USAF Short of Fighter pilots? WTH?

[Gman]

With all the defense cuts you hear about, and how I've heard from guys like Russian and other members of other BBS's about becoming pilots in the USAF and how it is SO focused on drones etc, it amazes me that they find themselves so short of fighter pilots that they have to offer a 1/4 million in bonus up front in order to secure some.  Here in Canada that trades is almost ALWAYS closed out, I guess it'd be a good time to head south for younger Canucks if they are looking for a fighters assignment (yes Canadians can and do easily join the US armed forces, even today still).


http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/07/23/air-force-fighter-pilots-signing-bonus/?test=latestnews&ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058

[Toad]

Gman, here's another aspect to consider. It may be that the culture of the AF leadership is driving them out.

http://www.fighterpilotuniversity.com/wtfo/why-be-a-fighter-pilot

So why are trainee pilots shunning the fast jet community? The post-2008 ‘Qweep’, or career- broadening requirements, are a huge cause. This requires pilots to get their master’s degree, have community involvement, etc, on top of deployment, training, and platform-centric requirements. The USAF has even instituted the Director of Operations Screen- ing Boards and openly says that those not being promoted early are not considered for further enhancement. Thus, in the active- duty air force career broadening needs to be complete in order to compete. Those not selected are, in many cases, simply headed in the direction of the ANG or out of the active-duty air force between the 8- to 11-year mark. A friend of mine in the ANG calls active- duty career broadening the best recruiting tool he has to get pilots to join the guard, as the premium is placed on that and not how capable and proficient the pilot is.

So now the important thing is to do a little flying but spend a lot of time building houses with Habitat for Humanity?

[USAFCAPcTSgt]

The Air Force and other military branches have put into a place a rigorous weeding out process for pilots over the last 60+ years especially for those who need corrective lens.  That has made the career of military jet pilot a struggle.  Many choose not to undertake that journey and opt for civilian and private flying careers.

Plus, the space shuttle program has been closed and the added incentive of being a fighter pilot chosen to fly the space shuttle has been grounded.

Finally, the long deployments and short turnarounds have made family life a struggle.


The question every jet pilot faces now is why fly a 50 million dollar or more jet when an enemy country can send up a million dollar drone and ram you kamikaze style?

[Shifty]

The Air Force and other military branches have put into a place a rigorous weeding out process for pilots over the last 60+ years especially for those who need corrective lens.  That has made the career of military jet pilot a struggle.  Many choose not to undertake that journey and opt for civilian and private flying careers.

Plus, the space shuttle program has been closed and the added incentive of being a fighter pilot chosen to fly the space shuttle has been grounded.

Finally, the long deployments and short turnarounds have made family life a struggle.


The question every jet pilot faces now is why fly a 50 million dollar or more jet when an enemy country can send up a million dollar drone and ram you kamikaze style?

Learn all this in the Civil Air Patrol did you?

[Puma44]

The Air Force and other military branches have put into a place a rigorous weeding out process for pilots over the last 60+ years especially for those who need corrective lens.  That has made the career of military jet pilot a struggle.  Many choose not to undertake that journey and opt for civilian and private flying careers.

Plus, the space shuttle program has been closed and the added incentive of being a fighter pilot chosen to fly the space shuttle has been grounded.

Finally, the long deployments and short turnarounds have made family life a struggle.


The question every jet pilot faces now is why fly a 50 million dollar or more jet when an enemy country can send up a million dollar drone and ram you kamikaze style?

You don't have a clue about what you're talking about.  Time for you to go to "Receive Only" mode and learn vs. making up fantasy.

[USAFCAPcTSgt]

You don't have a clue about what you're talking about.  Time for you to go to "Receive Only" mode and learn vs. making up fantasy.

Fantasy?

Why don't you clarify?

Learn all this in the Civil Air Patrol did you?

That's a great resource when being around active duty Air Force.  Life experience gains more knowledge.


Plus, I work next door to the Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Ia.  3rd weekend of the month is Guard weekend.  Lots of pretty little female airmen and sgts to talk to with the occasional female brass.

[Shifty]

Why don't you clarify?
That's a great resource when being around active duty Air Force.  Life experience gains more knowledge.

Puma is a retired USAF Fighter Pilot. I'll put my money on his experience and knowledge over your Burger King Checkout Line Intelligence Network any day.
I strapped fighter pilots in jets for 16 years. The only one I ever saw that was worried about getting into NASA was Will Smith on Independence Day. I never heard one admit he would be scared of a drone.
For 60 years the military has had a rigorous weeding out process of pilots? If that was the case they would just simply cut the available slots not waste time and money training people so they could weed them out. You're right about one thing Life Experience does gain more knowledge. When it comes to the USAF you don't have any. If I want to know about the life of a Teenage Civil Air Patrol cadet in the 1980s I'll come to you.

