Hacker15e

It is astonishing the lengths that the USAF is willing to go to in order to avoid tackling the actual issues regarding leadership culture and mission focus that are actually driving pilots out the door.

JTwift

Shocking, really. I bet you could put together a small team of Captains and Majors, and they'd have the issues fixed inside of a week. It's not like it's a big secret why everyone is getting out.

Gundriver64

Agreed, whats “typical” (insert eye-roll here) for entry level warrants is having a degree. You're not competitive for promotion from W3 to W4 sans bachelors and most selected for W5 have a masters degree. A couple comments above are borderline snarky: for edification purposes-the grades of W2-W5 are commissioned ranks.

MX727

The USAF will never understand. Pilots want to be pilots. They make it real easy to separate when they tell someone that they are going to go do some silly ground job for three years. OTS instructor was what they offered me. I wasn't even 30 and had only been flying for 8 years. Not everyone wants to be a manager. In fact, most don't. They also don't seem to understand that putting the most valuable and expensive resource in a job that could be done with a lower cost individual makes much more sense. Separating is a major event and people would avoid facing that unknown if the military didn't force a pilot to have to leave to continue being a pilot.

AirBear

I got out in 1989 and nothing has changed. All I wanted to do was fly, didn't not care a bit about "Officership". The 100% promotion rate to Major is a work-around to ditching the "Officer First, Pilot Second" that's been around so long. If you can avoid non-flying jobs at least you're guaranteed 20 years since you'll be in sanctuary by the time you're passed over twice for LtCol. But they'll need to hire more admin officers/NCO's to take care of some of the additional duties Pilots get saddled with. I was Awards and Decorations Officer, and later Supply Officer and Life Support Officer while I was flying. I was also Flight Safety Officer/Accident Investigator. Now that job needed a Pilot or at least a Nav, but it's about the only one.

JTwift

Not even close to true. Promotion board to LtCol hits around the 14-ish year mark. 2nd time would be 15. Sanctuary isn't until 18.

Remember this?

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/y...ful-discharge/

rickair7777

Sort of true.

You are correct that there's enough air gap between 2x O5 FOS and sanctuary that it can in theory be exploited to sep people short of retirement but the USCG reserve is the only service which makes a policy of this. DoD generally does not, and the AF is not likely to try this again any time soon.

Keep in mind a continuation board can separate anyone at any time in theory, unless you're between 18-20 years. But it gets politically questionable to separate folks from 15 - 18.

rickair7777

This is pretty far off base.

The military (all services), need warfighters/operators in key leadership positions at all levels. You think it sucks when operators have to do staff jobs, try operating in a service where professional administrators fill all the leadership roles...

The army has enough combat branch people to fill leadership jobs, so they can afford to maintain a corps of dedicated pilot warrants and still have enough senior leaders and staffers.

The Navy and AF need to tap their operators to be leaders and staffers. Believe me there would be no problem at all finding or creating enough professional bureaucrats to fill all the desk jobs, but you do NOT want to work under that sort of construct... and really don't want to fight under that construct.

Being a dedicated pilot works in the airlines because you have a union contract to protect you from the non-pilot management.

bizzlepilot

Indeed, it doesn't seem like they'll ever get it, or that they even want to understand it. Just lower standards and get more grist for the mill.

bizzlepilot

I agree completely, but they'll never listen to the line swine. They'll ask for feedback and send out all kinds of surveys, and they'll get some honest feedback. But then they'll disregard everything and attribute failing retention rates to other issues they feel better about.