking, then requires it later on down the line, you're creating your own problem that ends up causing its own problems. Unfortunately, it will likely not have the opportunity to do so due to the negative impact it will have on retention in the near term. Gen. McCurry also said, “People still want to fly. Another disparity is the pay inequality between the military’s pilots. Online. We understand there is excitement for Space Force across all Services right now. 27. By Gary Sheftick, Army News Service June 15, 2020. "The single most important will probably be to pay them for what their skills require. Not sure. If retention suffers too much, the Army will face a pilot production shortfall that will add to the existing shortage. The Army and Navy space requirements are scheduled to transfer to Space Force in FY22/23. As a result, the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence initiated a survey to better inform future incentive and quality of life programs designed to increase retention.”. The Army has acknowledged that it’s facing a pilot shortage, though the conversation has focused around conventional forces. This is doubly applicable for aviation formations. I am a former Aviation Officer and when I got out after my ADSO was complete I was surprised that no one questioned why or tried to get me to stay. The U.S. Air Force was short of 1,555 pilots at the end of the 2016 fiscal year, including 1,211 fighter pilots, according to an ABC News report. So the recruitment piece has not historically been our challenge, it has been capacity and production.” But what if the new ADSO invalidates this assumption? Army Pilot to Air Force Pilot. Fly them that way through the instrument phase, and then conduct a rotary wing transition. Look down – many of us are after something a little more challenging than the admin tasks of a 1SG or CSM. Few truly understand the complexity or the issues why there is a pilot shortage. I would imagine you could tempt quite a few pilots away from the show for a comfortable job flying acrobatic airplanes and being home every night. A large number of aviation personnel have a lot of passion and dedication to the mission, but that can only last so long when your life consists ONLY of the mission. This 10 year commitment will definitely dissuade him from the Army.

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