Lots of pretty little female airmen and sgts to talk to with the occasional female brass.

That is pretty sexist statement towards USAF professionals in my book.
Again something you're not and never were.
I'll bet they just swoon over your CAP stories don't they? 

[Dragon Tamer]

Uh oh... I'm glad I'm getting my word in now before the thread gets too full.

[Puma44]

Fantasy?

Why don't you clarify?

That's a great resource when being around active duty Air Force.  Life experience gains more knowledge.


Plus, I work next door to the Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Ia.  3rd weekend of the month is Guard weekend.  Lots of pretty little female airmen and sgts to talk to with the occasional female brass.

So, that qualifies you and gives you credibility?  Not so much.  Hanging out next door to an ANG  tanker unit and sniffing around the female enlisted troops doesn't make you a credible source of anything.  They make things happen at the unit level and are not AF policy experts.  The reason there is a shortage of fighter pilots, is a shortage of fighter jets; a decision made by some self proclaimed genius with no military service, no business experience, but with a prolific ability to spew BS and make the mindless believe it.  So, be careful about self proclaiming yourself as an authority on something you've never committed to, earned, or sacrificed for others.  

Oh, and one more thing genius.  One of the projects I was involved with in the USAF was to introduce soft contact lenses into the fighter community.  Just for your expert analysis on corrective lenses, USAF pilots are required to have 20/20 uncorrected vision to commission and enter pilot training.  After entering, the eyes can degrade, requiring corrective lenses/contacts and the pilot can maintain flying status.  There are some facts to compare with your outlandish fantasy statement.

And let's add one more thing that you very obviously have no clue about.  USAF pilots who chose to get out, do so for a variety of reasons, one of which is most definitely not that they have to start wearing corrective lenses.  Although a real pain in the rear for fighter guys and gals, they are more than happy wear "four eyes" to keep flying.  So, again, you are wrong.  If you are making this stuff up or someone is feeding you BS, you only make yourself look completely ignorant and foolish by stating it as if you are some sort of authority.

By the way, since we are getting down to it, lose the lame in game name.  So far, you only embarrass the Civil Air Patrol, the USAF, and yourself.  The first two, I care deeply about and you have no standing whatsoever to tarnish their image.  The third, is your problem, and only you can fix that.

[Ardy123]

I'll admit I know nothing about this so this is purely hypothetical (AKA BS) but..

could it be due to the fact that historically many military pilots transitioned to commercial/airline jobs after they were done with their service, but now that commercial pilot pay is low, there are just better career tracks that are more practical? Especially now that the possibility of their military careers will be cut short by drones in the long run?

[Plawranc]

I was invalided for Pilot due to my height. Apparently ejector seats and tall people don't work particularly well together.

But after seeing how little flying hours the USAF, RAAF, RAF and pretty much all the major Air Forces get these days, getting a tertiary education and a job with a high paycheck to allow for pleasure flying seems a better option. And with the increase of civilian flight training in Australia it seems to be the option many people are taking.

The glory days of the fighter pilot are dying. With drones and UAV's getting ever more capable, soon we happy few, we band of armchair wannabes, will be the equivalent of the front-line fighter squadron.  Point and click warfare is the way of the future, and it is terrifying how quickly it is evolving to the point where a man in NORAD can fly a Predator drone via satellite over a target and snipe an individual person with a hyper-sonic missile with no risk to anyone other than the USAF's accountants.

The Airline Industry is where most military pilots end up and with pay so low in the regional business its hardly surprising that professional pilots are becoming harder to come by. Captain Sullenburger "Hudson Hero" used some of his pull to try and get a raise for his co-workers, and the only reason he kept his position is because of his fame.

However I will avoid the obvious reason for this decrease in hours due to its political nature... however one could say its a very "cutting" issue.   

[EskimoJoe]

Extra crispy.. Just the way I like them.

[ozrocker]

Some of these responses






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[Slate]

  When we get to the point where our Techno fighters and drones are being disabled with EMP weapons the WW2 fighters will rise again! 

                     
                  
                     

[Flench]

I like to have a job flying one of the drones . I fly one now that I made that has a 25 mile range .

EDIT: Just had a thought after reading Plawranc last post . Just think in 20 year's we mite be fighting drones in the air . Kind of like we do in game now , That be something .