Fewer rated slots for 2014?

aglages

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Supposedly the class of 2014 was originally told that there were more pilot slots available than people that were interested (and PQ).

Now they have received the following:

"We have received adjusted rated quotas significantly lower than expected. The rated demand for the Class of 2014 exceeds the amount of pilot slots allocated, for this reason there will be a waiting list for pilot."

Anyone have any knowledge of why the situation has changed?
 
I wonder if it is because they are so back logged at UPT that even AFA grads are waiting up to close to a yr before starting UPT.

I wonder if they are going to go back and cut the AFROTC slots since those cadets got their slots last March.
 
The elimination of the C-130E/H models from active inventory. The coming retirement of the A-10 within two years. The rumored elimination of the KC-10, also in two years. There is a lot less demand for pilots when they are eliminating airframes.

Some of our son's friends who got 130E/H are sitting in limbo in Little Rock waiting to see what they are going to do. They have been asked to fill out new dream sheets 6 months after graduating from UPT. Two years after graduating from USAFA and they don't have an airframe for them, yet. The pipeline is definitely backed up.

Stealth_81
 
The elimination of the C-130E/H models from active inventory. The coming retirement of the A-10 within two years. The rumored elimination of the KC-10, also in two years. There is a lot less demand for pilots when they are eliminating airframes.

Some of our son's friends who got 130E/H are sitting in limbo in Little Rock waiting to see what they are going to do. They have been asked to fill out new dream sheets 6 months after graduating from UPT. Two years after graduating from USAFA and they don't have an airframe for them, yet. The pipeline is definitely backed up.

Stealth_81

I'm confused. Didn't they just offer a $250K bonus because there was a sever pilot shortage? Another thread was discussing this just a month ago?:confused:
 
I'm confused. Didn't they just offer a $250K bonus because there was a sever pilot shortage? Another thread was discussing this just a month ago?:confused:

Severe shortage of EXPERIENCED pilots. Those folks in the 10-15 year point of their career who provide the operational experience that is critical to mission success.

The initial pipeline will take the brunt of the cuts in manning needed to adjust to the new realities Stealth mentions due to the latest budget. The FY14 cuts are only just now being developed due to the sequester.

I don't envy the folks in the AF working the rated manning plan. They have to think in a frame of mind to keep manning at the required levels for 5 - 10 years from now, while the sequester is forcing force structure decisions for the next two - three years. Tough to balance those two in this new fiscal environment.
 
I don't know anyone in my son's USAFA '13 graduating class that is waiting a year to start UPT training. The latest I know is Jan. Most of his friends are starting by the end of this year. He is starting in Nov. Of course, with almost 500 pilot slots last year, I am sure I don't know all the starting dates but my understanding is the wait time for the USAFA '13 really was shorten from what it was in the past. AND USAFA '13 did not even want all the pilot slots given. There was talk that they would force some to select pilot that did not want pilot, but don't know if that ever happened.
 
Could this be an effort to encourage people to select RPAs? Supposedly the AF is having difficulty finding volunteers.
 
I was thinking the same thing. What is interesting is I started a thread on AFROTC curious to see if they are pulling back any of the 400's pilot slots. They had an amazing % given out for FY14. A poster showed that on 8/16 a memorandum was sent from Maxwell stating they are really short and are looking for volunteers.

Interesting to say the least.
 
I am wondering with all the cutbacks and retirements of airframes if maybe that many see this is as not a good time to be an AF pilot?
 
NAHHHH!

You def. did not want to be going pilot if you were the class of 91/92/93. Basically the pipeline went to a screeching halt, and if you were the superstar you got a heavy.

The A-10, F-4, and F-111 were all going to the sticks. The 10's were saved. The only new fighter was the Strike.

Right now, their are airframes leaving, but you do have new airframes coming on board, such as the 22 and the 35 in the fighter world.

The thing I have always said is that the AF is bulimic. They will gorge and than say OH crap, and then start the starvation mode. It is cycles. Many posters will say, it is not just what you know, or who you know, but timing too. Typically it is on a 20 yr cycle. They did the same thing to pilots in the mid 70's too.

My memory is not clear, but was 14 the last big AFA class or the start of smaller class size?
 
2013 was the last big class. They started with 1368 and graduated ~1052. '14 - 1294; '15 - 1147, '16 - 993, '17 - 1190. These number are approximate. '16 was the lowest. On July 13, 2013 the Wing was down to 4009 cadets.
 
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2015 Was the first "small" class (currently 899) and 2014 was the last of the big ones. However 2014 was the year that the AF started cutting back on AFROTC HSSPs and ICSs.

aggie83: - none of the classes during the last 10 years started with less than 1035 and that was 2016. Not sure where the "'16 - 993" numbers came from..
http://paulryan.house.gov/uploadedfiles/usafa_2016.pdf
 
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And remember, all this current guidance to "slow the pipeline because we plan to retire a bunch of aircraft" may come to a screeching halt once Congress has its say on the AF's plan. They tend to get a tad upset when a service hands them a budget that says, "Oh by the way, Congressman. We plan to get rid of all those A-10s / C-130s / KC-10ss currently on the base in your district."

The budget is still being coordinated, and things will most likely change YET AGAIN. Consider this the AF's "warning shot" based on what it is planning for, but until the budget is signed, we're writing that plan on luke warm jello....
 
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