One of the Air Force's most pressing personnel concerns is rebuilding its fighter pilot ranks.
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein began sounding the alarm this summer about a growing exodus of fighter pilots. The shortfall was expected to grow from 500 to 700 by the end of 2016, and officials said it could swell to about 1,000 by 2022 unless something was done.
James urged lawmakers to boost the maximum $25,000-per-year Aviator Retention Pay bonus for the first time since 1999. But while James wanted a top bonus of $48,000 — which would have given pilots as much as $432,000 if they signed up for the full nine-year extension — the NDAA includes a smaller increase of $35,000.
In a Dec. 8 interview, James said she is grateful for the increase provided by Congress.
"We're going to implement as quickly as we can the $35,000, and we're going to monitor and hope that it will help," she said. "If we feel that we need more increases, we can go back to Congress and ask for more increases."
She noted that quality of life is also a key factor in retaining pilots.
"We also have to figure out ways that when they are not doing the operational missions overseas and they're home, then they get good quality time at home, that we don't bring them home and we immediately send them off somewhere, … for three weeks to something else," she said.
Staff writer Valerie Insinna contribute to this report.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
