Honor, courage, commitment, and selflessness—these are the values that have made the Corps great. They are the bedrock and very heart of our character, and we in the Marine Corps love to talk about them. We memorize leadership traits and leadership principles. We carry core-values cards to serve as a constant visual reminder that these values apply in or out of uniform, 24-hours a day, and in every aspect of our lives. By constantly reinforcing these ideas, we hope to develop leaders who will sacrifice themselves for the benefit of those who depend upon them and who will act honorably in every situation. Ironically, this selfless spirit is the driving force causing many of our brightest and most dedicated leaders in the aviation community to leave the Marine Corps.
In the last few years, the Marine Corps has watched the number of aviators who voluntarily resign triple the historical average. Completely misunderstanding the true values of the individual Marine, our leadership has come to the conclusion that Marine pilots—who are assumed to be aviators first and Marines second—cannot resist the temptation of the big bucks offered by the airlines which are hiring at record rates. The Corps has responded to this problem by offering healthy bonuses to its fliers in an attempt to secure their loyalty. This policy has been an insult to aviators and a slap in the face to all other Marines. In addition, it has not solved the problem. At present, our leaders are scratching their heads trying to figure out why. The best answer they can come up with is that the bonus is not big enough.
What these decision makers do not seem to understand is that most of the aviators who are leaving the Marine Corps (at least the many I know) are not leaving out of selfish desires for money or the easy life. They are leaving out of the selfless desire to take care of their own—their families. These fliers do not want to leave the Corps. They love this "band of brothers" as much as anyone else. Marine aviators spend years training for combat, and all yearn for the day when they can prove themselves. No aviator worth his salt has a desire to give up tactical flying to become a glorified bus driver for one of the commercial airlines. Ask a Marine flier what his career goal is, and he likely will tell you it is to command a squadron.
The Marines who are getting out are not dirt bags. They are the most experienced aviators in the squadrons. They are the 1,000-hour pilots who have been to the best schools the Corps has to offer. They are commanding officers, executive officers, operations officers, aviation safety officers, weapons and tactics instructors, Top Gun graduates, and Gulf War veterans. The Marine Corps cannot afford to lose them. Unfortunately, many of these aviators have unselfishly chosen to sacrifice their careers for the benefit of their wives and children.
The Marine Corps motto exhorts Marines to remain "always faithful" to God, country, family, and Corps. Coincidentally, the same values that the Marine Corps desires in its leaders, the United States desires in its parents. We need committed parents who will place the needs of their families above their own ambitions. As the family goes, so goes the nation. The Marine's challenge is to balance effectively the responsibilities to his or her Marines with the responsibilities to his or her family. Unfortunately, the Corps expects its Marines to lead their troops by example and their families by proxy. When the demands of the Corps conflict with the demands of the family, the Marine is forced to choose between his loyalties. Today, more often than not, family wins. B. H. Liddell Hart offered this insight: "Man has two supreme loyalties—to country and to family.... So long as their families are safe, they will defend their country, believing that by their sacrifice they are safeguarding their families also. But even the bonds of patriotism, discipline, and comradeship are loosened when the family itself is threatened."
As manpower and assets decrease while requirements increase, families suffer. Aviators spend about two-thirds of their time away from home. Aviators are expected to fly and also maintain ground billets, work 12- to 14-hour days, and take work home at night and on weekends. Families can endure this tempo for a short time—and they expect it when their loved ones are in combat—but this pace is the norm.
Odds are against the Marine Corps family. While the civilian divorce rate has decreased slightly since the 1980s, the divorce rate in the Marine Corps over this period has increased 75%. Marines cannot ignore the fact that most marriages in the Corps fail. The Marine Corps apparently does not place families at the top of its priorities. The Corps invests very little money in family assistance and support programs. In terms of funding per active-duty service member, the Corps invests about half as much as the other armed services do.
The real issue, however, is the fact that Marines are over-deployed. Instead of offering more money to aviators, our generals need to say no to some of the operations.
Major Craft is the commanding officer of the Headquarters and Service Company, Instructor Battalion, The Basic School.