Billy Pilgrim

The problem is the pipelines are all maxed out. It's not UPT... it's the RTU.

Hilltopper89

Not meant to offend but with the movement of bombers from the fighter track there is no outlet for folks who can't necessarily cut it in single seat airplanes but would be just fine in a crew airplane. That's the main reason.

MikeF16

I disagree with you here for the most part. Yes there are a few guys who cannot cut it single seat but for the main issue is RTU production as mentioned a post up.

There IS a massive fighter pilot shortage, but for the most part fighter cockpits are filled and RTUs are maxxed out. The TFI initiative caused some initial flying shortages but that is only short-term. The real losers are fighter staff positions -- pretty sure the guy manning the F-15E desk @ AFPC is a bomber guy and there are heavy guys all over fighter centric staff positions when it really should be an 11F. I'm a PIT instructor and we haven't seen a current and qualified Viper or Eagle driver in about a year, all we get are bomber guys, Hog guys, and unqualified fighter pilots who can't get a TX. The 18x pipeline hasn't spun up as fast as desired so still big requirements for 11Fs in the drone world, plus all the ALO crap out there.

The funny thing is what fighter pilots hate most is what is driving this shortage and what's going unfilled. If you're a current and qualified Viper driver right now, you're going to stay that way, at least for a little while. I think the real angst is the rectal trauma we've all been through since Gulf War 2. Careerists who only care about their next promotion, heavy deployment schedules, major uncertainty in assignments, reductions in flying hours, becoming your own travel officer, finance officer, claims officer, comm officer, etc, etc, and an unending litany of square filling that has absolutely nothing to do with our job of killing people and breaking things but at least I now get a popup every 15 minutes informing me somebody has been sexually assaulted in the AF or the wet bulb temperature is 89.9 degrees.

All that said, I've hung on and will retire right at 20 years. Really wasn't an option to get out after my UPT commitment and even with all the negatives, I'm proud to be in the AF and wouldn't go back and change much if anything at all. I can definitely see why guys are leaving, I just hope you guys wait until I'm hired to drop your papers so I don't have to compete against you all .

Hilltopper89

Spot on and it's some of both. The AF shot themselves in the foot in the mid 90s when it killed UPT and FTU capacity. There simply is no more ability to make new pilots and 11Fs. Back in the early 90s we could crank out 700 pilots a year. Now we can barely get 400 after closing Reese and Willie and downsizing FTUs. In the A-10 we changed Barksdale to an Ops unit from an FTU. DM can only make about 45-50 new Hawg pilots a year. That leaves little room for TX guys as well. When I retired the FTUs were making the donuts as fast as we could and the Ops squadrons weren't turning a wheel. Craziness.

Flamer

That is very true, and so well written that I am willing to bet big bucks you are retiring as an O-5. Thanks for two decades of service as a fighter pilot. I am sure you have some amazing memories!

Pyro

You know not what you are talking about.

Nextlife

This may depend on airframe and how bad they need you. I haven't heard of any 11Fs (at least in the F-16 world) who haven't been continued. With the pipeline to make new fighter pilots as poor as it is right now, they really don't have a choice.

I agree with the rest of your post, however. The bonus is only a one way contract. If the AF decides to cut you lose before your bonus is up, you'll have to pay back that portion of what you got up front.

Hilltopper89

You're probably right. I do know there is a huge pipeline limitation in the FTUs.

Mox Nix

Yep, it's FTU pipeline. The AF is producing somewhere around 1000 pilots per year. Most of our UPT students at Laughlin end up coming over to the T-1 side, because we and the heavy FTUs can absorb them better. At times we're getting up to 18 students per class while the T-38 side gets only about 10 or 12... and even then, at assignment night only a few of the T-38 grads are getting fighters, because there's only so many FTU slots available - not because they "can't necessarily cut it in single seat airplanes but would be just fine in a crew airplane". There's been a LOT of T-38 grads getting heavy assignments.

LowSlowT2

Think it's tough in the 11F world, try the 11S world. 11S are being continued as O4 through 24!! (only two other AFSC allowed as of a year or two ago: Catholic Chaplains & Helicopter guys) No rest for the wicked...and if you want to compare deployment cycles or days TDY, well, I think the historical data is easily available.

But that's just a small symptom of a bigger problem within the AF. Most AFSC are feeling that pinch to some extent or another and comparing whose QOL is worst is a bit of willy waving, really. The buffoonery of AEF buckets changing to Deployment Bands to whatever it is today is nothing but the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. I really believe that when things change on the outside, even a little, the AF is going to be in a world of hurt...retention has been good because the alternative has been worse. That will not always be the case.