SecAF Says Pilot Shortage Is Growing | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Tue, Nov 14, 2017

SecAF Says Pilot Shortage Is Growing

Air Force Is Short Nearly 2,000 Pilots, Wilson Tell Reporters

The U.S. Air Force is short nearly 2,000 pilots, and is facing a potential readiness challenge, according to the Secretary of the Air Force.

PJ Media reports that in a briefing for Pentagon reporters, Secretary Heather Wilson said that the current pilot shortage has climbed to 1,926 pilots, and there are other issues as well. "It is spare parts and flying hours and munitions," she said. "So increasing the readiness of the force so that we win any fight, any time, is our top priority."

Wilson said that there is a significant burnout factor among active duty pilots because the force is "too small for all the missions that we're being asked to carry out on behalf of the nation."

She said that she recently spoke to an airman who recently returned from his 17th deployment. While "surge" has become the new norm for the USAF, the concept is only viable for a limited time.

"Less than one percent of Americans serve in uniform and protect the rest of us, and they are carrying a very heavy burden," Wilson said. "And at some point, families make a decision: that they just can't keep doing this at this pace, and I think that's the biggest thing we're facing, is we're burning out our people, because we're too small for what the nation is asking."

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC