Air Force may use Stop-Loss to keep pilots amid shortageThe US Air Force could soon be forcing pilots to stay in the service against their will, according to the chief of the military unit's Air Mobility Command. It comes amid an exodus of pilots
leaving the Air Force for jobs at commercial airlines.
The Air Force is
short 1,555 pilots across its active, Reserve and National Guard forces, the Hill reported last month. Of those, 950 are fighter pilot positions.
Everhart spoke of the challenges caused by pilots fleeing the service, particularly when it comes to Washington's fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
“If I don’t have pilots to fly, the enemy has a vote, and if I can’t put warheads on foreheads, then [IS] is winning,” he said.
The Air Force is already considering a number of options to combat the problem, Lieutenant General Gina Grosso, the deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, said last month.
Among the possible solutions include utilizing the military's fledgling Career Intermission Program, which was started to
allow pilots to take a sabbatical from the military for several years to fly with a commercial airliner.
http://www.trunews.com/article/air-force-may-use-stop-loss-to-keep-pilots-amid-shortage
