Air Force Times, in conjunction with stories regarding airline recruitment of Air Force aircrews, asked pilots, drone pilots and maintainers to comment on whether they are tempted to leave active duty for opportunities in the private sector. A sampling of their responses follows. Unless named, responders requested anonymity.

Pilots

From a retired lieutenant colonel:

I have just retired after 20 years of active duty as a fighter pilot, and have begun my second career with Delta Air Lines.

First, there is an enormous difference among "the airlines." The major airlines (Delta, United, American, UPS, FedEx, and possibly Southwest) offer a different draw than second-tier airlines (JetBlue, Alaska, Allegiant, Virgin America, Frontier, Spirit, etc). The regional airlines are another notch below that in terms of desirability, pay, benefits, work experience. I did not bother applying to a second-tier or regional.

My salary will at least double within three to five years, and probably quadruple in 10. The earlier a pilot gets out, the longer he/she will make that kind of money. The airlines undeniably offer a better deal, especially for retirement-eligible pilots. Measly $25,000 annual bonuses won't be enough to keep pilots on active duty.

Today, retiring pilots are almost exclusively pursuing, and getting hired by, the top-tier airlines. Pilots separating after their undergraduate pilot training commitment have, in the past, often had to fly for the regional carriers for a year or more before getting hired by a major. No more. My hiring class had a large number of recently separated 10-year pilots. I expect this trend to continue.

Next, incorporate the impact of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. I retired from an F-22 fighter wing, all of which have a total force integration relationship with the air reserve component. Active-duty pilots are bailing out for the Guard/Reserve (or outright separation) faster than they can be replaced. Arguably the most desirable fighter in existence cannot keep active-duty pilots in the cockpit. Anecdotal evidence from "the bro network" indicates the same is true in all the fighters. This is a windfall for the Guard/Reserve, a calamity for active duty.

My base saw more than a dozen pilots get hired by the same major airline in the last year. I know at least four more pilots at the same wing who will be hired within six months. Do the math. It's unsustainable for the Air Force.

Why is this happening? The guys/gals are tired, and the airlines are hiring in droves. The Air Force was at war my entire career. Since Desert Shield in 1990, Air Force members have been deploying, first spending 120 days away from family, and now 180-plus. Furthermore, virtually no one I know escaped a one-year tour somewhere. In the F-22 community, due largely to the fact we stopped buying them far too early (meaning there aren't enough squadrons to go around), many squadrons are spending six out of every 18 months deployed. The public thinks the "end" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan means no more deployments. That is untrue. It is only getting worse, and the grind on the pilots is unsustainable for most.

From an active-duty pilot and drone operator:

It's not about compensation, it's about quality of life.

Am I tempted to leave active duty for opportunities in the private sector? Absolutely. As I approach the end of my 10-year commitment, I look forward to improving my work-life balance by transitioning out of the active-duty military and into a civilian career.

Do I think the airlines and companies hiring drone pilots offer a better deal? Yes, but it's because of quality of life and not necessarily pay or benefits. Quality of life factors range from deployments (being gone four to six months a year, every year) to shift work schedules (months of night shift and swing shift, which makes family life challenging), nonstop 72-hour workweeks while home, frequent temporary duty, unpredictable daily schedules and chronic undermanning of unsustainable operations tempos.

Nothing in the civilian world can touch the 20-year active-duty pension. To transition to the civilian airlines, it will take approximately five to seven years to reach the pay level that a midcareer military pilot receives [but] the pay is much higher after a short time.

From an active-duty pilot and special operator with 10 years of service:

The people who who think outside the box, who are able to adapt and lead are the top 5 percent, and they are the mass exodus we should focus on trying to retain. Our Air Force needs leaders to help the best airman come to the conclusion, "It is best for me and my country to continue my service." We can't afford to let top airmen continue to leave just because the dollars on the outside are better.

From an active-duty pilot:

I spent three years flying the MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones and now fly the C-130J.

Being an airline pilot would not be the most exciting job, but getting paid $100,000 within a few years without deployments or flying into dangerous places could make it worth it. The other advantage is I would have zero additional duties. My job is to fly people safely from point A to point B. Additional duties make up the majority of my work day and work-related stress.

Maintainers

From former Staff Sgt. Royce Brown:

I was a fighter crew chief from 2005 through 2011 and I worked on F-15s and F-35s. The service was great, but I got a bad taste in my mouth toward the end of my enlistment due to the regulations and policies.

I worked on the F-35 for the last two years I was enlisted alongside Lockheed Martin contractors on the developmental test program at Edwards Air Force Base, California. When I decided to get out it was primarily for the increase in money and freedom, and to stay in the area and buy a house with my now wife. I had a job with Lockheed before I even got on terminal leave starting at $30 an hour with great benefits and union membership. Starting pay was almost identical to base pay with basic allowances for housing and subsistence. Extra money came from overtime, and set hours were also a perk. Things were great at first because management cared for its people. After about a year the good managers had gone and in came a few bad eggs.

So I started looking for another job. This is another good thing about the private sector — being able to find a new job at one's convenience. I found an opening at NASA for a civil service engineering technician so I applied. Being a disabled vet gave me preference and I made the certification list. My eight years combined Air Force and civilian work gave me an impressive resume with experience comparable with some 20-year-plus maintainers. Out of the many people who applied, only a few got interviews and I landed the only position. Now I am a NASA civil servant and I have landed my dream job.

From Master Sgt. Eugene Taylor (ret.):

I was a master sergeant when I retired from the Air Force in 1989, 25 days short of 21 years' service. At the time, I was making about $22,000 per year as a master avionics superintendent at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

I immediately doubled my salary when I went to work as an avionics technician with DynCorp at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. I worked on T-37, T38 and T-1A aircraft. I had better medical, because I could use any physician and dentist off base that I chose and it was all covered. I paid more for health coverage — my health insurance for myself and my wife was approximately $70 per month, and my dental was $8 per month — but my salary was adjusted to compensate for this increase.

With my military experience, I was able to advance fast to the position of avionics production supervisor, a position that I held for eight years.

I worked for three years as a telecommunications technician. But I missed aviation, so I applied for and accepted a position performing avionics modifications on B-737, B-757 and B-767 aircraft as a contractor for TIMCO in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Now retired, I conduct internal audits for aviation support companies to verify their compliance with Federal Aviation Administration standards and policies.

My Air Force experience prepared me for a better life than I had while I was in the military. I do not regret any of the choices I made as an Air Force professional, but I also knew that it was time for me to retire when I did.

From a senior airman:

Being an avionics technician, I can make more civilian side, but the hours are what drive me to leave. We work overtime, often in harsh conditions, and I get paid the same as someone working in the med group with a lunch hour, PT time and leave by 4 o'clock.

As maintainers, time for squadron PT is unheard of. Our lunches consist of what we eat at the snack bar or what we bring for lunch and it's on the time that our bosses allow us, which depends on the flying schedule and a lot of the time it's only a spare five minutes.

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