RAND Project AIR FORCE Annual Report 2007 - RAND Corporation

Mix of Fighter Pilots?Maintaining a sufficient number of pilots ready to undertakethe full range of Air Force missions is far more complexthan counting aircraft and pilots and making sure the twonumbers match. Rather, it requires careful development of personnelmanagement policies that enable new pilots to become fully trained expeditiously but withoutovertaxing the system ensure a balance among junior, midcareer, and senior personnel inthe pipeline produce enough pilots who will ultimately be capable of filling staffpositions for which flying experience is a prerequisite.For nearly a decade, PAF has been helping the Air Force address thisissue, particularly in the area of fighter-pilot production, where theproblems seem to be most acute. Using dynamic models that quantifythe effects of year-by-year policy changes, PAF’s most recent researchexamined the active-duty training system. At issue is the fact that, atany one time, there may not be enough resources to handle the numberof new, inexperienced pilots. Such a system overload could degradetraining and combat capabilities. But there is more than one way toaddress this problem, and PAF has offered options that can help satisfyemerging needs for airmen with fighter-type skills.New Fighter Pilots Are Expected to Become ExperiencedDuring Their First Duty AssignmentsAir Force pilots begin their training with a year-long course in the basics:takeoff, landing, flying in formation, and flying on instruments. Duringthis period, individuals who demonstrate the skills needed to becomefighter pilots are identified. After graduation, these candidates enter thenext phase of training, learning to fly fighter aircraft and to understandthe combat mission. Finally, these new pilots join fighter units, flyingunder the supervision of experienced pilots until they meet specificcriteria—generally, 500 hours in the aircraft—to be considered experiencedthemselves. Ideally, they achieve this status during their firstthree-year assignment.Capt. Aaron Manley motions to his crew chief from the cockpit of his F-15 Eagle fighterjet on Wednesday, June 14, 2006, during an operational readiness inspection at PortlandAir National Guard Base in Oregon. Traditionally, to be considered “experienced,” pilotsmust have 500 hours in the aircraft.Annual Report 2007 17