Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein continued a dialogue on the Air Force’s pilot shortage with airline executives last week. “Flying is a national treasure and national investment,” Goldfein told the audience at a meeting in Alexandria, Va., according to an Air Force press release. “A challenge I have as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force is to ensure we can continue the long term, protect this nation, and protect our critical infrastructure.” The service and airlines agreed at the meeting to begin sharing data with an eye to improving recruiting for both military and commercial aviation. They also committed to exploring the possibility of allowing pilots to split time between military and commercial flying. “We’re not going to fix the numbers anytime soon, so we have to get after how we use those pilots in both uniforms,” said Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller, the Air Force Reserve Command commander, according to the release. The service reported it was 1,544 pilots short of its requirement at the end of fiscal year 2016.
See also: Pilot Shortage Back with a Vengeance from the August 2016 issue of Air Force Magazine.