{"id":41770,"date":"2019-08-07T21:17:24","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T21:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/07\/the-pilot-shortage-the-armys-struggle-to-fix-its-aviation-problems\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:32:50","slug":"the-pilot-shortage-the-armys-struggle-to-fix-its-aviation-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/08\/07\/the-pilot-shortage-the-armys-struggle-to-fix-its-aviation-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"The pilot shortage: The Army\u2019s struggle to fix its aviation problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Despite years of attempts to address the problem, the Army is struggling to deal with a shortage of about 700 pilots, a persistent manpower problem that could impact the readiness of the entire force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, the head of Army aviation<\/a> told lawmakers<\/a> that the Army was grappling with a hole in its warrant officer corps \u2015 731 pilots at the time \u2015 and said the Army would tackle the problem through recruiting efforts, increasing seats at training schools and an aggressive push to retain seasoned aviators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the two years since then, the Army has only added about 30 pilots, and has nearly 700 left to fill, according to data provided to Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army pilots are concerned about mission readiness levels that are compromised and even misreported, the increased risk for aviation mishaps, and competing priorities that are \u201cbreaking pilots,\u201d a senior pilot told Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Army pilot assigned to 2nd Squadron, 6th Calvary Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, prepares to fly an AH-64 Apache helicopter for aerial gunnery qualification on Schofield Barracks, Hi., Nov. 29, 2018. The AH-64D\/E Apache helicopter is a twin engine, tandem seat, aerial weapons platform capable of performing attack, movement to contact, reconnaissance, and security operations. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ian Morales)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Top officials acknowledge that filling the pilot shortage is not easy and can take a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur forecast is, once you get additional manning, it\u2019s about six years before you\u2019ve totally trained everybody,\u201d Maj. Gen. William Gayler<\/a>, the Aviation Center of Excellence\u2019s then-commander, told an audience just outside Washington, D.C. last fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, it took us a decade to get in this position. We can\u2019t get out of it within the year or by next Thursday, so we\u2019ve got some work ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, Gayler said that the organization had made real progress, particularly in filling out the ranks of more junior pilots, taking some pressure off of the seniors to do those jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, the aviation community as a whole is manned to 105 percent for pilots, according to Army data. In the active Army, that number is 103 percent, with 119 percent of commissioned officers required and 93 percent of warrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those numbers are misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A pilot with Task Force Iron Eagles navigates a UH-60 black hawk here in Afghanistan transporting troops and mission essential supplies in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough the numbers appear positive in aggregate, there exists an imbalance between a surplus of senior aviators and a shortage of nearly 700 junior aviators across the three components from required manning levels,\u201d Army spokesman Matthew Leonard told Army Times in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army might have netted a few dozen additional aviators over the past couple of years, but that doesn\u2019t account for the real numbers of mission-ready flight crews, according to the senior pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have the appropriate number of people, if you just look at my company on paper,\u201d the chief warrant officer 3, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, told Army Times of his unit in a combat aviation brigade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For each of his 10 helicopters, he said, he needs a qualified \u201cpilot in command\u201d to man it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I have currently, in my unit, as of two days from now, five pilots in command who are eligible to fly,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the Army aims to man its units at more than 100 percent to account for changes in availability for soldiers who are injured, dealing with personal issues or temporarily reassigned to schools or other duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the Army is experiencing some shortages across its aviation force, the pilots and aircraft that are available in aviation units are training to high levels of readiness and will continue to do so,”Leonard said. \u201cImpacts downrange are mitigated by prioritizing deploying units for manning and equipping to ensure those units are fully ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to say that the shortage of warrant officers is improving would be ignorant at best, the pilot said, and a \u201cbald-faced lie at worst.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His combat aviation brigade, for example, was rated \u201ccritical\u201d for readiness in a recent Aviation Resource Management survey, he said, but the Army would not confirm that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReadiness ratings are sensitive and we do not disclose details of inspection findings or the subsequent remedial training performed,\u201d Leonard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u201cthorough and deliberate\u201d deployment training is meant to bring units up to the highest level of readiness before they go abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chief Warrent Officer 2 Justin Hile, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot with 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, runs preventive maintenance service checks to maintain equipment readiness Feb. 19, 2019 at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania. 3-1 AHB recently began a rotation in Romania to support Atlantic Resolve, a joint NATO commitment to build readiness and enhance the bond between ally and partner nations through multinational training. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gavin Lewis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That remedial training is meant to fill in the gaps for pilots who fly crucial insertion and extraction missions, medical evacuation flights and re-supplies for troops downrange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a dip in proficiency can mean life or death, beyond the quality of service frustrations of individual pilots, and a great number of military aviation mishaps are blamed on pilot error.<\/p>\n\n\n\t