Air Force may recall up to 1,000 retired military pilots to address 'acute shortage'

http://abcnews.go.com/US/air-force-r...ry?id=50629597

The United States Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired military
pilots to active-duty service to address an acute shortage in its ranks.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday allowing the Air Force
to call back to service up to 1,000 retired aviation officers who wish to
return, the White House and the Pentagon announced.

By law, only 25 retired pilots can be recalled through voluntary programs to
serve in any one branch. Trump's executive order temporarily removes this limit
by expanding a state of national emergency declared by President George W. Bush
after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 as part of efforts "to mitigate
the Air Force's acute shortage of pilots," according to Pentagon spokesman Navy
Commander Gary Ross.

Secretary of Air Force Heather Wilson has said the service was short 1,555
pilots at the end of the 2016 fiscal year, including 1,211 fighter pilots.

To help make the pilot job more attractive, the Air Force expanded its aviation
bonus program in August and increased incentive pay earlier this month for
officers and enlisted crew members for the first time since 1999, according to
Wilson.

“We need to retain our experienced pilots and these are some examples of how
we’re working to do that,” Wilson said in a statement announcing the new
measures on Aug. 25. “We can’t afford not to compensate our talented aviators at
a time when [commercial] airlines are hiring unprecedented numbers.”

On Friday, the government announced it was going further with a recall of
retirees into active service.

"We anticipate that the Secretary of Defense will delegate the authority to the
Secretary of the Air Force to recall up to 1,000 retired pilots for up to three
years," Ross said in a statement Friday. "The pilot supply shortage is a
national level challenge that could have adverse effects on all aspects of both
the government and commercial aviation sectors for years to come,"




*

"Miloch" wrote in message news

http://abcnews.go.com/US/air-force-r...ry?id=50629597

The United States Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired military
pilots to active-duty service to address an acute shortage in its ranks.

Sounds like "stop-loss" to me. If these pilots are of retirement age, how
well are they expected to perform in the cockpit of, say, an F-35?

On 2017-10-21 23:42:04 +0000, "Byker" said:

"Miloch" wrote in message news

http://abcnews.go.com/US/air-force-r...ry?id=50629597

The

United States Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired military
pilots to active-duty service to address an acute shortage in its ranks.

Sounds like "stop-loss" to me. If these pilots are of retirement age,
how well are they expected to perform in the cockpit of, say, an F-35?

My 94 year old P-47/P-38/P-51 pilot father was thinking the same thing,
but then he went into reserve in 1947.
--
Regards,

Savageduck

In article , Byker says...

"Miloch" wrote in message news

http://abcnews.go.com/US/air-force-r...ry?id=50629597

The United States Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired military
pilots to active-duty service to address an acute shortage in its ranks.

Sounds like "stop-loss" to me. If these pilots are of retirement age, how
well are they expected to perform in the cockpit of, say, an F-35?


The F-35 is an embarrassment...and at $100M each!...so far, not considered as
good as the F-16...I guess what the Air Force needs is more F-16 pilots.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...trike-fighter/

...."But that’s not how the plane has turned out. In January 2015, mock combat
testing pitted the F-35 against an F-16, one of the fighters it is slated to
replace. The F-35A was flown “clean” with empty weapon bays and without any
drag-inducing and heavy externally mounted weapons or fuel tanks. The F-16D, a
heavier and somewhat less capable training version of the mainstay F-16C, was
further encumbered with two 370-gallon external wing-mounted fuel tanks.

"In spite of its significant advantages, the F-35A’s test pilot noted that the
F-35A was less maneuverable and markedly inferior to the F-16D in a visual-range
dogfight.




*