As we know, the American armies, including the US Air Force, are facing serious problems in the area of human resources, hampered by insufficient recruitment and non-renewals of contracts, creating a haemorrhage that is difficult to stem.
This problem now affects all specialties, including the most attractive and symbolic function of the US Air Force, fighter pilots. Indeed, in a recently published service memo, the latter indicates that it is currently short of its planned numbers by more than 1800 pilots, including 1142 fighter pilots.
And this is beginning to severely hamper the very functioning of the training of these pilots, with, in the long term, a possible reduction in the operational potential of the most powerful air force on the planet.
In this section:
The US Air Force is short 1848 pilots, including 1142 fighter pilots, by 2024
The memo, written in August 2024 and confirmed to be authentic by Defensenews.com, says the Air Force is currently facing a shortfall of 1848 qualified pilots, including 1142 fighter pilots, to meet its manning goals.
For comparison, the Air and Space Force has just over 900 fighter pilots, for a fleet of 185 combat aircraft. In fact, a deficit of 1100 pilots represents an estimated overall deficit of over 200 combat aircraft, or 10% of the US Air Force's fighter fleet, which has 11900 fighter pilots for 2000 fighters in service.
Young USAF fighter pilots sent to other aircraft types due to lack of training capacity
The effects of this shortage of fighter pilots could have even more severe effects on the flow of human resources in the US Air Force. Indeed, it appears that today, the latter is forced to guide the freshly macaroned fighter pilots after training on the T-38 Talon, towards other specialties.
This shortage of pilots does not specifically concern young recruits, but also, and above all, experienced pilots, those who supervise and train the young pilots on the F-15, F-16, A-10, F-22 and F-35 warplanes.
In doing so, the US Air Force is forced to create a buffer between the exit from the initial fighter school, on T-38, and the transformation to weapon aircraft, in particular by directing young pilots towards an initial instructor role on T-6, for a year or more. Note that this is a solution that the French armies had also implemented, sometimes excessively, in the 90s and 2000s.
Other newly minted pilots are offered a reorientation, potentially temporary, towards other specialties, such as bomber or transport forces, knowing that they would have, according to the USAF, the possibility of returning to the fighter specialty, when circumstances allow.
US Armed Forces and National Guard Handicapped by Insufficient Recruitment and Contract Renewals
The situation that is affecting US Air Force fighter pilots today also affects, in fact, all specialties for all American armies, including the reserve and the National Guard.
Thus, in 2023, the US Army was short of 41 new recruits, while the US Navy only reached 000% of its recruitment targets this year. Paradoxically, after several difficult years, the US Air Force managed to restore balance in terms of recruitment in 65, while the US Marines Corps and the new US Space Force remain in surplus in this area.
However, even these forces are exposed to significant HR problems, linked to the low rate of renewal of personnel contracts, particularly at the end of their first contract, forcing the armies to major reorganizations and staff reductions, so that these deficits do not destabilize the employment or training of forces, as is the case today for Air Force fighter pilots.
Medical exemptions, reimbursement of university fees, bonuses…: the US army is increasing incentives to curb the human resources crisis
To meet this major challenge, US military multiplies initiatives and incentives, both to increase their attractiveness and to facilitate the signing of contracts. As a result, the requirements in terms of physical fitness have been significantly revised downwards, in particular for so-called "non-combat" specialties, for which a medical exemption mechanism has even been established.
Thus, the body mass index required by the US armed forces has been raised, which has made it possible to extend the recruitment base. In addition, certain diseases that were previously prohibitive, such as diabetes or endometriosis, can be subject to exemptions, almost systematically granted according to specialties.
As the level of education required of military personnel has increased dramatically over the past two decades, the U.S. military has also established a mechanism for volunteers to clear their student loans when they sign their first contract.
Significant efforts have also been made to try to retain military personnel at the end of their contracts, particularly for specialties in demand. Thus, depending on experience, specialty, and the length of the re-enlistment contract, the US Air Force now grants pilots, an annual bonus ranging from $15.000 to $50, which can represent up to $600, in addition to an increased salary, for a 000-year contract.
HR difficulties affecting all Western armies
The difficulties in terms of recruitment and contract renewal are far from being limited to the American armed forces. Thus, the vast majority of European armed forces, but also Japanese or Australian, is exposed to the same problems.
This is particularly the case with the British armies. Thus, a few months ago, a London parliamentarian indicated that The British army was losing its troops three times faster than it was recruiting them.The problem is such that today some ships, such as the two Albion-class assault ships and several ships of the Royal Auxiliary Fleet, are kept at the docks because they cannot be manned with a full crew.
The same is true of the Marina Militare, the Italian Navy. As its chief of staff, Admiral Guiseppe Cavo Dragone, admitted a few months ago, Today there was a shortage of 10.000 Italian sailors to effectively implement the new Italian fleet. A year earlier, his predecessor, Admiral Enrico Credendino, had admitted to Italian parliamentarians that he was unable to provide a full crew for all its frigates, which did not prevent Rome from ordering new ships to expand its fleet.
To meet this challenge, several countries, particularly in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, are once again resorting to conscription, according to a model, chosen conscription, which is now of interest even to the large countries of Western Europe, including Germany, which is also very exposed to this type of HR constraints.
Fortunately, these difficulties do not only concern Western democracies. Thus, even the very powerful People's Liberation Army is currently facing difficulties in terms of human resources, although in this specific case it is much more medical incapacity, which affects more than two thirds of young Chinese, which is hampering the recruitment process. However, in a country of 1,4 billion inhabitants, the reserves remain significant for Beijing, at least for the moment.
Conclusion
The HR difficulties encountered by many armies today constitute one of the most crucial and complex challenges to overcome in order to ensure that we have effective and therefore dissuasive military power.
This parameter, often ignored in the face of other criteria, such as the defense effort, or the arsenal of military equipment, nevertheless represents the very pivot allowing a military administration to be converted into a real armed force.
It is noted, in this respect, that the strategies implemented vary considerably depending on whether the country has a strong operational tradition, or whether it is exposed to a direct threat, and the countries feel, rightly or wrongly, less exposed.
Thus, while the former are inventive and responsive in overcoming HR deficits, the latter, on the contrary, favour "facade" armies, while strictly responding to NATO requirements, for example, by increasing equipment acquisitions, without seeking to resolve the HR deficits observed.
Yet it is this area that will actually determine the operational effectiveness of these armies, if they were to actually be engaged in combat. It is probably time, now, and in the face of the reality of the threats, to transform the objectives set by NATO on the basis of budgetary and equipment criteria alone, to ensure that these allies will actually be able to respond effectively when the time comes.
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