Concern for the lack of pilots has become critical enough that “for the first time,” the Air Force Reserve has “selected 40 ROTC cadets to go to pilot training,” said Air Force Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. JJ Jackson at ASC15. “We’re gonna go ahead and fly them out to units to get them seasoned and trained into full-time status” before sending them into the Reserve, he said, speaking with Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke, the director of the Air National Guard; Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements; and Dan Sitterly, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, during a Total Force panel. “We’re doing that to survive. … Our technicians and [traditional Reservists] are making decisions” to leave the service because the pay is better over on the industry side and because they are getting burned out, said Jackson.
The Senate Armed Services Committee this week released the full text of its version of the 2026 defense policy bill—often referred to as the National Defense Authorization Act—that would allow the Air Force and Space Force to spend billions of dollars more than the services had sought for next year.