I thought this was just the place to ask

I also think it will be interesting to see what COVID does to the retention rate. I know that the airlines are not hiring like they were last year. My DS's unit is pushing aviation contracts, which is what he wants to do - so I also am eager to hear more about this.
 
EEBTTF said:
I also think it will be interesting to see what COVID does to the retention rate. I know that the airlines are not hiring like they were last year. My DS's unit is pushing aviation contracts, which is what he wants to do - so I also am eager to hear more about this.
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Wish him the best of luck!
 
cb7893 said:
www.businessinsider.com

The Marine Corps will pay up to $210,000 to hang on to its pilots

The money is "a proactive, short-term incentive" for the kinds of pilots of which the Corps faces "current or forecasted" shortfalls.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com

It seems as though I read “not enough pilots” one day and then “pilots not getting enough hours” elsewhere.

Square the circle for me.
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Units have to be manned with enough pilots to meet wartime requirements. Flight hours to maintain currency are another issue but think about it this way, in a time of national emergency, the nation can open up the money/flight hour taps pretty quickly but you can't train new pilots to fill empty seats nearly as quickly.
 
OldRetSWO said:
Units have to be manned with enough pilots to meet wartime requirements. Flight hours to maintain currency are another issue but think about it this way, in a time of national emergency, the nation can open up the money/flight hour taps pretty quickly but you can't train new pilots to fill empty seats nearly as quickly.
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Yes and no. I know what you’re saying, but you go to war with the military you have. Flying skills are perishable, especially for newer pilots. A 10-15 year pilot who has several combat tours under their belt is probably easy to train up with some hours. But if a pilot comes out of flight school and doesn’t fly much those skill will start to degrade.
 
UHBlackhawk said:
Yes and no. I know what you’re saying, but you go to war with the military you have. Flying skills are perishable, especially for newer pilots. A 10-15 year pilot who has several combat tours under their belt is probably easy to train up with some hours. But if a pilot comes out of flight school and doesn’t fly much those skill will start to degrade.
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Absolutely agree. You need both bonuses and money for flight hours. Also money for ship steaming days, money for ammunition, etc.
 
Flight hours and retention are also linked.. The pilot who is actively engaged, flying and being challenged to learn new skills is more likely to stay than the person who is sitting around , doing busy work etc, because they don't have money to fly. (This is true in all jobs !).
 
Old Navy BGO said:
Flight hours and retention are also linked.. The pilot who is actively engaged, flying and being challenged to learn new skills is more likely to stay than the person who is sitting around , doing busy work etc, because they don't have money to fly. (This is true in all jobs !).
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That was a large reason for me getting out. I realized as an O-4 that my flying days were over.
My nephew ran into the issue in the Marines. He wanted to do an IP tour so he could fly but was told the Marines were short F/A-18 pilots so he had to go back to the fleet... where he flew 5 hours a month. He left active duty.
 
Something else to consider is the experience level that squadrons need to maintain. There needs to be healthy mix in every squadron of senior pilots with loads of quals under their belt, newer pilots fresh from the FRS, and everything in between. Otherwise, you eventually end up with a problem. If all your experienced pilots are getting out, it doesn't matter how many fresh 25 year olds you can shove through the flight school pipeline.

OldRetSWO is also right. Flight hours go up and down based on the health of the aircraft within a squadron, money for gas and maintenance, etc. There needs to be some continuity of regular flying to stay sharp, but it takes several years to produce a pilot who is barely qualified for combat. You can't suddenly decide to turn on the spigot when we go to war in Syria, with China, or with North Korea. You go with who you have.
 
I flew in the 80's when there was free-flowing fuel and parts for all the flight hours we wanted, and then some. It felt like the golden age of Marine Corps aviation, with President Reagan in the White House. I still think back and smile about it.
 
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