Originally Posted by
Beech Dude
^This. They'll get re-classed to 18X or whatever the RPA-only AFSC is nowadays and the rated guys will head back to their manned airframes...or a staff gig.
While you may end up being right, that is NOT what the 8th AF commander said in the article.
It's anticipated the service will poach WSOs from the B-1 community, and a few from the B-52 pool, to punch up its B-21 pilot end strength, Weatherington said.
Together with Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Force Global Strike Command is studying how it will take "some of these highly trained, capable, combat-experienced weapon systems officers ... that have skill sets that will be readily transferable to the B-21 in terms of employing that weapon system in a combat scenario," he said. "How do we give them the skills they would need for takeoff, landing, air refueling, some maneuvering types of skills, and piloting skills to help close that gap?"
Retraining WSOs will also help with the Air Force's overall pilot shortage, he added.