The ANG and AFRC along with AD are all hurting for pilots. Airline hiring is sucking pilots out of the air force left and right. I
full story at
https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1135200/congress-probes-military-pilot-shortage/
WASHINGTON, March 30, 2017 — A shortage of pilots across the U.S. military is most acute in the Air Force, senior military officials told Congress yesterday.
F-5N Tiger II fighter jets with Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 train with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 and the Air Force’s 310th Fighter Squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., March 16, 2017. This training allowed both services to experience different flight tactics and train with different aircraft. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jake McClung
Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs
Lt. Gen. Mark A. Brilakis, Chief of Naval Personnel
Vice Adm. Robert P. Burke, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel Services
Lt. Gen. Gina M. Grosso and Director of Army Aviation Maj. Gen. Erik C. Peterson testified about future and pending aviation shortfalls before the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel subcommittee.
Air Force Faces ‘National Aircrew Crisis’
Grosso said sustained global commitments and recent funding cuts affect the Air Force’s capability to wage a full-spectrum fight against a near-peer adversary. She noted that due to an upcoming surge in mandatory retirements for commercial airline pilots and an increasing market for global commerce, the civilian aviation industry has begun hiring at unprecedented rates.
“This confluence of circumstances has birthed a national aircrew crisis. This crisis is the result of multiple factors: high operational tempo over the last 26 years, a demand for our pilots from the commercial industry, and cultural issues that affect the quality of life and service for our airmen,” she said.
At the end of fiscal year 2016, Grosso said, the Air Force active and reserve components were short a total of 1,555 pilots, including 1,211 fighter pilots. The cost to train a fifth-generation fighter pilot, she noted, is around $11 million.
“A 1,200 fighter pilot shortage amounts to a $12 billion capital loss for the United States Air Force,” she said.